Bakery Questions, surveying potential market

Hi all! I'm thinking about opening a cake decorating business/bakery in the northwest suburbs. Before I do, I'm trying to find out more about my potential customers (many of you reading here).

1. Do you ever buy decorated cakes? If so, for what occasions? How many per year?

2. Who do you currently buy cakes and desserts from?

3. What did you pay for that cake? If you remember, what size and flavors was it?

4. What complaints or compliments do you have about the "average bakery"?

5. Are you a male or female?

Thank-You!! Please feel free to write any thoughts you have on this subject.

So far 23 people have read this thread and no one has responded. Does that mean you don't buy cakes or your not interested?

A little of both. I do not buy decorated cakes, and I do not live in the Northwest suburbs.

I have no real interest in buying cakes, especially decorated cake, especially the ones that you see on television.

Have less interest in the cupcake craze.

When I do want a cake, it is generally purchased from an ethnic bakery that has been around several generations. Right now, I like tres leche cakes.

If I need a standard run of the mill cake for work, I head to Walmart or a club store and buy a sheet cake. Most of the people working at my local Walmart are FORMER employees of the local "mom & pop" bakeries in the area only they are now better paid and have medical insurance.

For pastries, I prefer going to panaderias or the local independent markets like Joseph's Marketplace or Joe Caputo's.

I don't see a real demand right now.

Jonah wrote:A little of both. I do not buy decorated cakes, and I do not live in the Northwest suburbs.

Ditto.

I've eaten a few decorated cakes lately, but didn't get enough info about them to properly respond to this survey (I know that one was from Sweet Mandy B's and another may have been from Costco).

Same here. The last decorated cake I have purchased or consumed was from the Bleeding Heart...and that was two years ago. Maybe three.

I live in the NW suburbs. Currently, I like Hippo (Mitsuwa), Oakmill and Joe Caputo's for my bakery items close to home. I like these bakeries b/c their selection is not overly sweet.

I will caveat that I bake A LOT. I always bake the special occasion cake for my immediate family. When I go to a bakery, I usually buy something I would not bake myself. I am disappointed whenever I enter a bakery only to see things that I can bake on my own. I also get turned off when I see a bakery case where everything is individually wrapped in plastic wrap. It just doesn't seem fresh to me. I would like to see a bakery incorporate seasonal fruits into their selection or offer a small rotating menu.

Good luck.

I was hoping it was a post to tell me that a new bakery making at least passable baguettes was going to open in Lincoln square/Albany Park...

Thanks so far for your time and honesty! I hope more people will still respond.

Sorry, no breads I'm a pastry chef...

Married to an amateur pastry chef, so we rarely purchase whole decorated cakes. That said, we do try to support the bakeries close to us (we're in Norwood Park, not sure where in the NW you were planning to land) by visiting once in a while and purchasing slices, pastries, cookies, etc. (and coffee). I'd love to see Austrian style pastries... not too sweet and bready, but rather flaky and lightly glazed. Croissants, little quiches, savory pastries too. I have yet to find a true Konditorei in the Chicago area, though.

I wonder if this forum might be too filled with do-it-yourselfers to give you a true snapshot of your potential clientele. Perhaps City-Data or Craigslist might be better?

Good luck!

mamagotcha wrote:I wonder if this forum might be too filled with do-it-yourselfers to give you a true snapshot of your potential clientele.

Excellent point. Never do market research with only people who think like you do.

I wonder if this forum might be too filled with do-it-yourselfers to give you a true snapshot of your potential clientele

Plus people whose tastes run to "ethnic" products, for want of a better term.

The last decorated cake I bought was about 2 years ago at the Three Tarts bakery in Northfield. It was small, max 8", and cost in the range of $20. It was elaborately decorated but not personalized.

I tend to patronaize local bakeries and my main issues are with freshness and a usually narrow product range, especially in pastries, which i prefer to cakes.

I never buy cakes and rarely buy bakery because I bake my own. The last bakery we bought was at Vanille in the French Market. I bought macarons and two other desserts. What I would want in a bakery is individual sized desserts that are fancier or more complicated than what I want to make at home. Or a dessert cafe kind of place that I could go for something sweet and some good coffee.

Hi Wendy--

Sorry, I'm another one of those DIY types. Worse, I am way too cheap to spring for most bakery goods!

That said, I do see lots of store-bought cakes when I go to birthday parties with my 5-year-old. Most of the cakes I see are sheet or layer decorated cakes for kiddie birthday parties. Those range from Dinkel's to Costco to Jewel cakes, in order of decreasing quality. You might consider the kiddie market-- in "these tough economic times" (a phrase that should be expunged from the lingo, sorry), my intuition is that people will spend less on a big ol' fancy cake but will still splurge for three things: their kids, their pets, and a wedding.

