Artisan breads are somewhat recession-proof. Of the three main markets for artisan breads (nice restaurants, grocery stores, and retail bakeries), nice restaurants are the only customers that decrease their orders. Actually, many bakery owners report that their business increases during recessions because their customers start indulging in small luxuries, like artisan pastries, instead of extravagant purchases.

Who doesn’t love cupcakes?  And yes, I think they are a fun novelty fad that will fade, but not go away.  What’s great about them is the retro feel good and charm of having your own little cake. Of course they are best when you both ice, decorate and eat them with friends. Cupcakes are more of a social experience than a culinary one. But cupcakes dry out very quickly, and it’s enormously inefficient to pack them properly, so the retail price really gets up there per pound relative to what we can deliver a 20 oz cake for.  So we admire them from afar.

I live in a piece of paradise and I appreciate it more every day.  Nothing makes me angrier than to see trash caught on a Ponderosa Pine branch.  So, I think the entire food industry ought to get together and create a marketing campaign using celebs to tell kids not to litter.  Make it the coolest thing to do.  I would volunteer my time to work on it. 

And, for fast food, for heaven’s sake, have enough trash cans in the parking lot and empty them.  I know it’s a thankless job but we have to do it. 

And, design packaging so it is generic.  Why do we have huge logos on packages that end up in the rose bushes?  Let’s continue with the technology to find packaging that dissolves in the rain, so no litter.

It all comes down to educating our kids that it is dumb to litter. 

Editor: For more on packaging and litter, see Roy’s March 2007 article in QSR Magazine, “A Window is not a Trash Can.”

My thoughts on the use of promotion in our business.

Don’t do it!

Now, what I really mean is use promotion sparingly and smartly.  Don’t make it an every day occurrence to the point that your customer expects to get something for free whenever he walks in the door.  And, that is happening a lot these days.  We don’t serve food, we serve promotion.

I would use one major promotion per quarter, but they would be great.  In between, I would advertise my image and my total experience, not necessarily my food, except as it fits into the experience. 

Editor: Roy discusses the limits of promotion, including buy one get one, coupons, deep discounts, premiums and frequent customer discounts – in the Oct 8 2008 QSR magazine. Here’s a preview:

“I would clean the place up.  The time used by the crew to explain how you have to live in Sao Paulo and turn your game card in at the next neap tide to win, could be used to make the restaurant squeaky clean. 
And, I would train.  The only important commodity in any of our lives is the customer.  I would train my crew in the golden rule of the restaurant business.  Do unto the customer, as you would have him do unto you.  Nothing is too good for that guy on the other side of the counter. 
And, instead of messing with prices, free food, and coupons, I would execute local store marketing every day, become Mr. restaurant in my market, spend as much time in the store as possible given Billy’s marble tournament, suggestive sell my sides and sizes, take all the signs out of the windows and let the sunshine in and face it with a grin, update the uniforms if I have control, and become the local schools’ biggest supporter.”

The shelf life of artisan bread is shorter, but the well-being of the customer lasts longer.

The simplest way to meet the shelf-life challenge and satisfy customers is to make smaller loaves. We constantly hear from consumers who want smaller loaves or partial loaves because they don’t like throwing out their uneaten bread.

You can also tell consumers about a simple way they can preserve their bread:
1) pre-slice the bread
2) place it in the freezer in a sealed plastic bag
3) remove and toast only the number of slices to be eaten at that time.

As a baker, you can extend the shelf life of a bread in a number of ways: 1) add preferments to increase dough acidity; 2) increase the water content of the dough; 3) slightly raise the salt content of the dough; 4) resist overmixing the dough; 5) bake the bread properly, with a thick crust that traps moisture in the crumb.

Of course, the best way to guarantee the freshness of the bread is to make it so good that your customers consume the entire loaf before they go to bed.

DON’T CUT CORNERS! Customers want artisan bread and they’ll pay for it, but not if it doesn’t taste good or has artificial ingredients.

First and foremost, commercial wholesale bakers must reeducate themselves and consider new, appropriate systems and techniques for producing artisan bread. (Yes, large commercial wholesale bakeries can make good artisan bread and a profit! We frequently help large bakeries add artisan baking lines.)

Once bakers learn about production concepts and practices, they must purchase the proper ingredients and equipment. Artisan bakers respect and highlight the integrity of the ingredients they use.

Not at all. Great, small, neighborhood artisan bakeries are strongly supported by their communities in small towns, suburbs, and cities. Sometimes small town communities become so attached to the local bakery that they insist the baker find a good successor before he or she retires!

What we have to improve is accessibility to artisan bread – not geographically, but socially. Artisan bread is for everyone, not just the middle and upper classes that make up the lions share of the artisan bread market.

Whole grain breads are rapidly gaining in popularity because they offer high fiber and fantastic flavor. These breads are usually baked in loaf pans or shaped as batards. Whole grain breads are made with a variety of flours, ranging from our old standbys – wheat, barley, oats, and rye – to truly ancient grains like quinoa, millet, and sorghum.

A growing number of consumers need bread that meets their restrictive dietary needs. We frequently receive requests to teach courses and develop products that are gluten and allergy-free, or that rank low on the glycemic index. Interesting flours that are gaining popularity include ancient grains such as quinoa, millet, sorghum, amaranth, and teff, as well as buckwheat, rice, chickpea, and corn. These breads are also usually baked in loaf pans or shaped as batards.