bake - October 2013 - 48

The Holiday Rush
With the busy holiday season starting its approach, make sure

assuming because they can’t find it anywhere else,” Forjet says.

you’re ready by preparing the staples and coming up with a few
new products and new twists on the classics. The fall and winter

No matter the reason, Forjet knows what sells and when. This

seasons present ample opportunity for sales in the retail bakery,

allows Randazzo’s time to prepare for producing the products

but a shop must prepare itself for the onslaught to take advan-

needed to keep the sales streaming throughout this busy time

tage of this potentially lucrative time of year.

of the year, but desserts are not the only big seller. Randazzo’s
does a lot of bread and pastry sales too. Her family’s own

What sells?

butterette — a flaky pull apart dinner roll — and patty shells

If you don’t already know, figure out which of your products

also sell big during Thanksgiving. And then there’s Christmas.

typically sell the most during which part of the year and be
ready. Before the traditional fall holidays, it’s football that kicks

“Christmas is crazy. If it’s in our price book, if it’s on our menu,

off the season. “Actually, we’re doing several hundred king

customers are ordering it,” Forjet says. However like every

cakes for the start of football season,” says Joel Randazzo

part of the year, certain products demand higher production.

Forjet, owner and sales manager of Nonna Randazzo’s Italian

“Christmas is going to be our petit fours and then our choco-

Bakery and Cafe in Covington, LA. “The Saints are big here and

late doberge cake,” Forjet says. “Then a typical red velvet,

all of our wholesale accounts have orders in for king cakes, so

that’s a big seller, our Italian cream and our yule log.”

production is in full swing.”
Do something different
Once football season is underway, the holiday season begins.

A bakery always needs to produce its staples, but often times

At Nonna Randazzo’s, sales begin to ramp up right before

coming up with a new twist on a classic generates interest

Thanksgiving. “We say Thanksgiving is kind of the practice

among shoppers who might get bored with the same thing

run because it’s a little more limited,” Forjet says. “It’s a larger

year after year. For the fall holidays, Randazzo’s takes one of

volume of bread and pies, but not so much our cakes and

its staple items, the king cake, and puts a fall holiday spin on

finger foods.”

it. It works for them and sells well during the season. “We do
a pumpkin cream cheese king cake instead of just the average

Typically the seasons dictate which products sell the best, but

king cake,” Forjet says.

availability plays a role as well. Knowing your customers and
what they want puts you in a position to offer more of the prod-

Randazzo’s shapes staple items to coincide with the seasonal

ucts that sell better, thus setting you up for the largest amount

holidays to perk up sales. Jack o’ lantern, turkey and Christmas

of sales possible. “Pecan pie is our biggest, then I would say

tree shaped cookies all do well for the holidays. Customers

apple and we actually have a huge demand for mincemeat. I’m

like candy cane and wreathe shaped king cakes, but recently,

48 < OCT 2013 | bakemag.com
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