Fresh Bakery Trends: Rollin’ in the Dough

As affirmed by recent results of PG’s 2010 Bakery Operations Review, fresh-baked signature breads and rolls are on a roll as the second most profitable category for in-store bakery departments. To help keep fresh roll sales a-risin’, Lachine, Quebec-based Hardt Equipment has devised a stylish, innovative solution — BakeFresh 1000 — that promises to capture customer interest, not to mention additional sales.

Designed to finish baking par-baked and fully baked bread rolls in mere minutes, the BakeFresh 1000 makes it easy to keep fresh rolls available throughout hours of peak operation. “The mobile merchandiser engages shoppers with a lasting aroma and allows them to serve themselves, resulting in a dynamic bakery shopping experience that can’t be matched,” noted Elif Ozdemir, Hardt’s national account manager.

Hardt also offers a marketing support package to help the energy-efficient BakeFresh 1000 stand out in the bakery area while further enhancing a grocer’s freshness statement to increase traffic and stimulate impulse sales.

In the realm of labor considerations, the BakeFresh 1000’s simple plug-and-play technology requires minimal training and labor, and also offers easy placement on the store floor by integrating the merchandiser as either an in-line or island unit.

Innovation should always be this simple: load the bread rolls in the loading bin, and a sensor then triggers a quantity of bread rolls to be baked while on the conveyor, which invites shoppers to select and bag their choice of warm, fresh rolls as the bread drops conveniently into the self-service bin.

For more information, visit www.hardtequipment.com