Are you stuck on choosing a bakery name and it feels like all the good names are taken already? Today on the blog I’m sharing my strategies for naming a baking business as well as a very big mistake I made with my own bakery.
Read this article to the end to get all my helpful tips and make sure you don’t make the same mistakes I did!
What is the process for naming a bakery?
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, then you might know that I used to own a chain of cake and cupcake stores. When I originally opened my first store in 2007 I called it Daddy Cakes.
Get creative and think outside the box
My 4 year old actually came up with the name. I had been practicing my cupcake baking with three different size pans. While she played in the kitchen, putting colorful papers in the pans, she declared the smallest size was the baby and the jumbo was the daddy.
When you know…you know!
As soon as she said it, I knew it was my new name. Daddy Cakes! I loved it and it passed almost all of my criteria for a great bakery name. but keep reading to the end to see what went wrong.
5 awesome tips for choosing the PERFECT home bakery name
Naming your bakery is a big undertaking and only you will know when you land on the perfect name. You can avoid costly mistakes by following these 5 tips that I’ve developed after naming my bakeries and making a few mistakes along the way.
Keep spelling in mind when naming a business
The first and perhaps most important tip is to have a name that is easy to spell. People will be searching for you online and you want their search to be quick and simple. Capture their attention span by having a name that they can easily search and find.
Remember that your bakery business may change
My second bit of advice is to choose a name that says what you do, without locking you into a too specific niche. You may decide to expand or add other product lines later. Broad categories are okay but don’t be too specific.
Stand out with a unique bakery name
My third tip is to make yourself unforgettable! Avoid generic words like:
- sweets
- treats
- confections
- memories
- home bakery
Your name will be hard to remember when the time comes to make a recommendation or get a call for repeat business. Use uncommon words to stand out from the crowd and be memorable!
Your Business Name Should Be Easy to Pronounce
My fourth tip is to have a name that people can actually say! My first business was called Boulangerie Philippe. I sold French pastries and I used the family name for our 4th generation business. It meant a lot to me to continue the family legacy, but it was so difficult for non-French speakers to pronounce!
My advice is to try to avoid difficult to pronounce words or family names in your bakery.
Consider using a business naming service to name your bakery
Are you still having a hard time coming up with a name for your business that sounds unique and isn’t being used? Business naming companies are available to help you!
Here’s a list of resources for getting help with your bakery name:
- Namelix– helps you create a short, brandable business name.
- Oberlo– enter a keyword and get business names instantly
- Bakery Name Generator- this is part of Fantasy Name Generator and is often used by writers. You can keep refreshing until you find a name you like!
Try my brainstorming technique for bakery business naming
Now that you know my 5 secrets to the perfect bakery name, you can start to craft your own name.
Start by putting pen to paper and writing down every name you can think of without editing yourself. Just write down everything in your head in a “brain dump” style.
Next, draw a line through any names you don’t like and narrow down your list Make sure you have given consideration to the 5 tips outlined above! Keep reading to see what to do once you find the perfect name.
What to do when you find a good bakery name
Now that you have found a good business name you’ll need to take a few steps to protect yourself and follow the laws. Checking to see if anyone else is using that name and then protecting it from anyone else using it are critical steps that you don’t want to skip.
Check if the name is available
The easiest way to see if your bakery name is available is to do a google search. See if anyone else is using the name, or the social media handles that you want.
Check to see if the bakery name you want belongs to anyone
Even if you search google and don’t see any other businesses using your name, someone could be planning to use that name. Check to see if there are any registered owners of the business name by doing the following:
- Search fictitious name registry in your state. Just search fictitious name+ your state.
- Check with the US Patent and Trademark Office to see if anyone has a trademark registered for the name you like.
How to protect your home bakery name
To make sure that someone else doesn’t start using your name, or worse: steal your name, you need to register it. The exact ways vary from state to state, but here are some of the ways you can protect your home bakery name:
- See if your state requires you to list it as a DBA
- Buy the domain name for your business name
- Search “register a business in + your state” to see if there is a state registry
- You can register your business with the IRS. Click here to learn how.
The biggest mistake I made as a bakery owner
I mentioned at the beginning of the article that I made a very big mistake when naming my bakery that almost cost me everything! here’s the rest of the story:
Don’t rely on an internet search to secure your business name
I chose the name Daddy Cakes for my cupcake shop. After doing internet research, and not finding anyone using the same name, I registered it with my state and the IRS.
Getting on TV exposed my business name to millions
For the first year, I was in a small shop in a small town, then I was asked to appear on the Food Network on a show called Cupcake Wars. That show brought me national exposure. A pancake company in a different state saw that I was using the name and decided to send me a cease and desist letter!
Trademark your business name to protect others from using it
By the time I received it, I had already expanded my original store into a much bigger location and had plans underway to open my second store. Changing names just wasn’t an option. I had custom signage, logos, company vehicles, and merchandise all branded with the Daddy Cakes name.
Save money and name your business properly the first time
It turns out that we both began doing business with the name in the same week of the same year. It was really hard to prove who used the name first, but this company had filed for a trademark before us. To make a long story short, the entire process of protecting the name cost over $18,000, and I ended up changing my name in the end!
What’s the bottom line when it comes to naming a home bakery?
I hope you have been able to find some useful information. Choose a name that is easy to spell, that conveys a message, and is unforgettable at the same time. Take the time to check for the availability of the name and then register it to protect yourself. Most importantly, learn from my mistakes!
If I had read an article like this I may have saved myself lots of time and money. I hope I’m able to help you save time and money by avoiding the mistakes I made!
