The days are getting longer and the first rays of sunshine are drawing us outside. Plenty of customers are already looking forward to the coming barbecue season, lapping up ice creams or enjoying a light pastry or two. So seize the moment and bring a sense of springtime to your counter, too.
Cautiously adjusting your springtime bakery offer
We’re not, of course, recommending that you rework your entire range for the spring. But maybe bring in one or two new products to offer extra variety and the odd new temptation. After winter’s heavy fare, customers will now start to go for fresher, lighter options. Bakeries are perfectly placed to pick up on these appetites and can score points not only with younger and health-conscious target groups but with others too.
Sweet pastries with seasonal fruit for the spring
In bakery goods in particular, spring offers a whole host of opportunities. Sweet filled pastries, not to mention cakes and tarts filled with quark, yoghurt or sour cream, are a perfect match for the season. Attractively decorated, they draw the customer’s eye straight to the new highlights – and work well with the inclusion of fresh seasonal fruit, too, such as strawberries and rhubarb.
As well as quark and similar products, you could also mix together vanilla cream and fruit juice, creating perhaps an instant mango vanilla cream for use as a filling or garnish. Colourful smoothies make particularly good complementary products – fresh, fruity and healthy.
Savoury snacks as takeaway treats for spring walks
Fresh salads are similarly popular at this time of year and hugely enhance the spring range. But savoury snacks using seasonal vegetables such as asparagus, or tasty herbs such as wild garlic or chive mixed with quark or cream cheese, are also popular. Wraps, too, are increasingly in demand right now as a handy on-the-move snack.
Rustic speciality breads for grilling are another spring requirement
For some barbecue specialists, it’s never too early to fire up the grill. Already, therefore, it’s worth stocking a selection of breads, baguettes and sticks for barbecues. It’s also helpful to have products that you can prepare in the bakery for customers to take home and finish off in their own ovens. These can then be enjoyed fresh and still warm.
But the bread products don’t always have to be specifically for grilling: speciality breads that are available for a limited period are also popular. You can add herbs to the dough or use them as a topping – perfect for springtime.
Promote the spirit of spring with your bakery range
However inventive your range, however creative your ideas, they’re no use unless customers know about them. Make sure, therefore, that you draw attention to your springtime products at the counter. Sales staff should also be actively and regularly suggesting them to customers.
