Particularly after Covid lockdowns, the concept of home-bakers has proliferated in Guwahati and majority of these home-bakers are women bakers. If you are reading this now, you may be one among them or aspiring to be soon.
While having a bakery that you operate from home is a fairly cost effective, fun and creative enterprise you should understand that you need to constantly innovate your business strategy to remain in the reckoning of your existing and potential customers.
After talking to a few chefs and industry experts, Saturday Fare zeroed in on some tips that might go a long way in terms of enhancing your business prospects.
Offering smaller or non-standard portion sizes is a great way to bring in new customers and make more money from your existing customers. In addition, you should have a number of options (in terms of your menu) like low-carb, high protein, all natural ingredients etc. This is a clear draw for the health conscious and fitness freaks. Also do display the nutrition information about your offerings.
If your bakery does not specialise in high-protein goods, do not worry. You can easily offer a few higher protein options (like a rotating selection of a few high-protein muffins, cookies and so on) to complement your regular offerings.
Also try sprinkling some local ingredients and flavours into your dough. Since we are reiterating the importance and business sense of healthy options and high-protein desserts, you might think that consumers today are moving away from more indulgent offerings. This is a big misnomer.
"Actually per a research, a walloping 65 percent of consumers across the bakery segment even today care more about how a dessert tastes than its nutritional content," says Rashi Agarwala a Delhi based chef from Guwahati.
She explains, "Consumers view cakes and pies as an indulgence and are gravitating toward high-quality ingredients and well-made, delicious desserts when they want something that fits the bill. While people are concerned about nutrition and health, when they want to treat themselves, they do not want to compromise on taste and texture."
Taking cues from this, we recommend all home-bakers to constantly educate and train themselves on the nuances of baking the more indulgent and rich fare. From exotic biscuits to rich layered cakes and pies, to macaroons, doughnuts, soufflés and mousses you should have it all in your oven if you want to attract the more discerning customer.
It is wise to understand that while sales of gluten-free products may have slowed, allergen-free baked goods are still in demand. Moreover, food allergies are on the rise as well, which means more and more people will be searching for allergen-free products.
"While the metros are packed with allergen-free baked options, cities like Guwahati do not have adequate options and this is a clear opportunity for home-bakers," says Rashi.
She recommends, "Start by assessing what is missing in your local community. Is there a lack of offerings for those who are allergic to nuts, eggs, dairy, and so on? Check out your competition and see what holes you can fill, or speak with your customers and find out what allergies they or their family members are dealing with. This is a great way to make your products stand out from the crowd."
Industry experts also recommend adding some allied lines to your core baking enterprise inorder to augment your income. Having a baking class for children is one such option.
Last but not the least it is vital to have artisanal packaging. Artisanal packaging is an extension of your bakery's branding and deserves plenty of attention.
Having beautiful packaging adds an authentic human touch that consumers love, as it sets handmade, local products apart from mass-produced generic offerings.
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