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Starting a wholesale bakery

758 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  lagom 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,

I'm new here and would like your feedback on some ideas I'm throwing regarding opening a wholesale bakery in Idaho. The bakery would deliver goods (pastries, brownies, breads etc) to local grocery stores such as Albertsons, WholeFoods, the Co Op on a daily basis. We're wondering what's the best way to probe the market to see if there is demand out there and what price should we charge.

Thank you,

squardius
 
#2 · (Edited)
Welcome to Chef Talk @squardius /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif.

This is a case of putting the cart before the horse.

You need a solid product and facts re how much it costs you to make (not just the brownie but the brownie plus the cost of doing business plus profit) then you shop it around to the retail places and see if they are interested.

Keep in mind the fact that the large chains almost always have in house bakeries and are not all that interested in inviting in any competition unless it is something that is new and fresh and has proven to be popular.

Do you have a product in the testing stage yet?

mimi
 
#3 ·
What flipflopgirl said, especially the part about "has proven to be popular".

No store wants to carry something that doesn't sell well, and they want customer recognition of the brand whenever possible.

You also have to acknowledge that the store will mark up your product anywhere from 35%-50%, your whlsl. price has to factor this in.

The "big boys" like whole foods lean heavily on suppliers, they will want an initial free shipment of every item per store, they will hit you up with their advertising schemes and their charity drives, they'll make you pay a listing fee per item too. In store demos of course, too.

You do have bar codes and nutritional charts for every item, right?
 
#4 · (Edited)
Let's not forget advertising support, volume pricing, buy back/ credit replacements, demos, shelving and displays, food shows, the list goes on and on.

I had and sold my baking operation a couple years ago and the I supplied my own retail and numerous cafes, and small independent grocery stores. I've changed my focus now and import and distribute a couple hundred different items with 2 new lines coming into the country this week. It's tough but doable, and profitable, abet not at first. Truth be told I much more enjoy the catering side of my business better but in the long term this is a much more doable business for a broken down old man like me, can't swing a knife forever.

Good luck to you.
 
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