How to Start a Bakery Marketing & Business Plan from Scratch

Just like any business, starting a new bakery from scratch requires a lot of groundwork to be laid down early. You know how to make a wide variety of delicious goodies, but what’s your place’s identity? Who are you trying to attract? What’s the menu going to look like? It all can be very overwhelming. Fortunately, our guide shows you how to construct bakery marketing plan, so you’re ready for launch.

1. Determine Your Type of Bakery

It’s crucial to determine which type of bakery you are, so you don’t spread staff and operations thin. Below are the two most common bakery businesses:

• Wholesale bakery – A wholesale bakery sells its goods to places like restaurants, grocery stores, cafes or other distributors. It typically doesn’t have a front of the house for customers, allowing a business to lease space or operate out of ghost kitchen.


• Retail bakery – A retail bakery sells its goods directly to the public. It usually includes a front of the house where customers can place and pay for orders. If the space allows for it, you also can set up dine-in seating as well as a pickup counter for custom and takeout orders.

There are pros and cons to both. For instance, a wholesale bakery offers more consistent business, but there is high overhead because it requires more back-of-house help to make and move product. A retail bakery, on the hand, is a bit more affordable to operate and gives you direct access to customers. However, sales might not be as profitable or reliable as they are with a wholesale business.

2. Establish Your “Niche”

While you probably know how to make a little bit of everything, choosing a specific style can help you operate efficiently and smoothly. It’s very easy to get bogged down if you don’t centralize your expertise. As you try establishing a niche, here are a few concepts to consider:

• Café – Think of what you would see in a coffee shop. A café-style bakery serves items like bagels, cookies, donuts, muffins and other breakfast-based pastries in addition to coffee and tea. Most of the business occurs during the morning rush prior to office work hours and in the early afternoon.


• Specialty – Do you specialize in specific types of baked goods? A specialty bakery is a good route to go. For example, if you’re the master of baking multiple types of cookies, you can sell JUST cookies. Or if you love to showcase your creativity by decorating wedding and birthday cakes, you can operate a cake shop. This also lets you stock a kitchen with similar ingredients and equipment, which can make scaling similar products easier and more cost effective.


• Location-based – If you already found a great location, find out the demographics in the area. This could help form the type of menu you construct, allowing you to sprinkle in a couple of ethnic-based goods. For instance, you might incorporate concha and pan dulce if the area has a large Hispanic population, or you can add cannoli and tiramisu to the menu if you’re based in an Italian neighborhood.

3. Conduct Market Research

Understanding your area is crucial before launch. As we mentioned earlier, knowing the ethnicities and nationalities around you is important when deciding what items to add on the menu. It also is important to know other key data points like average income and ages in the area as well as what nearby competitors serve and how much they charge. All this helps inform everything from the menu to the prices established at launch.

So where can you find this data? You can always hire a research firm or agency to provide this information, but the costs can add up. Doing it yourself isn’t too time consuming and can be much more affordable. In the United States, information on demographics and average income statistics are available through the Census Bureau, which is updated every 10 years. Other countries conduct their censuses sooner. For instance, Canada conducts its census every five years and releases the data about two years later. For competitor goods and pricing, the best way to research is by scoping them out online, over the phone or in person.

4. Craft Your Menu

Once you’ve established your niche, bakery type and have studied the surrounding area, it’s much easier to come up with a menu. Whether you offer various items or a specific specialty, here are some ideas for inspiration:

• Breads – If you plan on making bread, make sure to offer everything from French and Italian breads to white and whole-grain loaves. Another option you should consider is fresh rolls, such as pretzel, ciabatta and dinner rolls.


• Cakes – Consider making cakes as custom orders only, so you don’t overwhelm staff. You can provide single-sheet and multi-layer cakes for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and other occasions.


• Cookies – At launch, a mix of chewy or crunchy varieties is essential. Think chocolate chip, oatmeal, butter, sugar and shortbread cookies. Biscotti also is a good addition if you’re opening a café.


• Cupcakes – Whether it’s standard vanilla and double-chocolate or artisan red velvet and cookies-and-cream, cupcakes are very popular and can be great for multiple occasions.


• Donuts – Start with the basic offering of cake, yeast and cream-filled donuts when you kick things off. Over time, you can add seasonal options donuts like apple cider in the fall or blueberry in the spring and summer.


• Pastries – There are so many types of pastries you can offer. If you’re opening a café, go with cinnamon rolls, croissants, Danishes and strudels for the breakfast rush. If you’re targeting a broader audience, sprinkle in options like cannoli, eclairs, pies and soft pretzels.

5. Create a Marketing Plan

Using your market research and menu, develop messaging that helps establish your brand identity. If you’re a wholesale bakery, you need to develop B2B marketing materials since you’re targeting businesses. For a retail bakery, you need B2C materials since your goods are sold directly to the public. Part of your marketing plan will involve multiple strategies and channels. Below are a some to focus your time and resources on before launch:

• Print – While it might not be a major driver anymore, print media isn’t completely gone. Print up a selection of flyers and banners showcasing your product and using quick, compelling copy that explains who you are and what sets you apart from the other bakeries.


• Social media – Like other foodservice businesses, a bakery requires a strong social media presence. Make sure you’re on the major platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Always post eye-popping pictures of your product with compelling copy and use relevant hashtags about food or what’s trending.


• Email – Establish email groups for new subscribers and different customer types. Once you create those, make email campaigns around major holidays, promotions or any news and events for your business. For new subscribers, offer some discounts and incentives for signing up for emails. This can be tied to a loyalty program too, which we’ll address later.


• SEO – Check that your website has pages that feature headers, titles, web copy and meta data using the correct keywords for your bakery. Also, follow local SEO strategies that are targeted to your region. For example, if you’re located in Cleveland, OH, have a dedicated page with copy and a map that explains the area you serve in and around Cleveland.

With all your marketing materials, make sure everything from the colors to font are consistent on all print and digital assets. These play a major role in establishing your brand identity and can help people in your community think of your business when they see those distinct colors and text.

6. Develop a Loyalty Program

A good loyalty program helps attract new customers and drive repeat business by offering rewards, deals and other incentives. From retail and travel to fast food and casual dining, many businesses have caught onto this trend in the last decade or so. Your bakery should too. If done correctly, it can boost revenue, brand sustainability and growth.

For instance, occasionally offer free or discounted items to loyalty members who have a membership card or downloaded your app. Discounts or free items can be earned whenever a customer hits a spending or points limit as well. Surprise offers also are a major draw to a loyalty program. Use social media holidays or specific days of the week to spring these on customers. For example, you could give subscribers a free donut on National Donut Day and 50% off bagels every Monday.