Industry classics that are gaining in popularity & day-old products you can turn into something new.
Like the fashion industry, the baking industry is seeing some items make a comeback. Although they may not have actually left, Bundt cakes and sourdough bread are becoming extremely popular and can be found on social media sites like Instagram, where sharing pictures of your food is the norm.
Bundt Cakes
Turn back time to the 1970s where Bundt cakes were served as dessert across the United States after the Bundt cake won 2nd place at a baking contest sponsored by Pillsbury. There’s even a franchise store and bakery exclusively dedicated to the popular dessert cake called Nothing Bundt Cakes that creates cakes in a variety of sizes and flavors. If you’re going to add the Bundt cake to your product offering, why not try something new and create your own twist on the classic dish?
Sourdough Bread
As consumers are wanting to return to tradition food-making methods, sourdough bread is rising in popularity. The popular food documentary called Cooked on Netflix can also be credited to the bread’s status as it included a segment on the bread in its Air episode. If you’re thinking of adding sourdough to your bakery or if you already offer the bread to your customers, why not try adding ingredients (such as fruit or chocolate) to your recipe to offer your customers something unique.
Turn Unsold Products into Something New
What can you do with products in your bakery that haven’t sold? As food prices are soaring, we’ve compiled a list of items you can make with unsold bakery items, helping to keep your bakery costs to a minimum.
Cake Donut Truffles
Turn your day-old cake donuts into decadent and delicious Cake Donut Truffles (thanks to Dawn Foods). This recipe can be made with fresh or day-old items (which can help you reduce food waste). Another bonus to the cake donut truffles? Truffles generally retail at a higher price point than a donut.
Crisps, Croutons & Breadcrumbs
If you have any unsold loaves of bread that are beginning to stale, why not make them into croutons, crisps for dipping or breadcrumbs? Simply sprinkle the product with olive oil and salt and place it in the oven.
Cake Balls and Cake Pops
If your bakery has excess cake shavings or crumbs from custom cakes, why not turn them into cake balls or cake pops? You can experiment with adding different ingredients to the cake such as frosting, peanut butter, ganache, sprinkles, or even cookie crumbs. Once your cake balls are cool, you can decide if you want to make a cake ball or cake pop and continue dipping and decorating.
Mini Cupcakes
What do you do with excess batter when baking cakes? Instead of tossing it in the garbage, why not make some mini cupcakes? Even if your extra batter only produces five to ten cupcakes, you can offer them as an item of the day or even samples to walk in traffic.
Rule of thumb when repurposing baked goods – don’t sell an item to your customer that doesn’t meet your level of quality; you don’t want to turn off customers by selling them products that tastes stale.
If you find that your business is producing food waste on a regular basis, consider ramping down your production or introducing ingredients that can help extend product shelf life.