Starting a Bakery

Mrs. Fields did it in 1977. She took a family recipe and made it into a small bakery business. Today Mrs. Fields has almost 400 stores in 80 countries. You might not have such big plans for your recipe, but even if your dreams are humble, you can have a successful bakery if you do your homework before you preheat the oven. A successful bakery depends on:

1. Master bakers who know that the proof is in the pudding…or bread.
2. Good sanitation practices.
3. A unique concept.
4. Most importantly, delicious pastries and bread.

Join baking industry groups

Whether you’ve chosen to tackle a wholesale bakery or a retail bakery, you’ll want to keep up with trends, regulations and tradeshows.
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The Retail Bakers of America association offers retail bakeries continued education and resources to enhance business operations including certification programs for journey bakers, bakers, decorators and master bakers. The American Bakers Association represents wholesale bakeries in the U.S. as well as their suppliers to influence legislation and issues that face wholesale bakeries. Two other good industry associations that provide education and events to the baking industry are the Bread Bakers Guild of America and AIB International. Check out additional organizations at Business.com.

Educate your staff

Bread is only as good as the baker. And if your bakery serves pastries, you probably already know that a pastry chef is one of the most respected in the food world because of the scientific expertise it takes to master baking.
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Sign your primary baking staff up for courses at the AIB School of Baking. The school offers resident courses, continuing education seminars and certificate programs.

Food safety and regulations

Bakeries, like other food service businesses, are regulated by the federal government and other local agencies. Check with your local food safety department, usually at the city or county level, for regulations and requirements.
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Check out our Guide to Starting a Food Business for more information on regulations. Get help from Rochester Midland’s BrandGuard Program to increase your bakery’s odds of producing safe food on a consistent basis.

Bakery equipment and supplies

Source your supplies and equipment before you design your bakery.
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Find information on ingredients, equipment, sanitation necessities and packaging suppliers at www.bema.org. You can also source new and used equipment, ovens, supplies, mixers and fryers at www.bakery.com and www.pastrynet.com. Find additional suppliers at Business.com. Consider purchasing specialized software for retail or wholesale bakeries. The GlobalBake Bakery and Food Processing System is software specialized for retail and wholesale bakeries.

Create a business plan for your bakery

Any successful retail food shop owner can tell you that one of the main keys to success is to write a specialized business plan. You need to find your bakery’s niche and go from there.
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Download a computer-based program that helps you plan, start, operate and manage a bakery at www.125aday.com. If you want to specialize further, Lyncoln Solutions provides equipment, support, training, and store installation to get a French-style bakery up and running, with no background in baking. Another hot trend popping up across the country is pet bakeries. Get more information on this niche bakery at www.mysmallbiz.com.

Keep up on bakery trends

Trade publications offer up-to-date trend information, supplier resources, special events, and baking competitions.
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Modern Baking Magazine shares trends, food safety compliance issues and supplier updates. Baking Management focuses on the field of manufacturers and wholesalers of breads, cakes, sweet goods, cookies, crackers, snacks, pizza, tortillas, mixes, doughs, and other baked goods. Bakingbusiness.com is an online community for professionals in wholesale and retail baking and offers daily news, extensive article archives, grain-based foods industry statistics and company data, technology and production information, product updates and supplier resources. Other trade magazines include Snackfood & Wholesale Bakery Magazine, Milling & Baking News, Baking & Snack, Baking Buyer, Pastry Art & Design and Pastry's Best.

• Retail bakeries may elicit a charming image of a Parisian street window full of artisanal breads, but don’t count out opening a wholesale portion of the business. Many restaurants don’t have an in-house pastry chef or baker. Supplying bread daily to high-end restaurants is often a guarantee for regular business that pays very well.
• Scour local coffeehouses and delis to see if they would consider selling your baked goods or using your bread in their sandwiches. It will not only provide them with fresh baked items, but will be a good marketing tool to drive customers to your bakery.
• No bread maker should be without an automatic slicer. Most Americans are used to having their bread pre-sliced and won’t have it any other way.
• Consider sampling one item a day to introduce your entire baked goods case to your customers.