Baking&Snack - March 2013 - 12

EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor
Executive Editor
Managing Editor

Pricing the calculated risk

When it comes to engineering a better bakery, most project managers loathe
being the guinea pig on a prototype or revolutionary new system. Conventional
wisdom: Let someone else work out the kinks. Who needs those headaches?
Sure, there are dozens of horror stories about blue-sky initiatives gone gray,
but being risk-adverse often isn’t a better alternative. When Tennessee Bun Co.
decided to replace its aging biscuit oven because of quality issues, the company
searched for the most consistent bake it could find — of course, within its price
range. After it identified a system it liked, the management team did its homework, which involved four months of analysis on a European hearth impingement oven, to be exact, before it felt comfortable cutting the purchase order.
“The real challenge was nobody in the world was using that oven for biscuit
baking, so there was a lot of concern about that,” said Alan Edington, vicepresident of operations. “You never want to be serial No. 1, but we were the
first serial on this one.”
For Mr. Edington, the homework paid off. “That oven delivers the most consistency of any oven out there, and quite honestly, it has been the easiest oven
to operate,” he said.
The problem with playing it safe is that companies end up making similar
products on the same equipment and competing on price instead of on quality, noted Nadine Salameh, executive vice-president, Bakery de France. Maybe
using tried-and-true systems works for baking white bread or buns for a sandwich chain. However, she noted artisan bakers are wired in a different way.
They tend to avoid off-the-shelf systems. In fact, Bakery de France worked with
vendors for up to a year to custom design its equipment for its new Frederick,
MD, bakery. The move helped separate the bakery from competitors who were
selling what she called “commodity artisan bread.”
“If you don’t take a risk, you don’t make any progress,” Ms. Salameh explained. “If you want to invest millions of dollars to compete against the biggest in the industry over price, that’s not a good idea, especially for someone
our size.”
By taking the road less traveled, Bakery de France is learning more than ever
about making its signature artisan breads. The equipment, Ms. Salameh
said, is teaching them new ways about how to make their line of allnatural products.
“What are we best at? Making creative and innovative products,” she said. “It always costs more, but in the long term, it is
a winning formula for us and the baking industry in general.”
Her advice for companies planning to invest at IBIE 2013?
Find a way to differentiate yourself — or else.
“The industry needs to wake up,” she stressed. “Everything
you are faced with as far as pricing is your own doing. Progress
is never easy.”
Just don’t forget to do your homework.
— Dan Malovany, editor
dmalovany@sosland.com

/ Baking & Snack / March 2013

Senior Editor

Dan Malovany
dmalovany@sosland.com
Laurie Gorton
lgorton@sosland.com
Joanie Spencer
jspencer@sosland.com
Shane Whitaker
swhitaker@sosland.com

Assistant Editor

Charlotte Atchley
catchley@sosland.com
Contributing Editors:
Donna Berry
donnaberry@dairy-food.com
Theresa Cogswell
bakercogs@sbcglobal.net
Jeff Dearduff
jdearduff@gmail.com
Jim Kline
jkline@theensolgroup.com
Joe Stout
joestout@cf-san.com
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Baking&Snack - March 2013

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