It is more important now than ever to maximize your food cost when scheduling what to bake daily, according to BakeMark. Leftover product in your display case at the end of the day is simply money that goes down the drain. To help improve your profitability, the following are several important tips to help get every cent out of your ingredients budget. 

Instead of baking once in the morning and making the product last all day, consider reducing the size of your bakes and baking more often. This easy step accomplishes a couple of important profit-centered goals:

Your customers will love product that is super fresh, so they will keep coming back to your store.

Simply “build to” product that seems to be popular that day avoiding waste and “talking to” your customers.

There’s nothing better than warm, fresh baked goods, and nothing sounds better to a customer than “Our cinnamon rolls are so fresh they’re still warm.”

There is room to grow your business, and retailers are responding to the current COVID-19 crisis with strength and determination.

“We are looking into possibly expanding the panadería,” says Amelia Vaca Santoyo, whose parents own Carnitas Uruapan in Lamont, Calif. “So next year, we look forward to growth and the possibility of serving our customers with more of the bread they love and possibly some new items as well.”

Signature items drive higher customer traffic and increase sales. Panadería Maria, which has two locations in Fontana, Calif., continues to push for innovation in product development. The bakery makes different types of sweet breads that are signature specialties, such as borregos, elotes amarillos, and novias.

One specialty bread that is popular with customers at Panadería Maria is known as manos de oso. This fresh bakery item is similar to a bear claw and is made with Danish dough and BakeMark cheese filling, along with sliced almonds.

In other production tips from BakeMark, it is important to do small bakes in today’s environment, which allow you to adjust your display case as the day progresses. Don’t try to force your bake schedule to your customers.

Keep track of what customers are buying each day and adjust your bakes accordingly to what customers are buying. At the end of the day, take note of what products are left over and make fewer of that product the next day.  Continually target your bakes to determine what works best from one day to the next.