Small Business Brief

Food Business

Bakery Business: How to Set Up a Successful Bakery From Scratch


Baking is an art and can be a great business to start up if you have a talent.

On average, bakers earn $25,690 per year, with the business turnover being significantly higher.

But what makes a bakery business so successful? Continue reading for the essential tips on how to set up a profitable bakery from scratch.

What is Your Baking Style?

If you have a specialty, now is the time to use it. Some bakeries are producing hundreds of wedding cakes a year whereas others produce organic bread for local stores.

Vegan and healthy foods are highly sought-after in urban areas and may be a way to grow your business rapidly. If you live in a more rural area, think of family favorite desserts and baked goods.

The Type of Bakery Business

Fully Online Bakery

You could advertise your bakery through websites and social media and find yourself a profitable business. Delivering the baked goods in one piece will be your hardest challenge. You can choose to deliver locally yourself or hire a courier service.

Delivering locally will ensure the integrity of your business as you know exactly how the goods are received. Hiring a courier service is a great option as you can send your baked goods further, and spend more time actually baking.

Counter Service

This is a good option if your customers like to come and see the goods before they buy. It gives you the option of customers walking in. You can even choose to offer sample sizes of your popular goods to attract customers.

Sit Down Café Style

This is the most involved type of bakery.

You will be required to provide a bathroom area for customers and should provide tea, coffee, and drinks alongside your baked goods. This is a profitable business especially if you are located close to businesses with a large number of employees. Hello, lunchtime rush!

Formulating a Business Plan

A business plan will focus your attention on all the details and keep you on track to set up your business exactly as you want it. You should set business goals, predict your revenue, predict your clientele and research your competition.

A financial forecast is the backbone of business start up and you should look to be profitable. This is especially useful if you need to approach a bank about a start-up business loan. Investing in premises and equipment is no small risk; the banks will want to know every detail.

Draft a Price List

It is a good idea to add up the cost of your ingredients, labor, advertising, and premises to see how much you should be selling your goods for. A little market research will go a long way to help you price correctly.

Don’t worry if your price list isn’t perfect. This can always be adjusted according to business needs. A quarterly price list review is a good idea to ensure your profit margins are high enough while customers are happy to purchase.

Visit Other Local Bakeries and Buy Their Goods

How was the service? Do they provide value for money? Would you return or would you look for another bakery? What makes them different from other bakeries?

Answering these questions will help you form a good bakery business that generates repeat customers.

Next Step: Setting Up Your Business

The bakery business is just one of many small business ideas.

Regardless of business type, there are certain legal requirements a business owner needs to follow. Check out the required legal documents here

For more help and advice, click here



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