PHOTO CAKE UPGRADE PAYS OFF FOR BIG Y FOODS

Lynne Miller

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The bakeries at Big Y Foods are reporting sales increases three and four times above normal after the retailer revitalized its photo cake program with new state-of-the-art equipment, and followed the upgrade with an extensive marketing campaign to get the word out.

"The stores are literally tripling and quadrupling sales" of photo cakes, said Big Y's bakery director, Steve Bordonaro.

The 50-store chain invested roughly $200,000 on equipment, including high-resolution printers with photo cropping, enlargement and downsizing capabilities. Then the company followed up with full-page ads touting the program. Some 300,000 trifold full-color brochures showing off the machines and their capabilities were printed and displayed in multiple locations around the stores. Danglers were hung over store cake cases and employees wore promotional buttons. TV ads aired 20 times including a spot during the final episode of "Friends." More than 200 radio commercials told the photo cake story.

On its Web site, the company focuses on the simplicity of ordering a photo cake. According to the site, it's as "easy as...1...2...3!" Bakery associates scan the photos, customers select a frame and that's it until the cake is ready for purchase. The program's attributes are highlighted: "Sharper images! Higher resolution printing! Hundreds of choices! Continuously Updated!"

Consumers can choose from among yellow, chocolate, marble or confetti cakes, in quarter, half and full sheets. Fillings such as vanilla and chocolate pudding, strawberry, cherry and other fruit flavors are offered, too. Photo cupcakes are also available.

Photo cakes are not exactly cutting edge for supermarket bakeries. Big Y and many other retailers have had programs for years. But the new program is a major upgrade over the company's old offering, and the marketing blitz was unique, Bordonaro said.

"We had photo cakes before but we now have a better machine and have educated consumers on what we have," he said. "A lot of companies from what we've heard don't want to get involved in it. They offer photo cakes because the competition has them. Our supplier says you go into other chains and the machines are broken."

The quality of the photo equipment is much higher, and the availability of licensed character images -- Mickey Mouse, Garfield, Shrek and the like -- is a big improvement, Bordonaro added. The system allows stores to place orders for a particular image and within minutes, the virtual image is available on computers. Stores are not required to keep a large inventory of images, another plus, he said.

"You want one [image], you get one," he said. "Every quarter we get a disk with anything new [images]. It keeps current with what's on the market."

Personal images, however, are most in demand. Stores handle a lot of requests for cakes decorated with photos in frames, Bordonaro said. During the graduation season, the bakeries fielded many requests for cakes with two photos, one of the graduate at a young age and a current photo. Mother's Day and confirmations were also strong cake-selling occasions.

Naturally, Bordonaro is pleased with sales, but he also likes what the program does for the bakery's image.

"This program sets us far apart from the competition and offers customers something they can't get anywhere else," he said. "The response has been huge."