Hey Bakery Biz Besties! Today we are diving in and giving you the resources and strategies you need to be successful in your home bakery business corporate orders! There are a several reasons why you may want to consider focusing at least part of your business on corporate orders. But more than anything, they can be extremely lucrative and not many other bakers cater to corporations needs so you have a HUGE opportunity! Especially with the holiday season upon us, it’s the perfect time to start securing some large corporate orders! Let’s dive into why you should consider this strategy for your bakery and the free resources I’m sharing to help!
Why Should my Bakery Focus On Corporate Orders?
There are several reasons why corporate orders can be very appealing and present a big opportunity for home bakeries. First, many communities have several successful home bakers but they almost always market to residential consumers. If you are looking for a way to differentiate yourself and carve out your own niche demographic, serving corporations may be a great option for you! It’s becoming really common to hear cookiers saying, “There are many other cookiers in my area. How can I compete?” This is exactly why specializing in a different market will benefit you.
Or perhaps the immediate residential area around you is a lower-income area who can’t typically afford luxury baked goods? This presents another opportunity for you to market to companies and corporations who commonly do have the budget to spend on luxury cookies and other treats. If your skills have outgrown what consumers will pay in your area, serving businesses may be the best way to get paid in line with your skills.
Corporations are less likely to haggle about pricing. Going back to the previous point, companies spend BIG bucks on customer appreciation or staff recognition gifts. They are usually comfortable with the price quoted since they understand how a business is ran. For this reason, you can often quote higher prices to companies compared to residential consumers.
It can also be extremely efficient making large orders of the same design or limited designs. Corporations are not typically ordering character cookies or highly detailed designs. Most corporate orders are a mass volume of 1 or 2 designs. While it may not be as exciting from a decorating perspective, it is highly efficient to pump out large numbers of the same design. That means less time to make them and higher profit margins!
And finally, if you can make logo cookies by using an edible image printer, Eddie printer or even stencils, it makes these cookies extremely easy and quick to make. From a business perspective, being able to charge a higher rate for cookies that are easy to make is basically the dream.
Now that we’ve established WHY you may want to start focusing more on business and corporate orders, let’s talk about the marketing strategy you need to secure these orders!
How Can I Book Corporate Orders For My Home Bakery?
Companies love supporting small businesses and you want to be the baker they can rely on! So, you’re already in a winning position. That said, like anything in business, it takes some energy and work. Sending an email or letter with pictures is very unlikely to convert to sales. The people who make the decisions on these things likely won’t ever see your email.
So, your first big step is making companies aware of what you can offer them, with a spectacular first impression. The best way to accomplish this is by using samples and a personal introduction. When companies can see and taste your goods, you have a MUCH higher chance of securing an order. And anytime they can connect your goods with you as the baker, you’ve increased your odds.
Make beautiful samples of your work, catered to what they’d be looking for. Think logo cookies, customer appreciation, holiday parties and staff recognition. Package your cookies so they look beautiful and professional, of course!
Ensure any samples you drop off, are dripping in your labeling so they know how to reach you. When you drop off, include a note card in case you don’t get to speak to the decision maker. And be sure your card includes that you would love to partner with them to create custom goods for all their needs.
And then remember that in business, “the fortune is made in the follow-up.” Ask for who you can contact to follow-up. Then actually follow-up a week later and ask if they received your samples and if they have any questions. You’d be surprised how often they’ll say, “Oh yes! I’ve been meaning to call you about this event we have coming up!” But if you didn’t call, they probably never would’ve reached out.
Consider Cookie Cards
You may also want to consider providing samples of cookie cards. If cookie cards are new to you, THIS post breaks it all down for you. Think treat meets greeting card. I share free cookie cards for all occasions in my weekly newsletters for home bakers to use. I have also created holiday cookie cards specifically for corporate orders which you can download below. Simply print (I use cardstock), cut and use double-sided tape to attach an individually packaged cookie or cake pop. Companies LOVE having a message attached to a gift, so let them know you can customize these cards for their needs! Cookie cards can be made in Canva or other free software online.
Here are the company cookie cards I’ve created for you to use! I hope these help!
Sample Photos
While you will definitely have more success personally dropping off samples for companies to taste, I have created these sample images that you can use to promote your work. Pictured below are single cookie and multi-cookie examples. You can upload this into Canva (free version) and add any kind of logo or image you’d like. These are then perfect to share on your social media, to make others aware of what you can offer! Especially if you have an edible image printing setup or an Eddie to print directly to cookies, you can literally design and print exactly what the customer wants!
You can download this blank single cookie photo template HERE!
You can download this blank multi-cookie photo template HERE!
Edible Printing for The Win
If you will be taking on corporate orders, I highly suggest investing in either an edible printing setup or an Eddie, which prints directly on cookies. The designs corporations and businesses are almost always looking for include their logos. Having the ability to easily customize and print designs will save you a ridiculous amount of time. And when you can save time, you can take on more orders. Time truly is money!
Many cookiers have taken the plunge and invested in Eddie, which is about $3k here in the U.S. Most report that it pays for itself quickly but that doesn’t change the fact that it is an investment that not everyone can afford. But something I highly recommend looking into if you will be supporting large volume orders. You can also add your own royal icing accents on top of printed cookies as well, for a completely custom look.
All that said, if an Eddie is not an option for you right now, an edible image printing setup is a wonderful alternative. For less than $200, you’ll have everything you need to be making logo and photo cookies. This investment was a no-brainer for us and has paid for itself MANY times over. If you’re interested in learning more about the setup we have and how we make our printed cookies, THIS tutorial explains it all! And you’ll save a boatload by printing your own images at home compared to buying them pre-printed. Bestie, keep that dough!!
YOu Are Ready For The Corporate World!
Quick review…we’ve discussed WHY you should focus at least some of your business on corporate or business orders. We’ve covered the strategies you can take to secure those orders! You’ve downloaded the free cookie cards and cookie template images! And we’ve covered how you’re going to save all your time by printing! Bestie, you’ve got this!
I hope this post all about locking in those home bakery business corporate orders has been helpful! I won’t rest until you are reaching your full bakery business potential and am here to help every step of the way! As someone who has worked for a very large, global company, they need more from bakers like YOU!
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