On the Go: In-Store Bakeries Cater to Customers

Each November, the Dia de Los Muertos celebration is a chance for Northgate Gonzalez Market to showcase the in-store bakery’s specialty grab-and-go items.

The Anaheim, Calif.-based chain with a large Hispanic clientele builds large displays with traditional treats. The displays include items like sugar skulls, which are handmade and brought in from Mexico City, and pan de muerto, along with other food and nonfood products associated with the Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration.

“We try to do that for every holiday like for Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas and el Dia de Los Reyes [Three Kings Day] for our king’s bread,” said Manuel Gonzalez, Northgate’s bakery director.

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While such seasonal displays may draw attention to the in-store bakery, retailers should be mindful of the department at all times, according to Jonna Parker, an in-store bakery specialist at Nielsen Perishables Group, who called bakeries “an image-builder for the entire store.”

“Even if consumers aren’t stopping in the bakery and making a purchase on every single trip, based on their position at most grocery stores, they’re walking right through it. And it’s one of those departments that help that perception even if it doesn’t always make it in the basket,” said Parker.

Retailers should make decisions about what bakery products to keep behind the counter and which to put out as grab-and-go with that in mind, Parker said. She suggested the items that go behind the glass should be the best looking and the ones that retailers want customers to remember, even if they aren’t the fastest turning or the most profitable.

“And then I think some of the other categories or products to put as ... grab-and-go are the ones you do want to build quick turns, and certainly the ones you want to gain those incremental impulse purchases,” said Parker.

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Grab-and-go items should definitely be available in high traffic areas of the bakery department and even elsewhere in the store where customers might be induced to drop them in their baskets, Parker added.

At A&P, based in Montvale, N.J., customers can find dessert and specialty cakes as well as single-serving cupcakes and Italian desserts behind the glass.

“Our signature, premium and specialty products are positioned behind the counter for personalized service,” said Nancy Gaddy, vice president of deli and bakery.

In contrast, A&P uses the grab-and-go cases to highlight “core items” like doughnuts, muffins, rolls and bagels, alongside packaged bread and dessert items.