The baguette is a cliché that sticks to the skin of the French, without there being any need to worry about it because, it is well known, foreigners envy us our bread.

You are passionate about baking "tradition," and you know that a bread outlet has the right to call itself a bakery only if the bread has been kneaded there on the spot and know by heart the precise list of cereals needed to making lumberjack bread?

Thinking of opening a bakery store or bakery kiosk in mall? Good news, to help you in this process, you will find in this article advice on the steps you will need to take to make your project a reality: market study, local search, business plan, fundraising, etc.

#1. Carry out the market research of a bakery

The first step in opening a bakery is to conduct bakery market research to verify sufficient demand in the location area.

To do this, you will need to analyze in detail:

  • The characteristics of your future clientele: is it a neighbourhood clientele or people working nearby? So what are the peak times? The most requested products? The frequency of purchase and the average ticket?
  • Bakeries already established nearby: what types of bread do they offer? Do they also offer pastries or sandwiches? Are customers happy with the current offer?
  • Trends in the sector: how are consumption habits changing? Is the trend towards independent bakeries or franchises? Are large food stores a danger for artisan bakeries?

bakery bar counter design

#2. The bakery market in France

The growing bakery sector is doing well.

In 2015, there were just over 32,000 bakeries in France. The bakery sector is doing well and is seeing its turnover increase in value and volume.

Prices in the sector tend to increase, accompanied by a move upmarket. In fact, as in other food sectors, the consumer is ready to pay more for a quality product in the bakery sector.

According to the INBP Technical Supplement, The bakery and pastry trade, developments and benchmarks: "food is, even more in times of crisis, a haven, a source of pleasure that the French do not want to deprive themselves of."

The consumption of bread is also tending to increase. The "gluten-free" trend has no noticeable impact on this inexpensive food that accompanies French meals. They are attached to tradition and are fond of this product, which to stick to the trend of "better eating" is also available in organic.

Competition from industrial bakery

However, the picture is not all rosy, and traditional bakery faces stiff competition from industrial bakery-pastry-making.

Indeed, the industrial BVP continues to grow to the detriment of the artisan bakery by offering lower prices and surfing on the French's love for these products, which are part of everyday life: bread, baguette, croissant, etc...

To meet the demand for authenticity and craftsmanship, the industrial BVP takes care of its points of sale, and now large and medium-sized surfaces have a department equipped with a traditional decor reminiscent of the traditional bakery.

Therefore, the bakery sector is a flourishing sector in which the artisan bakeries and the industrial bakery sector clash. But the panorama would be incomplete if we did not mention the growing importance of branded networks, mainly in cooking terminals.

Note: to be called a bakery, according to the decree of September 13, 1993, also known as the "bread decree," the bread must be kneaded and baked on-site. However, franchises are generally only sales points where the bread is delivered ready for sale or delivered ready for baking. They cannot benefit from the bakery appellation.

100+ Bakery Bar Counter Design With Display Showcase

Bakery market trends and projections

The excellent health of the bakery sector should continue, in particular, driven by a rise in prices due to a move upmarket in the products sold. Competition from industrial bakeries and franchises should slightly reduce the number of independent artisan bakeries.

To face this competition, there is only one solution: to reinforce the identity of the traditional segment and to offer products of very high quality, with a strong taste, possibly organic, and to bring the baker's know-how up to date.

#3. Open an independent or franchised bakery?

Once you have completed your market research, you will need to define the commercial positioning of your future bakery:

  • What type of store do you want to open, what target, and what concept: traditional bakery, industrial bakery, or even bakery specializing in organic products?
  • What types of products will you offer: only bread, with an offer of pastries or pastry, or sandwiches as a supplement?
  • Most importantly, are you planning to open an independent bakery or join a franchise?

The answer to these questions will, of course, depend on your know-how and your desires. But it is essential to ask you these early in the project's planning because they will have a considerable influence on the choice of the ideal location and the profitability potential of your business.

Note: opening a bakery franchise allows you to benefit from many advantages (creation aid, supplier already found, and competitive prices thanks to economies of scale), but the franchise also means less freedom and autonomy. Therefore, it is not recommended if you want to set up an artisanal bakery with creativity as a differentiating factor.

Top 30 Modern Bakery Design With Interior Decoration Ideas

#4. Finding a place for your bakery

The choice of location for your bakery will largely depend on the number of people (or not) in your shop. Therefore, the situation of your bakery is a critical element that will have a considerable influence on turnover. To choose the best possible location, you must take into account several criteria.

