3 Simple Steps to a Profitable Bakery Menu

Ready to increase profits on your bakery menu? In this post, I’m sharing my insider tips for changes you can make to your bakery menu to increase your profits and sales. Sound complicated? Don’t worry, I’m breaking it down into three simple steps that anyone can do to increase their profits!

In this post, you’ll learn how to structure your bakery menu for profit. We’ll look at accurately pricing your baked goods and strategically limiting your menu items, along with creating an opportunity to upsell additional items. The end result will be a menu that is easier to produce and give you more money in your pocket at the end of the month. Who doesn’t want that? Check out these three techniques that the pros use.

Tip #1 Make sure you are pricing your baked goods for profit

Optimizing your bakery menu for profit means that you will be deciding what to sell based on how much profit each menu item makes.

You’ll need to understand all the costs associated with making your products. If you need help brushing up on recipe costs, overhead, labor, and mark-up, then be sure to check out my free training below.

You’ll need to identify the items on your menu that give you the highest profit margins.

Cinnamon rolls can be a high-profit item!

Tip #2 Limit your menu offerings to guide buying choices

I know plenty of bakers who make decisions about their menu based on what they like to bake. It seems natural, right? We got into this because we love to bake!

I’m going to ask you to do something counter-intuitive to a baker… limit your menu offerings! Now before you have a knee-jerk reaction and say “Heck No”, think about the benefits of narrowing down your menu:

Eliminate items that don’t sell
Reduce the amount of inventory you need to maintain
Streamline your production so you can take more orders

Highlight one high-profit thing in each category

After you have followed tip #1 and identified which menu items give you the highest profit margins, it’s time to highlight your best item from each category.

Place your high-margin items in the center of your menu

Do you have an all-out winner when it comes to profits? The research shows that people look to the center of the menu first, so place that item smack-dab in the middle!

Snickerdoodles get centerstage because they are the highest profit margin cookie in my cookie category!

Tip #3 Make sure you have upselling and cross-selling options

Now that we have identified the basic categories and what to highlight in each, it’s time to create another profit opportunity with upselling and cross-selling.

How to upsell your bakery menu

Upselling is the practice of encouraging your customers to purchase a higher-end product or to upgrade the item that they have selected.

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking about your own upsell possibilities:

Cake toppers
Display rentals
Offer pie, cake, and bread slicing
Baker’s dozen ( buy 12 get 13th free)
Suggesting a subscription box as a way to save

The best way to upsell is to offer extras at a small additional price. A good rule of thumb is to position your upsells at 25% or less than the original purchase price.

How to encourage cross-selling on your bakery menu

Cross-selling is when you identify items on your menu that typically go well together.

When you are helping your customers place their orders, they are looking at you as the expert! Use this as a chance to share ideas with them and explain what other happy customers have ordered in the past.

Cross over ideas that work:

Birthday cakes and cupcakes
Baby smash cakes and matching cake pops, dipped pretzels, or macarons.
Holiday pies and rolls
Cookies and brownies

Which items do your customers often purchase together? Brainstorm a few combinations from your menu and create a menu that highlights that pairing!

If you enjoyed this article, you may also like this post on Planning a Bakery Menu and this post on How to Price your Home-Baked Goods.

Want to learn even more about structuring your bakery menu for profit? Here’s an article full of useful info.

With just a few changes, you can structure your bakery menu for more profit!

Once you understand which of your menu items are the most profitable you can design a better menu. Remember to highlight the most profitable item in each category so that your customers are more inclined to choose it!

Be sure to incorporate some of the new sales techniques you learned here by suggesting additional services or products that pair well with your customer’s choices.

Did you pick up some menu tips and ideas? Comment below one thing you want to change about your current menu.