Find your place
It is best to start small-scale production of sweets on the eve of the holidays. During this period, the demand for artificial confectionery (gingerbread, Easter cakes) far exceeds supply, and experienced confectioners are overwhelmed and often refuse new customers.
Personalized sweet gifts have become popular holiday gifts for loved ones, colleagues and friends. In this way, people try to make others happier and convey holiday emotions to each other.
Recently, the tastes of Ukrainians have changed – festive sweets and artificial products for individual orders are in trend. These are gingerbread, gingerbread, cupcakes, as well as seasonal pastries – Easter cakes and cupcakes, Christmas galleries.
In the domestic market, 30-35% is accounted for by mini-shops and small bakeries (according to Ukrkondprom). Many aspiring entrepreneurs start their own business by baking gingerbread and other sweets in their own kitchen, but later, having received their regular customers, they rent a room for a bakery or pastry shop.
Assortment rotation
Manufacturers must keep up with the changing fashions for customized and seasonal baked goods. For example, a few years ago, the most popular products were decorated with mastic, and now “yesterday”. Instead, there is a growing demand for gingerbread covered with colorful icing and interesting paintings, Easter cakes with nuts and dried fruits, as well as “naked” cakes richly decorated with fruits and small confectionery (marshmallows, paste, pills).
To stimulate demand for seasonal delicacies, confectioners should constantly create new product collections, offer special holiday sets for other holidays: from Halloween and September 1 to professional ones (Teacher’s Day, Doctor’s Day, etc.), change design and packaging in accordance with the requirements . customer’s wishes.
Artificial baking fully competes not with cookies or sweets, but with non-food souvenirs and gifts. Producers who produce small-batch, custom-made delicacies and bake seasonal muffins and gingerbread carefully choose the packaging for their product. These can be both simple transparent bags and premium ones – wooden or cardboard boxes for exclusive products, wicker baskets for Easter cakes. Interesting and unusual packaging significantly increases sales.
Price policy
The cost of products depends on their ingredients, size and complexity. For example, the presence of a large amount of nuts, candied fruits, as well as fresh fruits (cold season) significantly increases the cost of production and, accordingly, its price. And it also depends on the cost of rent, the wages of confectioners, drivers and other things. Calculating the cost of production and markup when you work at home on your own or do the same for small batch production are two different things.
Marketing tricks
Customers care not only about the taste, but also the appearance of the treat. Therefore, confectioners rely on the senses and often resort to tricks. Another trend – a healthy lifestyle (healthy lifestyle) – is also reflected in individual and seasonal confectionery. Some manufacturers have identified this niche and are gradually starting to focus consumers’ attention on natural and healthy things – making gluten-free sweets and pastries according to low-calorie recipes, introducing unusual ingredients into the recipe, such as almond milk and coconut oil. . A serious point that you should pay attention to from the very beginning is how to make delivery (to the metro, to the entrance, home). It can be a specialized courier delivery service, a taxi driver or an ordinary courier in a nice uniform.
Social networks
Facebook and Instagram have become a real Klondike for promoting a wide variety of delicacies. Indeed, word of mouth radio works great on social media. Satisfied clients can make a huge advertisement for a talented newcomer. Someone’s candy recommendations to their virtual friends increase their customer base exponentially every month. They are especially useful for professionals with their recognizable work style and wide client base.
To become popular on a social network, you must first work well on your product portfolio. Experts recommend not to save on professional photography and photography. Poor quality photographs taken in poor lighting or products that are overly photographed are likely to do more harm than good to the manufacturer. Professional photos and positive reviews of your products from real buyers will help you gain trust. And remember, buyers are very vulnerable to counterfeiting. From time to time, it does not hurt to conduct a survey among the subscribers of the page: what they liked and what else is worth working on.
Sales channels
In addition to social networks and their own online stores, confectioners sell their products through small cafes (which do not have their own bakery production), cooperate with child development centers, small shops and kiosks. The best option is to find corporate clients with whom you can conclude an agreement to provide them with branded themed sweets throughout the year.
You can also agree on cooperation with advertising agencies and produce sweet products with corporate symbols, offer schools and kindergartens.
Additional income
A good additional income in the off-season can give the owners of small industries a variety of confectionery courses and workshops. They can be made on different topics (gingerbread, muffins, mastic modeling, etc.) for both adults and children – in the format of a school or individual lessons.
