A LEANER REGIMEN

JONNA CRISPENS

In-store bakeries are looking for new ways to cut the fat out of their operations as part of storewide efforts to find efficiencies.

Bakery executives contacted by SN cited a number of ways they are trimming waste and increasing efficiency. They said they are cutting back on variety, eliminating conventional items in favor of signature products that will lure customers back, and investing in machines that take some of the labor out of the labor-intensive department.

Some staunch advocates of scratch operations are starting to inch toward offering more items from frozen dough as a way to free up labor.

"Today's bakery retailers need to operate their department efficiently if they're going to survive in this economic climate," said Anthony Mondello, director of bakery at King Kullen Grocery Co., Westbury, N.Y.

"For our part, we're working toward greater product consistency throughout our 33 in-store bakeries and placing a greater emphasis on our breads and rolls," he said, adding that breads and rolls require fewer ingredients than most other bakery products, which means "less investment and more profit."

The retailer devotes 25% more shelf space to the bread category than it did two years ago, and has added 25% more items to the line.

Tim Ulschmid, director of bakery for Fairway Foods, Minneapolis, said his company is "constantly emphasizing the importance of closely analyzing bakery operations" to its retail customers.

"Let's say a retailer is operating a scratch bakery to increase his profit margins. He needs to look very closely at all his figures. If he's spending 15% of his time to attain 2% of his total sales, he's not spending his time wisely," Ulschmid said.

"He would do better if he used some bake-off or thaw-and-sell products and chose what items he wanted to make from scratch a little more carefully. Doing so would also give him more time to create new merchandising ideas and walk the retail floor, where he can see his department from the customer's perspective."

Ulschmid said the improved quality of bake-off, thaw-and-sell and similar products means retailers are at less risk than ever of compromising quality in their departments by taking production shortcuts. "Our top five selling variety bread products are all par-baked, whereas most of them came from a mix a year ago," Ulschmid said.

At Buckeye Village Market, a five-store independent based in Alliance, Ohio, Kathy Sears, bakery manager for one of the units, said she's taking a closer look at how her employees perform their jobs.

This month "we started asking them to fill out daily production sheets and we'll probably continue requiring them to do so until the Easter holiday. By studying the sheets, we'll be able to see where we can increase our efficiency," she said in an interview.

"We've also expanded our production schedule during the past year, supplementing what used to be a midnight to early morning schedule with a round-the-clock schedule for part of each week," she said. "By doing this, we're able to handle the increased demands in our growing bakery and also give the late afternoon and evening customers fresher products."

Cutting out the ordinary is a strategy that is working for West Linn Thriftway, Portland, Ore., which discontinued "everyday, run-of-the-mill" cookies, breads and other items to concentrate on specialty products. As a result, the two-store independent has focused on its decorated cake business, and has brought it up to represent 40% of department sales, said John Smolders, bakery director. Last year alone the independent sold 450 wedding cakes.

"We're also paying closer attention to our employees, keeping our departments staffed with those who know how to pull their weight," Smolders said. Inserra Supermarkets, Mahwah, N.J., is finding efficiencies through its ordering program for its 14 in-store bakeries, 10 of which are scratch operations. "We now order only what we need at a particular time," said Vinnie Lotito, bakery director for the retailer. "By doing this, we really free up our cash flow."

New equipment has been the key to efficiency for Brookshire Grocery Co., Tyler, Texas, said Beth Pittman, vice president of retail bakery operations.

"We've seen a 15% increase in our cupcake sales during the major holidays and a consistent 6% to 7% increase year-round because of a depositor we now have in our 39 in-store bakeries."

The depositor allows employees to make cupcakes and other items much faster than they could by hand, Pittman said. "Because we can make product in much greater quantities during the same amount of time, we've been able to offer our customers more attractive specials," she said. "And because the batter is deposited in premeasured amounts, nonbakery employees can use the machine with very minimal instruction."

Cleaning up the mess also has been the target of efficiency efforts at Brookshire. The retailer now has automatic washing machines for its pans and equipment in more than a dozen of its bakeries and is adding them to all new and larger stores.

"Before the automatic washers, our department employees were spending up to 32 hours per week washing pots and equipment -- and sometimes it was the higher-paid employees who were doing the washing," she said. "The hours saved can now be devoted to production or customer service."

An automatic shrink-wrapping machine has allowed Brookshire to wrap twice the amount of the product it used to wrap by hand. "Although we don't use the system to extend shelf life, we do use it to help guarantee that the customer takes home the freshest product possible. As a result, we build our reputation and customer loyalty," Pittman said.

Rice Food Markets, Houston, has narrowed down variety to increase efficiency. "Instead of offering a wide selection of items, like the typical supermarket, we carry a more limited selection, but concentrate very strongly on product quality, which has helped us create a loyal customer base," said Don Admire, director of bakery and deli operations.

"By offering a smaller selection, we're also able to increase our department efficiency."