How To Run Your Bakery Efficiently And Turn It Into A Profitable Business – With so many people including bread in their meals one way or another, it’s no wonder that there are so many bakeries around the country to service the attendant demands. But how viable is the business for those wishing to start it or even for those already in it? 

 

To get the truth from those involved in the day-to- day   running   of   bakeries, SuccessDigest Extra! Sought answers from a top baker in town. Mr. Nambol P. Zwalma is the Assistant Chief Baker, Meals   and Events Centre, an event center located on No.1, Nwanchukwu Drive, off Okota Road, Lagos, and he confirmed that though the bakery business is a highly lucrative one, it must be done properly and well managed for you to do it profitably.  He shares his strategies with us in this interview and below are the excerpts: 

 

How To Manage The Business For Maximum Profit 

Have a Standard: Firstly, you need to have and maintain a standard. This is where experience comes in. You need experience of the business and you have to work with experienced and skilled people. You must be able to create something unique. This is because there are lots of bread in the market. 

For example, the bread we produce from our bakery here at Meals and Event Centre can be eaten without anything because they are very delicious and rich. You don’t need butter, beans or soft drinks. They are sliced bread and you can eat the slices and enjoy them even if you have nothing to go with it. 

Ensure High Maintenance for Your Equipment: You also have to take care of your equipment. If you don’t take care of your equipment especially your pans,  your  bread  will  be  dirty  and  when  your customers begin to notice such stains and dirt on your loaves, your sales will drop. Your environment must also be neat and clean or else you will be having tiny stones in your bread which is not good for your business.  We  wash  our  pans  and  trays  every Saturday  to  ensure  they  are  dirt-free  and  clean enough.  

Do a Proper Feasibility Study: You have to study the market. You have to know what makes most preferred loaves to be in high demand and how you can also make yours like that. Demand might rise sometimes and at other times it may fall.  For example, we have to watch out for decrease in demand and concentrate on other areas because of the unique nature of our immediate environment and those customers who reside there. 

During festive period, most of the bread distributors travel to their country homes, especially when your bakery is situated where you have more people from the Eastern part of the country because they travel during this period. At such periods, we have less distributors supplying bread. So demand for bread will be high. So you have to know, if people are buying your bread because they enjoy it or because that is the only alternative they have. 

 

How to Stay Ahead of the Competition 

Improve the Quality of your Product: Make sure your bread is of good quality. Your product should be able to sell itself. Make use of the best condiments. Use good flours, butter and vegetable oil. One thing most bakers don’t understand is that, it is not all the brands of butter in the market are good for baking bread. Some are better for pastries; some are good for bread, though you can still use the butter you use for bread for pastries. Making use of quality condiments makes your bread a choice one among many others and makes it to last long in the market. Our brand of bread stays for about 5 days before it changes taste and 7 days before it goes bad. This is because we make use of the best ingredients in baking them. 

At the inception of every bakery, there is a standard set. We at Meals and Event Centre have decided that on no condition would we go below our initial standard and produce substandard products. You can improve on your quality but you shouldn’t go below it. Consistency in quality and high demands go together in business. 

Also, make sure you supply only fresh bread to the market.  If any bread stays in our bakery more than a day, we would sell them below the market price just to show it is not our usual standard. 

Handle  the  Mixing  Well: Another  thing  that makes  our  bread  different  and  better  than  your competition’s is the mixing. You need a good mixer. The way each baker mixes his flour may be different but mixing is very important if you want to get a quality finished product. 

Pay Attention to Details: You also need to be very careful when producing by paying close attention to seemingly minor details. Don’t just say this is what we have been doing. By the time you put all the condiments together and you start mixing but maybe because you were not attentive and you forgot to add a tablet of a particular condiment or you put too much or a little too small, it could spoil the whole process and even the taste. It may even change the texture of the bread.  We also try to maintain our formula and improve on it.

 

This article first appeared on Successdigest Digital Magazine – How To Run Your Bakery Efficiently And Turn It Into A Profitable Business