bake - March 2016 - 30

in our world today. On Wednesdays, we have camel

Owner and executive chef Mary Baldi-Fron explains,

cookies for hump day. In the winter season, our cases

"Customers were asking to purchase the cutouts

are ﬂooded with snowﬂakes, snowmen, and cups of

unfrosted. We were concerned until we realized why!

hot chocolate decorated cookies. During the holidays,

They wanted to purchase the frosting separately and

we like to have our cases full of treats that are for that

frost their own cookies at home with their children,

theme-Christmas, Valentine's Day, Halloween, etc. This

family, and friends. When the repeated requests for

makes it easy for our customers to stop in the bakery

unfrosted cookies kept pouring in, we decided to act."

and stock up for parties or a special treat for someone."
Baldi-Fron posted the ﬁrst kits - developed a month
Dolce and Biscotti Fine Italian Bakery near Saratoga,

before Easter 2015 - to the bakery's Facebook site

New York, provides another great example of a

and set up a display in the bakery.

bakery launching a product to meet consumer
demand. They recently launched cookie decorating

"It was an instant success," she said. "We sold dozens

kits called "Cookies To Decorate," which was devel-

of kits in the ﬁrst week alone as we promoted it as

oped out of their customers' love for their frosted

a family fun and tastier version to decorating hard

sour cream cutout cookies.

boiled eggs."
Going the Extra Mile
In addition to listening to consumers' direct requests,
it can be beneﬁcial to anticipate their wants and give
them more than they know they need. For example,
Sugar Fix Bakery recently launched its decorated
sugar cookies into the wedding industry. But Foster
and her team had an idea to offer more than what
people were asking for.
"Our customers have always come to us for cookie
platters for wedding events," she said. "But now
we are inviting them to look beyond the traditional
platters and think how unique it would be to use
cookies as personal gifts-asking their bridesmaids
and groomsmen to be in their wedding party with a

PARTNERING WITH SOCIALLY-CONSCIOUS
ORGANIZATIONS
This past holiday season, California-based La Brea Bakery
teamed with the Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry initiative to help feed a million meals to children in need and also
launched a Thanksgiving Hero campaign, inviting people to
visit the company's Facebook page to nominate a loved one
who had to work on Thanksgiving to receive a full holiday
meal at work. These two acts elevated the brand's visibility
and boosted the perceived value of the brand, as consumers
are increasingly seeking out products that contribute to the
greater good. This grass-roots-style heightened brand awareness allowed the bakery to easily and successfully launch a
line of farm-to-table and gluten-free breads.

cookie, or leaving a special cookie on their guests'
plates during the reception."
Using Local Inspiration
Lastly, use your surroundings to inspire and successfully launch new products. Good L'Oven Cookie Shop
in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania provides a great example.
The storefront next door to the bakery is occupied by
The Muddy Cup coffee shop, and the two businesses
have long referred customers to each other. After all,
who can resist cookies and coffee?
Soon, however, Good L'Oven plans to take the partnership up a notch by introducing beverage-themed
ﬂavors, such as Earl Grey, into its cookies. The product
will almost launch itself to the dual-customer base.

30 < MAR 2016 | bakemag.com

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bake - March 2016

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