Web-ordering platform

Nothing Bundt Cakes was founded in Las Vegas in 1997 by friends Dena Tripp and Debbie Shwetz and offers premium, high-quality Bundt Cakes in a variety of sizes and classic flavors. Nothing Bundt Cakes has more than 360 corporate and franchise bakeries in 41 U.S. states and Canada. Nothing Bundt Cakes has been named to several prestigious industry lists, including Franchise Business Review's "Top 50 Franchises.”

The retailer is plugged into innovative web-based marketing programs that keep promotions in front of valuable consumers. Last year for example, in honor of National Bundt Day on Friday, Nov. 15, as well as celebrating the milestone of their 300^th bakery opening in Jacksonville, Fla., Nothing Bundt Cakes held nationwide Bundtlet giveaways.

As one of the pioneers in the digital ordering space, and with clients like Nothing Bundt Cakes, Onosys has proven itself as a trusted partner with exceptional customer results, even in the most hectic of times. With the ability to onboard new clients faster than anyone else, Onosys is helping large restaurant brands with their digital transformation journey by implementing custom web-based ordering solutions with larger average check sizes and transaction volumes.

Further, HotSchedules, a leading provider of workforce and back office solutions for the restaurant and hospitality industries, works with Nothing Bundt Cakes to provide a reliable and intuitive technology solution during a time of expansion. HotSchedules helps the bakeries by providing forecasting functionality around employee scheduling, alerting owners when employees are going into overtime and preventing the company from violating labor laws and maintaining compliance in each state where the company operates.

According to Nothing Bundt Cakes, HotSchedules offers more robust forecasting and labor functionalities that easily integrate with its new point-of-sale system, which helps its bakery owners take advantage of technology to increase efficiency and retain employees.

Sheet Cake Icing Line

Unifiller Systems, a global leader in cake production equipment and a subsidiary of the Linxis Group of Companies, has introduced a new Sheet Cake Icing Line (SKIL), designed for bakeries looking to automate the assembly, filling, and icing process for sheet cakes.  

The bakery industry is currently facing a shortage of available labor due to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and due to long term factors that include an aging workforce, fewer people entering the trade, a lack of trained candidates, and government policies that impact staff accessibility.

Key customers who have purchased the SKIL from Unifiller have been able to significantly reduce staff and decrease cake assembly time and have seen an ROI within six months to a year. 

This all-in-one sheet cake decorating line was designed and built with speed, accuracy, and efficiency in mind to help bakery manufacturers streamline their labor. The SKIL’s computer-controlled system can store up to 100 recipes and custom production speeds, icing up to 10 sheet cakes a minute.

For base, top, and side icing, its servo depositors provide optimal spread control and reduce the need for manual touch-ups. Additional modules can be added to this base line for customized needs including the Cake Stacker, Cake Slicer, Bordering Line, and more. 

Steven Belyea, applications manager at Unifiller, explains that labor-related issues can be one of the biggest challenges for industrial bakeries.

“Customers looking to increase throughput rely on the typical fix, which is to add labor,” Belyea says. “This will result in more hands touching the product, greater inconsistencies with the end product, and people working within closer proximity to one another. Customers who have installed our Sheet Cake Icing Line have been able to reduce a large portion of their labor or repurpose it to other areas of the plant while simultaneously increasing the quality of their product and overall throughput.” 

Automating the process

Apex Motion Control, specialists in robotics and automation for the baking and food industry, has created a new function for the Baker-Bot – end of line palletizing.

In addition to decorating cakes, pick n’ place, and loading/unloading trays and pans, their cobot can now handle palletizing tasks and be integrated into most production lines without the need for safety guarding.

By utilizing the Baker-Bot’s palletizing function, up to 11 cases can safely be placed on a standard North American pallet per minute with a stack height up to 76” and a 10kg case load including the end effector.