It might seem that delicious baked goods would have no trouble selling themselves. While this might be true to a certain extent, proper display and presentation can go a long way toward breaking down a customer's resistance and increasing impulse sales. While the pastries themselves should no doubt look irresistible, factors like color, signage, good lighting and a clean, well-stocked display case all play a part in successfully selling baked goods.
Bakery Display Cases
One of the most important items for bakery sales is a well-lit display case that shows off your pastries and other delicacies. The advantages of a display case are two-fold.
- They help keep the food protected and fresh until it's time to serve.
- Attractive display cases allow customers a mouth-watering view of your goods.
The bottom line is, displaying your bakery goods in an appealing way will make it harder for customers to resist and increase impulse sales.
There are a few types of cases you can choose from depending on the types of edibles you offer. And you may require more than one.
A dry bakery case is ideal for breads, cookies, pastries, and other items that don't require refrigeration. Items with perishable ingredients such as cream, fresh fruit, meat or cheese will need to be kept in a refrigerated display case. A 360 degree rotating case is perfect for displaying cakes. Of course, cost may be a major factor in your choice of display cases. Dry bakery cases generally start at around $5,000 and up, while refrigerated units typically start around $9,000.
Color, Signage and Presentation
A good display case stocked with delicious baked goods is only half the battle. Paying close attention to the details of your presentation can put your display over the top. Be sure your display case is fully stocked, and group like items together — a batch of cookies, for example, is a lot harder to resist than a single cookie sitting on a shelf.
Pay attention to color as well, grouping similar colored items together or pairing them with complementary colors. Frosted items in bright colors are a great way to catch the eye. You can also use items like cloth, doilies, display stands or other decorations to add a splash of color to your presentation. Another way is with your signage. Colorful, decorative cards that include pastry pricing and ingredients are a great way to add visual interest to your bakery display while conveying useful information.
Consider Cross-Merchandising
Another proven way to increase impulse sales is with cross-merchandising. This is the practice of offering other products that complement your baked goods, such as selling coffee to go along with donuts and pastries. Displaying such food pairings together in an appealing way helps to whet your customers' appetites and make upselling and cross-promoting your products a breeze.
Effective presentation can require an initial investment that can seem quite daunting. But the payoff will likely be well worth it as your display draws in customers and entices them to buy more of your baked goods than they had intended.
