Enhancing your Bakery efficiency and profitability.

There is no doubt that these are difficult times for food businesses. The war in Ukraine and related raw ingredients price hikes, coupled with the UK’s cost of living crisis, is impacting bakeries big and small. Helping our customers to navigate their way through this period is our top priority, as Becky Webster, BFP’s purchasing manager, explains when it comes to enhancing your Bakery efficiency and profitability:

“My key mission at this time is to support bakers (and people who love Baked goodies!) through the ever-challenging cost of living crisis. Cost reduction is of course one side of this, but a key focus of the team is to enhance our bakers’ efficiency and profitability. There are a number of ways to do this…

Extending Shelf life – reducing waste. A key strategy of the purchasing team is to actively source products that offer extended shelf life. By offering ingredients and supplies that maintain their quality over a more extended period, bakers can reduce waste and minimise the need for frequent replenishment. This not only lowers the risk of waste, but also ensures that they can maintain consistent quality in their products, resulting in satisfied customers and increased loyalty. There are some great products out there. I have personally tried the Dawn Long-life Vegan Donut Mix.

Smaller Pack Sizes BFP have a very diverse customer base, and we recognise that larger pack sizes of 25kg don’t suit everyone. We are currently expanding our range of smaller pack sizes – introducing a range of 1kg, 3kg and 5kg powders, mixes, fruits and décor. The flexibility of smaller pack sizes, will enable our bakers to keep a tighter grip on stock management and consequently reduce the risk of products expiring.

Versatility, versatility, versatility!

Product versatility is a crucial aspect of our product selection process. Ingredients that have multiple applications can really maximise the value of a single product.  Bakers can save money by avoiding the need to stock a vast array of ingredients, ultimately, reducing the risk of waste. The Bakels Ready to Use Cream Fillings (available in a multitude of flavours) are a great example. They are bake-stable, injectable, ready to use and also vegan! Macphie also recognise the importance of versatility. I love the ’10 ways with Macphie’ product and recipe campaign focusing on key base ingredients with multiple applications.

Fresh Trends

It’s so important for us to offer bakers new products and new concepts. Exploring new trends and unique (or sometimes retro!) flavours keeps customers engaged and ensures return visits. Our focus is to ensure we have the correct products in our range to enable our bakers not only to keep up with trends, but to stand out from the crowd. With the introduction of the ingredients needed to produce sweet treats such as sweet decorated pretzels, croissant cubes and brioche donuts, our range is expanding fast!