The first criterion to take into account: the passage and frequentation of the place. Indeed, a shop located in a bustling place will ensure good visibility. A busy street in the city center seems ideal, but one can also consider installing a residential district, a shopping center, or near a train station or an office district.

The second criterion to consider: your bakery's direct environment must be consistent with your commercial positioning. If you choose to locate near a station or an office, you will need to specialize in sandwiches. Likewise, an establishment near a shopping center suggests that you will alleviate small appetites, with pastries, for example. In the city center, between the butcher and the market gardener, you will sell more bread, and possibly cakes if you also offer pastry.

Also, keep in mind that a bakery requires a substantial surface area since the bread must be made on site. A simple point of sale (even if the bread is baked on-site) requires less surface area. However, the larger your premises, the higher the rent or the purchase price will be.

#5. What legal structure to create a bakery?

Starting a bakery, like any business start-up, requires choosing a legal status for the business.

Sole proprietorship, simplified joint-stock company (SAS), possibly one-person (SASU), limited liability company (SARL), one-person limited liability company (EURL), ... The possibilities are numerous, and your choice must, above all, be dictated by your project.

Indeed, the legal status of your bakery must be consistent with what you imagine for your structure, in particular concerning the number of partners, the starting capital you have, but also in terms of tax and social security.

#6. The human and material needs to open a bakery

The next step in creating a bakery is to assess the human and material needs necessary for the operation of your activity to include them in your estimated budget.

The material needs for opening a bakery

Opening a bakery requires significant purchases:

  • material required for kneading and cooking
  • necessary sales equipment: cash register, payment terminal
  • the layout of the shop with counter, display cases, decorative elements, fire safety equipment
  • initial stock of food raw materials
  • marketing investments: illuminated sign, website
  • etc.

The recruitment needs of a bakery

To establish an accurate forecast budget, you will also need to assess your staffing needs.

If you do not have it yourself, you will first need to hire a person with a professional qualification allowing you to exercise the activity of baker - pastry chef legally.

You will also need to hire sales staff, ideally of course with a keen interest in the industry. Here the needs will depend strongly on the surface of your room and the opening hours planned.

#7. Additional services to take into account when opening a bakery.

Setting up a bakery also requires that your estimated budget takes into account all the ancillary services essential to the smooth running of your establishment: insurance for your bakery, cleaning, and maintenance, administrative and accounting management, etc.

You can also sell juice, bubble tea, fruit tea in your bakery and turn them into a combined juice bar store.

You can, of course, consider outsourcing some of these tasks. For example, you can turn to a cleaning company, a manager, or an accountant.

Whether it is for the purchase of equipment or the subscription of ancillary services, remember to ask for detailed quotes and to compete to obtain the best services at the best prices.

#8. The marketing plan of a bakery

Once you have assessed your material and personnel needs, it will be time to look at the marketing actions to put in place to acquire and retain your customers.

Many marketing actions are possible; it remains to define which ones are best suited to your project.

Street marketing is an effective communication tool suited to local businesses: flyer distribution campaigns in the street or letterboxes will quickly get you to know people who work or live in the neighborhood.

Also, remember to announce the opening of your bakery in the local press in the form of advertising inserts and referenced on Google Map and in the directory of your city.

A loyalty program and promotions remain safe values ​​(1 croissant offered for every ten purchased, for example). But you can also choose to create virtual slates for your customers who fill it with their credit card - for example, 20 € - and who can spend this amount several times without having to pay you (and have changed) each time.

#9. The business plan of a bakery

When you have completed all of the previous steps, it will be time to compile and write the business plan for your bakery.

The business plan of a bakery is a document presenting your project in a costed and argued manner. Its objectives are:

  • To allow you to verify that your project is financially viable, at least on paper
  • To convince your financial partners of the qualities and chances of success of your project to obtain financing
  • To serve as a roadmap for the years to come

The business plan being the reference document that the banks will ask you to grant you financing, it must be impeccable both in substance and in form.

#10. Finding funding to launch your bakery

Creating a bakery requires a significant investment. For example, it takes a total investment of between € 250,000 and € 400,000 to open a franchised bakery and a personal contribution of at least 30% of this amount. But if you are opening a bakery kiosk in a shopping mall, the investment is much lower, as € 50,000-100,000.

You have different means available to raise this sum.

In the first place, you will have to build up a personal contribution: by drawing on your savings, by looking for partners, or by appealing to your relatives (for example, by launching a crowdfunding campaign).

You can then turn to banks and credit institutions to obtain a loan to finance part of the equipment purchases.

Also, think about the possibilities that exist in terms of help with creating a business with devices that often offer financial assistance, either via a loan at an advantageous rate or in the form of a tax credit.