Better Baked Goods - by Jeanette Hurt

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FEATURES Tea's Healthy Attitude

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Better Baked Goods Come and get 'em by Jeanette Hurt

Wellness takes stage at symposium by Bruce Richardson Coffee Compass: Costa Rica Production on scales big and small by Chris Ryan Back to School Making coffee education happen by Peter Giuliano Better Baked Goods Come and get 'em by Jeanette Hurt Dress for Success Should you live by a code in your café? by Rita Kaminsky

DEPARTMENTS The Green Café Rethinking the to-go cup by Lois Maffeo The Whole Leaf The tea education of a coffee roaster by Nickolas Butler Nine Bars "Dr. Espresso, report to the grinder, stat!" by Philip Search

(Ajay Singh) Jones Coffee Roasters sells dozens of pastries every day, and it's not uncommon for the Pasadena, Calif.-based coffeehouse to run out. The secret? Owner Chuck Jones sells baked goods and sweets made by one of the most sought-after pastry chefs in his area, Sumi Chang, who is particular about the customers to whom she sells her delectable treats. "If you're selling premium coffee, your customers are expecting premium products, so the pastries or even your biscottis should be on par with your premium coffee," Jones says. "People short-change themselves if they serve mediocre pastries with their coffee. Those pastries aren't going to make their coffee taste better." And mediocre baked goods aren't going to sell like hotcakes, either. Though baked goods and coffee go together like peanut butter and jelly, not every coffeehouse takes advantage of this natural pairing. "With so much competition out there, you need every competitive edge you can get," says Erik Finnerty, co-founder of FatCat Scones in Sacramento, Calif., which sells frozen gourmet scones. "A lot of coffee roasters, especially the mom-and-pop businesses, go to Costco or Sam's Club. ... They buy those crappy muffins that are out there, and they're missing the boat."

Roasters Realm To everything, there is a season by Nicholas Day From the Editor Contributors Off the Wire News Briefs Café Crossroads Retailer Spotlight Counter Intelligence People, Products, Events & Sites Events Calendar Trade Show Calendar

(Zando Escultura) Stores like Costco or Sam's Club are easy to get to and provide inexpensive options, but the quality and appearance of their baked goods are easy to spot—and average at that. "We all have those plastic cards, and people will spend money if they think it looks good. But if you cop out with artificial whipped cream instead of the real thing, or processed cocoa powder instead

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Better Baked Goods - by Jeanette Hurt

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Advertiser Index

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of real Belgian chocolate, the customer will be disappointed," says Rob Maayer, business development manager for WOW Factor Desserts in Alberta, Canada. "They won't complain, but they don't come back, and they will tell their friends, 'The desserts there were absolutely horrendous.' The flip side is, if you serve something special, the customer will not only return, but he will brag about it to all his friends." Unique pastries, desserts and baked goods can be a valuable part of your identity. "People focus on the roasting and the cup and the beans, but they miss that pastry side, and it's a piece that can give you brand distinction," Finnerty says. "People forget how important this is." "Instead of a destination bakery product, people sell a desperation product—a muffin or a cookie that's not high quality," explains Hayes Forsten, director of marketing for HC Brill Food Service, which makes Karp's Scoop-n-Bake muffins. But for those who remember the importance of how sweet noshes go with amazing coffee, their bottom lines benefit. "What I noticed recently is that my baked good sales were going up, but I was not increasing transactions," Jones says. "What that means is that all of my regular customers are buying more baked goods. That means my customers are getting fat, and they're really enjoying the combination of great baked goods and superior coffee." "When people order something to eat and sit down with a cup of coffee and stay, they order more," says Mike Solomon, president of Yohay Baking, which makes biscottis, cookies and even fudge that can be made in-house. "If they smell the aroma of the fudge and other baked goods, people stick around."

(Roy White) The size of an average sale can also go up—even doubling or tripling, Maayer says. "Instead of just buying a cappuccino for $4, if you add a dessert for $7, then you have an average spending of $11. It will literally be icing on the cake." Karen Loden, who owns the Daily Grind Coffee House with her daughter, Rachel, in Rusk, Texas, knows the importance of serving fresh pastries and muffins. Her daughter is in charge of roasting coffee, and Karen makes cakes, muffins and pastries. "It really brings people in off of the street when they smell something baking," Loden says. "That is something that adds to our business, you might say. I think people come here from around town because they know how good our muffins are."

