“We eat with our eyes first”
— Marcus Gavius Apicius
I couldn’t agree more with Apicius on this statement. If the food served to me looks appalling, I won’t even think of eating it. The first thing that is taught in any culinary class is how to make the food presentable. And when it comes to bakery products, this becomes quite mandatory.
Just think of it; whenever you pass any bakery shop, the items on the display bring water in your mouth, especially cakes. For instance, look at the picture below.
Isn’t this picture making you crave for a muffin, brownie, or cake? I’m sure if you’d come across something like this on a street, you won’t be able to resist yourself from trying it (unless you’re diabetic).
Presentation is one of the main USPs (Unique Selling Propositions) for bakeries. And bakery shop owners constantly search for ways to improve and market it for maximizing their sales.
If you are one of them, this blog is for you. Today, I’ll be sharing some tips with you that can help in improving the presentation of your products and increase your bakery sales.
So without further ado, let’s begin.
Tips to Increase Bakery Sales with Presentation
Here are top five tips that can act as a catalyst in increasing your bakery sales –
1. Use different portion sizes
Let’s say you make the best blueberry cheesecake in the town and you’ve a majority of orders coming for large quantities like 500 gm and above. But what if someone wants to try just a slice of blueberry cheesecake?
I’m sure you’d be serving single slices as well. The question is, how are the customers supposed to know about it? Simple, you need to display different portion sizes of bakery products you have.
This step will help in increasing your bakery sales as well. How? You see, with an option to choose small portions, customers can try different delicacies at the same time. In fact, as per statistics shared by Bplans,
28% of people with a sweet tooth said that they’d be interested in buying individual portions. Additionally, 20% said that small-sized portions allow them to try other types of bakery products.
Hence, it’s vital that you display different portion sizes of your bakery products ranging from large to small and give your customers various options to choose from. You can take a cue from this picture.
2. Work on color contrast
One of the prime presentation tips is using bright hues to bring out the depth of your products. And this is important when you are capturing the pictures for posting online.
For instance, look at the picture below:
These are simple peach cookies that you can find at your local bakery. But when you look at this photograph, these cookies look no less than any gourmet cuisine.
The bright shades of orange and pink bring out the essence of the photo. Trust me, when I saw this I thought of trying it.
So, while you are presenting your bakery products, try to incorporate elements with bright hues to make it noticeable. Here’s another picture for your reference.
3. Lighting is MUST
Another factor that can make your food look appealing is appropriate lighting. This applies to both live counter display and food photography.
When you are clicking pictures of your bakery products, try to use either natural lighting or flash tubes. Using the former one will give the overall picture a warm effect, while the later one will focus on your subject.
In either case, you need to ensure that the appearance and color of the product should not change a lot. If there’s a major difference between the picture you posted and the actual product, it’ll garner you negative feedback.
4. Focus on labels
Labeling is one of the important yet ignored aspects of food presentation, especially in bakery products. Often, bakeries don’t label their products. Even if they do, it’ll be quite vague.
For instance, many bakeries label cakes as cakes without even defining their flavors and specialities. I’ve seen some bakeries serving different types of doughnuts like chocolate, raspberry, etc. But the display name of every variety is ‘doughnut’.
First of all, it creates a lot of confusion for customers. Second it wastes their as well as bakery owners’ time. So, it’s better that you give proper and detailed labeling to your products.
Here are some points you should include while writing your labels:
- Use a simple yet attractive font
- Mention ingredients
- Update the nutritional value
- The text should be bold and italic
- Add price if possible
If you are using a digital menu, this becomes much easier. Also, when you are promoting your products online, ensure that you write a short description about the dish.
5. Bring social media to your aid
Did you know that,
Approx 93% of Instagram users said that the visual appearance of food and drinks influence their purchasing decisions. — Robben Media
It’s no secret that social media has paved a way for content creators to showcase their creativity. This holds true for bakery chefs as well.
You’ll find gazillion photos and videos on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, where chefs have uploaded some mind-boggling photos and videos of bakery products. In fact, some of the making videos of bakery products have won hearts of a million audience. Here’s one of my favorites from those.
Similarly, you can shoot some time-lapse or hyper-lapse videos of your best products’ making processes and upload them on your bakery’s social media handles. This will help you gain visibility at a global level and in turn increase your bakery sales.
How Orderific can Help You?
Orderific is a unique digital menu which is revolutionizing the F&B industry. With Orderific, you can create a digital menu which is easily customizable and can be shared as a QR code with customers.
The customers can scan the QR code, add the product in the basket, make on the spot payment, and the order is placed. The order is directly shared as KOT to the kitchen department thereby reducing your TAT.
In addition to this, it offers you features like:
- Designing your own QR code
- Upselling with smart suggestions (Thanks to AI)
- Building your website
- Creating and promoting offers
- Develop loyalty programs
- Keep a track of deliveries
- Manage rating and reviews
- Zero transaction fees with integrated payment methods
- Automated inventory tracking
These features are just to name a few. There are various other tasks where Orderific can prove beneficial to you. And the best part is that you get a free trial!
So, wait no more! Start your free trial today.
Conclusion
Presentation of food is one of the prime components that can increase or decrease a person’s appetite. If it looks appealing, the curiosity to taste it increases automatically. However, if it’s appalling, it can ruin a person’s interest in the same.
In bakeries, the display of products plays a pivotal role in attracting the customers. Do it right, you will garner maximum attention. And the moment you ignore it, you are sure to lose your customers.
So, if you are not focusing on your bakery product’s presentation yet, it’s time to take the initiative. Try using the tips in this blog to improve the appearance and plating of your bakery products.
Do let me know in the comments which tip helped you the most and how it increased your bakery sales. Till then, happy baking.
Visit Orderific website for more information like this!
FAQs
How do bakeries attract customers?
Bakeries attract customers through eye-catching displays, offering fresh and unique products, and effective marketing, such as social media and loyalty programs.
What makes a bakery stand out?
A bakery stands out by offering exceptional quality, diverse and appealing baked goods, personalized customer service, and a distinct brand identity.
What makes a bakery successful?
Success for a bakery is often built on consistent quality, a loyal customer base, efficient operations, and strong community connections.
What are the weakness of a bakery business?
Weaknesses in a bakery business can include high operating costs, perishable inventory, seasonality challenges, and the need for consistent demand and customer flow.