Start A Bakery - Business Ideas
Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.
Everyone loves baked goods, be it sweet items like cakes, muffins, and cookies or savory baked food like pizzas, buns, bread, and puff pastry. Baking takes a lot of effort and patience, which is why many people buy baked items from stores or restaurants instead of baking them at home.
Starting a bakery can be a rewarding business opportunity if you have a passion for baking. If you plan to start a bakery, consider that happy customers often become repeat customers. Therefore, always focus on quality and work on customer satisfaction.
To start a bakery , pick an ideal format. Some options include:
- Counter-style bakery
- A hybrid bakery with a cafe,
- Food truck with a bakery
- Home bakery.
Write a suitable business plan and choose the correct location.
Starting a bakery requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.
If you're interested in how to sell baked goods, or selling baked goods online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.
Want to learn more? You can check out our full guide on how to start a bakery ➜
Key Stats
Startup Costs
| Min Startup Costs | Max Startup Costs | |
|---|---|---|
|
Equipment & Supply Expenses |
$66 |
$1,200 |
|
Retail Business Expenses |
$1,250 |
$11,650 |
|
Inventory Expenses |
$350 |
$14,750 |
|
Advertising & Marketing Costs |
$75 |
$9,636 |
|
Software Expenses |
$0 |
$425 |
|
Website Costs |
$13 |
$215 |
|
Total Startup Costs |
$1,754 |
$37,876 |
Case Studies
•
$25K/mo
•
$4K/mo
•
$2.5K/mo
Successful Businesses
| Business | URL | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Corner Bakery Cafe |
cornerbakerycafe.com |
179,624 |
|
|
Magnolia Bakery |
magnoliabakery.com |
208,458 |
|
|
Purato's |
puratos.com |
244,507 |
|
|
Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery |
snackandbakery.com |
293,680 |
|
|
Georgetown Cupcake |
georgetowncupcake.com |
299,198 |
|
|
Nature's Bakery |
naturesbakery.com |
312,314 |
|
|
Boudin Bakery |
boudinbakery.com |
478,249 |
|
|
Tous Les Jours |
tljus.com |
492,302 |
|
|
Carlo's Bakery |
carlosbakery.com |
510,823 |
|
|
PAUL Bakery, Patisserie, Café and Restaurant |
paul-uk.com |
517,701 |
|
|
Cakes.com |
cakes.com |
548,713 |
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Description |
|---|---|
|
Rewarding work |
Starting a bakery can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about. |
|
Meaningful business connections |
You never know who you will meet as a bakery. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity! |
|
Daily physical activity |
Bakery's typically involve a much greater degree of movement than other lines of work. Most days, you will spend your day walking, running errands for your business, and performing a multitude of tasks. This can have a positive impact on energy levels and your overall health. |
|
Amazing perks and discounts |
Working in the bakery comes with its perks! As a seller for these products/services, you typically also get to enjoy industry perks and discounts. |
|
You are your own boss! |
With starting a bakery, you are the one to make decisions for almost all of the operations. Calling the shots can be empowering and liberating! |
|
Local Community |
One of the best parts of starting a bakery is that you can develop a local following by selling your products at craft shows, farmers' markets, or even local storefront businesses! This gives you access to additional revenue streams and loyal customers. |
| Cons | Description |
|---|---|
|
Crowded Space |
Competition is high when it comes to your bakery, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies. |
|
Finding The Right Supplier |
Most businesses in this space go the supplier/manufacturer route, which isn't a bad thing! However, finding the right supplier can take a lot of time, energy and trial/error. If done properly, this process can save you months (if not years) of time and energy. More on this below in the "finding a supplier" section. |
|
Motivation of employees |
If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees. |
|
Low margins |
The gross margins for your bakery are typically around 43%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability. |
|
High employee turnover |
In the bakery, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment. |
|
Taxes |
As a bakery, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it. |
Marketing Ideas
-
1
Affiliate Program
Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.
Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.
The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.
-
2
Direct Sales
Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.
For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.
-
3
Word of mouth
Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.
Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.
Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.
Hey! 👋 I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.
Get our 5-minute email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
"An amazing network of founders that truly want to help each other grow their business."
