Professional Help
Hello bakers,
I apologize for any misspelling
I have been surfing the forum and blog for weeks trying to find the answers to my question but numerous hours spent and couldn't find all i need so i thought i had ask for some help.
I am just about to start up a new bakery..a little different from the American style bread. This will be a specialized local bread originating from Africa, and based on my research, the first bakery with this style of bread.
I will be visiting Africa for about a month and also taking classes at King Arthur Flour in VT in preparation for the business.
I have tried a few loaves at home but it's not good enough for sales yet so therefore taking a bigger step to perfect it.
I currently live in NJ but my target business is in Brooklyn, NY where i have my target audience. After my training, I am trying to get started immediately.
In order to limit my start up cost, I am considering renting a kitchen incubator (preferable in Brooklyn) for easy transport.
I also considered renting a mobile bakery, but again i am new to the business and not sure the best route. It will just be bread baking and a DECK oven is a must for baking this bread..
My question is:
Will it be more economical to bake from NJ and transport to NY once a week for a start?
Any recommendation on Incubator in Brooklyn OR Queens NY?
Any small deck oven recommendation?
I am unsure if this exist but can i share a space with an existing bakery? And how do i go about this
Any bread packaging company recommendation in the USA?
Thank you.
Sorry for any typo/misspelling/grammar.
I don't know anything about African bread but do you know that there is a demand for this product? Niche markets can be profitable but also risky, folks that tell you this is just what they are looking for may only want a loaf or two a month so the market may be much smaller than you anticipate. Why is nobody exploiting this market yet? I don't want to discourage you but make sure you know what to expect. I recently talked to a woman that opened a Polish bakery and she thought that people weren't open to trying product unfamiliar and to pay a premium for her products.
Gerhard
There are different avenues that work for different individuals. For some it is better to "look before you leap". Take a job as a baker in the area you mention and learn all that you can about running a bakery. Also get a good taste of just how much actual work it takes and it takes a lot. During this time you will gain experience and knowledge about bread itself and there is a great deal to learn that no one will pick up in a class or two or three.
On the other hand is the thought that "he who hesitates is lost" and that it is best to jump right in head first and give all that you have got. This works for some but not for others.
I would advise that you learn all that you can about the reality of running a bakery, make 100% certain that you can indeed make a great (not just good) loaf of bread and that you can do it in large quantity again and again and again. In addition to this you need to know how to run a small business and be aware that more new small businesses fail than succeed fairly quickly after opening.
Have your eyes wide open, be absolutely realistic about what you are getting into and have a great time.
Jeff
I don't have the knowledge or experience to be of much help with the baking part, but I'm much more familiar with starting businesses, both as an entrepreneur myself and as a business trainer / adviser. So, I will tell you that it's a huge mistake to start one without first making a business plan.
While it's possible to succeed without one, not doing due diligence can contribute or directly lead to all sorts of unexpected issues that could and should have been foreseen but weren't. In the worst cases, I've seen businesses started that were basically doomed to fail.
One fairly common error is ignoring marketing / promotion, often based on assuming a good product will sell itself. This can happen, but it's overly optimistic to stake one's success or failure on it. Another area quite a few people don't pay enough attention to - often because it's not fun at all - is the entire financial side.
you are going to "professional" classes at King Arthur, be sure to catch your instructor and grill him on all these details. With prior arrangement you might even be able to take him to dinner and grill him further. He is always interested in helping people begin their baking careers and has a vast range of knowledge.
If you thing your skills are up to it, you may wish to ask if you can do a shift in the bakery - which will be most informative. This will cause you to be exhausted for your class - which, if you are going into baking professionally is a feeling with which you should become acquainted.
And yes, a business plan. Don't neglect the business plan.
Good luck!
Thank you ALL so much for the great advises and inputs, I am so happy to get as much responses as i have gotten so far.
I have a pretty good exposure in a bakery in the past just not enough to open...so i am not really a newbie in the baking business.
I have conducted some research including surveys on my target audience which includes major African stores and organizations...Good return thus far! why haven't anyone thought about the idea prior is a question i asked myself but i have no answer to that. This is why i am starting off small and see how it will go.
One thing i know for a fact is that, we Africans hesitate to take chances, i think its influenced by our culture. Maybe this could be the reason??
I have my business plan written out already and reviewed numerous times by myself and two other professionals....so YES, that's done!
I will try my best to get in contact with Jeffery, I have heard a lot of good things about him, hopefully that time will be a good timing for him as well.
I am currently looking for a good company that specialize in bread bag production.....I will like to order some samples just to visualize my effort so far...
Although, i am not opening up a store front yet, i will still like to get some good recommendations for deck ovens and mixers.
In addition, does anyone knows of any FDA approved tested dough enhancer?
I can't thank you all enough.
Here is a page full of countertop ovens.
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/search/countertop-oven.html
Pay attention to the voltage (110v vs. 220v).
Thanks mixinator, another look was helpful
I found the website earlier and still couldn't find the DECK oven i am looking for.
Now I am leaning towards an electric double DECK oven i can install/buy in my backyard. Any idea??
Thank you for the info
Each ingredient you add to your bread is an expense. You have to think in these terms if you're running a business. So if it isn't essential, think twice about it.
You have made a good point but i think i should be able to accommodate the cost as long as it doesn't double the price of the bread......
Thanks again for your input.
of the equation. The other is how much you can sell the product for. In this case, if adding dough enhancer allows you to set a price that nets more than not using it, then from a purely numerical point of view, it's profitable to do so.
It can also be worth adding it while keeping the same selling price if the result is increased profit due to more sales.
i'm African as well and very interested in which breads you plan to bake.
West African bread looks and feels all similar to me.
So just a little bit of each style to accommodate majority of West Africans.
Thanks
I would advise that you learn all that you can about the reality of running a bakery, make 100% certain that you can indeed make a great (not just good) loaf of bread and that you can do it in large quantity again and again and again. In addition to this you need to know how to run a small business and be aware that more new small businesses fail than succeed fairly quickly after opening.