Retail bakers can find answers to their business challenges at IBIE 2025, happening Sept. 13-17 in Las Vegas, through education and networking.

The cost of doing business remains high for retail bakeries. Utilities, labor, ingredients and material pricing are stubborn to fall despite a steadying of the marketplace. In an industry with already small profit margins, that can be a heavy burden to bear.

“The profit margin is shrinking, and then you have to sell 5 thousand croissants just to pay your electric bill,” said Amie Smith, owner of AMIE Bakery and member of the planning committee for the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) 2025. “As retail bakers attend IBIE this year, they’ll be looking for ways to get this under control and help their businesses succeed.”

Retail bakeries have continued to struggle and have to adapt their business not only to the lasting impact of the pandemic but also the rapidly changing consumer behaviors and technologies available. Smith likened the constant change to being on a treadmill.

“People have to learn to pivot or change their offerings, cut back, add things in, change hours; there’s been a lot of trial and error,” she said.

RBA president Amie Smith touts the upcoming IBIE as a vital event for retail bakeries to achieve success. | Source: Brian Samuels Photography

This is the energy Smith anticipates retail bakers will be bringing to IBIE 2025, as they look for solutions to pricing, hiring, new product offerings and the ins-and-outs of running their businesses in a profitable way when everything feels like a squeeze. Smith sees IBIE 2025 as the perfect place to discover these solutions as there is always something new, whether that’s technology or an idea proposed in an IBIEducate session or demo.

“I always find at least one nugget at IBIE that I wasn’t expecting,” Smith said. “It’s like a treasure hunt. Will I have an ‘A-ha!’ moment where I see something at a booth or I’m having a conversation. Whatever it is, I always learn something new.”

Smith also serves as president of the Retail Bakers of America, and she hopes that retail bakers find solutions to many of their business challenges through IBIEducate. There will be topics on managing the business, labor, costing and marketing. While many bakers open their businesses with the technical skills to deliver delicious products to consumers, the business side can come with a learning curve, one RBA hopes to help bakers scale.

“We also have the hands-on classes, which are wonderful, but you really have to know how to run your business right to be successful,” she said. “There are so many topics to explore when you’re running a bakery business.”

New for IBIE 2025, IBIEducate classes are included in the cost of show registration, with the exception of hands-on workshops.

Smith encouraged retail bakers to not only attend the education sessions but also network with each other and suppliers.

We have a lot of cottage bakers and students who might not have opened a brick-and-mortar store yet, and IBIE gives them the opportunity to be exposed to these resources,” she said. “It all goes back to the education and making connections through networking at the show and beyond, and I think IBIE is tremendous for that.”