So, if you can think about ways to appeal to the kiddie market, it might give you a niche. Licensing Disney characters is probably off the table, but if you can work up a princess cake and a truck cake of some sort, you will be in good shape-- plus you will earn the undying gratitude of parents who can satisfy the little one whilst getting a cake that is not full of hydrogenated fat and preservatives.

Another kiddie thought is a cupcake-decorating kit-- doubles as a birthday cake and a party activity. You would provide a set of plain frosted (a variety of colors works, but MUST include pink) cupcakes and a set of decorations (candies, sprinkles, etc) in small containers. The kids apply the decorations themselves and then eat the cupcake. It works great if you can give each kid one cupcake to eat and one to take home as a party favor-- I rig paper cups as cupcake carriers, which I can explain if there is interest. This is something I do for my daughter's birthday and the kids seem to enjoy it-- they certainly come up with some amazingly loaded cupcake creations.

These are just a few ideas thrown out there-- I don't know how they fit with your vision, so take them or leave them as they do reflect my current kiddie-centric life. I do wish you the best and look forward to hearing more about your bakery!

Best, Jen

P.S. Edited to add, does anyone think pie is the new cupcake-- as in next for a craze? And have you seen tgoddess's pie-on-a-stick marvels in the Random Food Photos thread. Oh my oh pie...

Pie-love wrote:Hi Wendy--

-- I rig paper cups as cupcake carriers, which I can explain if there is interest.

I'm definitely interested in that...

Pie-love wrote:P.S. Edited to add, does anyone think pie is the new cupcake-- as in next for a craze?

Absolutely. My money's on hand pies, like gourmet versions of the Hostess ones.

Marmish wrote:

Pie-love wrote:Hi Wendy--

-- I rig paper cups as cupcake carriers, which I can explain if there is interest.

I'm definitely interested in that...

Okay, take a paper cup that will fit the cupcake at the bottom. Cut a strip of paper (I use parchment) about 1 inch wide and 8 inches long, and place that over the opening of the cup. Put the cupcake on top of the paper and let the cake fall to the bottom of the cup. The paper should rest underneath the cupcake so that you can pull on the ends of the paper and retrieve the cupcake. You can crease the paper so that it sits easily at the bottom of the cup. The cup is deeper than the cupcake is tall, so it protects the frosting and decorations. Cover the whole thing with plastic wrap and secure with a rubber band.

Is that clear? I can post pictures next time I make cupcakes...

Jen

Pie-love wrote:

Marmish wrote:

Pie-love wrote:Hi Wendy--

-- I rig paper cups as cupcake carriers, which I can explain if there is interest.

I'm definitely interested in that...

Okay, take a paper cup that will fit the cupcake at the bottom. Cut a strip of paper (I use parchment) about 1 inch wide and 8 inches long, and place that over the opening of the cup. Put the cupcake on top of the paper and let the cake fall to the bottom of the cup. The paper should rest underneath the cupcake so that you can pull on the ends of the paper and retrieve the cupcake. You can crease the paper so that it sits easily at the bottom of the cup. The cup is deeper than the cupcake is tall, so it protects the frosting and decorations. Cover the whole thing with plastic wrap and secure with a rubber band.

Is that clear? I can post pictures next time I make cupcakes...

Jen

Genius. Perfectly clear, thanks.

things i'm interested in: doughnuts, traditional breads/cakes from Ireland&Scotland.

mamagotcha wrote:I wonder if this forum might be too filled with do-it-yourselfers to give you a true snapshot of your potential clientele. Perhaps City-Data or Craigslist might be better?

Good luck!

I think your right, thanks for the tip. Thanks for the help everyone!!

If you think of anything else to add to this conversation please do, I'll keep checking back.

have you identified a shop you want to emulate? I just don't see how you can generate enough cash flow selling $40plus cakes. How many of those do you need to sell/day to break even?

not that i love the place, but Red Hen generates cash with a diverse product mix, coffee & sandwich sales, etc. Fleecing parents out of $3 for a cookie, etc.

Not that I could ever be like a Starbucks............but who thought a coffee shop would generate enough cash to locate one on every corner? Or a place just selling bagels, or cinnabons or cream puffs, etc...

Well there sure are a lot of high end cake decorators that work on appointment only basis in Chi area. Maybe there's even more people who need mid. priced cakes? Actually there are a lot of bakeries in the city of Chicago........but as you go out into the burbs the numbers/selection diminishes. I'm in Crystal Lake and there's 3 bakeries I can think of in my general area and none that I would buy anything from.