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(Tal Revino) But it's a challenge for many coffee roasters and storeowners to make baked goods from scratch. "I bought an oven and a mixer, and I was going to do my own baking, but then I realized one of my wholesale customers was a renowned pastry chef," Jones says. "I had her start supplying me until I got my own pastry chef, but then I realized: I'm good at coffee, and she's good at pastries. I am so glad I'm not baking. I couldn't imagine doing the inventory, maintaining the consistency and maintaining the recipes." If you don't bake your own goods, find a reputable local baker and have product delivered fresh. When you're first starting out, one of the challenges will be incurred waste. About 50 percent of the goods will not initially sell, Jones says, and then those leftovers will need to be thrown away, donated to a food pantry or fed to employees the next day. "But don't sell day-old baked goods," Jones cautions. "One of the biggest disservices you could do is offer samplings or sales of day-old product. It's not a good representation of what you offer. The key is to offer things that are fresh and good. The best way to keep things fresh is to run out."

(Celine Gros) It's also important to choose more than one source, advises Steve Goretzko, owner of Sven's Organic Coffee and Café in Milwaukee. "Not everyone makes everything great, so I get select items from those who make choice things," he says. "Some people are better at cookies, some are better at cakes. It's really enjoyable for me to bring back unique items to my customers that they wouldn't ordinarily find." Some café owners and roasters, however, might not be able to find good, reputable bakers in their area, or the waste factor may be too great of a concern. That's where mixes, frozen doughs and other freezer-ready products come in handy. Muffin mixes, frozen scones, biscottis and even triple-layered red velvet cakes are some of the items available. "That aroma has a strong appeal, and you don't get that when baked goods are delivered and dropped off at your doorstep," says John Bilanko, who owns Yveta Gourmet Scone Mixes with his wife, Yvette. "The whole reason we started our business is that we used to own a coffeehouse, and that's how our products originated."

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THE EASY WAY: FatCat Scones offers several varieties of pre-made doughs, including lemon drop. Making the quantities and varieties you need can help you minimize waste. "You can bake all day long so you've got that nice aroma going, and you can bake what you need when you need it," Bilanko says. "When you bake something in house, and customers smell it, the consumers say, 'Wow, this is as fresh as the coffee, I bet,'" says Forsten of HC Brill Food Service. "That will make your shop a destination for fresh-baked products, and fresh comes up over and over again in research studies as the first indicator for consumers that a product is good for them." Another advantage of pre-made, pre-proofed doughs is that labor is not a big factor or cost, and a level of consistency is assured. "It's the ultimate—you scoop it and put it in a pan and bake it with no mixing and no measuring," Forsten says. "It's extremely simple, and you get all the benefits without all that labor in a simple, simple format." An often-overlooked key is the display itself. "If things look aesthetically pleasing, they'll sell," says Nancy Finkelstein, co-owner of Carousel Cakes in Nanuet, N.Y. "Food, in general, has to be inviting to sell; it has to be worth the calories. Things also need to be labeled properly so that customers know what they are." It also can help to have a signature baked item. "We have one signature item—our pear-pecan coffee cake—that is almost like a bread pudding," Jones says. "It is the baked item that just tastes best with our coffee. One of my best wholesale customers has a flourless chocolate cake that was her grandmother's recipe, and she has people waiting for it. It's almost like having strudel with your coffee in Europe. You can't go to a coffeehouse in Europe that doesn't have one. Having a signature pastry is a good way to set yourself apart."

GIVE ME THE DOUGH: Using pre-made doughs cuts down on time and effort but still creates the enticing aroma in your café that will keep customers around. (Geraldine). Once a quality baked goods program is in place, you can increase sales over time by packaging some baked goods in gift baskets. Cookies, biscotti and

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wafer rolls can be paired with coffee, mugs and other retail items to create grab-and-go gifts during the holidays. If you work with a baker or sell pies and cakes, you can also add to your holiday sales. "A lot of coffeehouses we sell to take pre-orders of whole pies and cakes for the holidays," Finkelstein says. Customers who come to love your desserts, muffins or scones might also ask for a few dozen for catered breakfasts. "We've had some little coffee shops add catering to customers who order two or three dozen scones for events," Finnerty says.

BITE SIZE: Biscotti can be cut into smaller pieces for customer sampling. (Nathalie Dulex) When you introduce a new item, Finkelstein suggests offering samples, but make sure they're bite-sized pieces of fresh product—just enough for customers to develop a craving. "If your desserts and baked goods are high quality, once people taste them, they'll buy them," Finkelstein says. "Samples are big, and sometimes you have to spend money to make money." Also, make sure employees know to offer baked goods and desserts to your customers. "It's very simple, but just making sure your customers know what you are selling is important," Finkelstein explains. "Have your employees ask people if they want a cupcake to go with their coffee."

(Ajay Singh) And when it's done right, more and more customers are going to be asking for that cookie, muffin or cake to go with their lattes. "What I love is when people drive from all over the Milwaukee area to come and have my coffee and baked goods," Goretzko says. "It's that right combination that brings people in. And remember, in just the last year, 16 cafés have closed in the Milwaukee area. You have to do things that keep people coming back."

Comments on this article may be sent to [email protected].

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http://www.freshcup.com/back-issues/2007/2007-11/better_baked_goo...

This Issue: $5 U.S.

30 October 2007

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