Assuming that most:

Bridal Showers
Baby Showers
Children's Birthdays
Graduations
Major adult Birthdays
Major Adult Anniversaries
Weddings

have a decorated cake........people are getting them somewhere in the suburbs. I realize Costco and grocery stores sell the majority of cakes. There has to be somewhere where a person can buy a cake worthy of eating, no? Last time I bought a cake for an Anniversary party I drove 1/2 hr. away to Deerfields in Schaumburg area, it was $120.00 and horrible tasting!

The more diversity of product a bakery has increases it's odds of producing a poor product (in my opinion). I can't do everything well! But I can do more then just decorated cakes.......I'm trying to feel out the market.

well best of luck. maybe you can set up a certified kitchen in your home and just do custom orders?

It's not legal for anyone to sell food from their homes in IL. You can do that in several other states.....so if you know anyone doing so.......don't eat it, don't buy it!

Wendy DeBord wrote:It's not legal for anyone to sell food from their homes in IL. You can do that in several other states.....so if you know anyone doing so.......don't eat it, don't buy it!

That may be a regulation enforced in Chicago and the collar counties. However, head downstate and you'll find home-baked pies that are better than you'll find in Chicago. And that is a baked item that I will buy.

Make good relations with all the places around where people could have weddings that don't do the food themselves. My wedding was at a suburban hotel and they did the cake themselves - would NOT allow anything brought in.

Wendy DeBord wrote:It's not legal for anyone to sell food from their homes in IL. You can do that in several other states.....so if you know anyone doing so.......don't eat it, don't buy it!

Hypothetically speaking, that makes no difference to me as long as I know and trust the source.

As for a bakery specializing in decorated cakes, I am stunned by the apparent popularity of this niche at the moment. There are so many shows on tv which focus on cakes that are techincally edible and yet completely unappealing. Perhaps that popularity would translate into brisk sales but if it were me, I wouldn't bank my money on it.

=R=

Pie-love wrote:Hi Wendy--

Sorry, I'm another one of those DIY types. Worse, I am way too cheap to spring for most bakery goods!

That said, I do see lots of store-bought cakes when I go to birthday parties with my 5-year-old. Most of the cakes I see are sheet or layer decorated cakes for kiddie birthday parties. Those range from Dinkel's to Costco to Jewel cakes, in order of decreasing quality. You might consider the kiddie market-- in "these tough economic times" (a phrase that should be expunged from the lingo, sorry), my intuition is that people will spend less on a big ol' fancy cake but will still splurge for three things: their kids, their pets, and a wedding.

So, if you can think about ways to appeal to the kiddie market, it might give you a niche. Licensing Disney characters is probably off the table, but if you can work up a princess cake and a truck cake of some sort, you will be in good shape-- plus you will earn the undying gratitude of parents who can satisfy the little one whilst getting a cake that is not full of hydrogenated fat and preservatives.

Another kiddie thought is a cupcake-decorating kit-- doubles as a birthday cake and a party activity. You would provide a set of plain frosted (a variety of colors works, but MUST include pink) cupcakes and a set of decorations (candies, sprinkles, etc) in small containers. The kids apply the decorations themselves and then eat the cupcake. It works great if you can give each kid one cupcake to eat and one to take home as a party favor-- I rig paper cups as cupcake carriers, which I can explain if there is interest. This is something I do for my daughter's birthday and the kids seem to enjoy it-- they certainly come up with some amazingly loaded cupcake creations.

These are just a few ideas thrown out there-- I don't know how they fit with your vision, so take them or leave them as they do reflect my current kiddie-centric life. I do wish you the best and look forward to hearing more about your bakery!

Best, Jen

P.S. Edited to add, does anyone think pie is the new cupcake-- as in next for a craze? And have you seen tgoddess's pie-on-a-stick marvels in the Random Food Photos thread. Oh my oh pie...

Hi Jen, I have been read your post here. I've also got some ideas here for my nephew's birthday tomorrow. I was really thankful because I've already finalized the party. Thanks for this Jen.

it is a tough biz. making the product & staying in the price range to sell the product

Khaopaat wrote:

Pie-love wrote:P.S. Edited to add, does anyone think pie is the new cupcake-- as in next for a craze?

Absolutely. My money's on hand pies, like gourmet versions of the Hostess ones.

What happened to Khaopaat's Cupcake Sammies?!

FWIW, my money is still on doughnuts.

-Dan