September 17, 2021, is the fifth annual National Bakery Day, launched by The Retail Bakers of America (RBA). Depending on the circumstances, things are still up in the air as far as in-person celebrations, but we also know that bakeries are resilient and adaptable. You can still celebrate your bakery’s successes, even if some of that celebrating needs to happen virtually.
Make your bakery more known in your community and entice new customers to come in and join the party. Here are 17 ways to celebrate National Bakery Day 2021.
1. Countdown to the Day
Build up excitement for National Bakery Day by celebrating a few days before September 17. Create a countdown calendar that lists your different events and specials as the day gets closer. Print this on flyers in advance or post it on your social media so your customers know what you’re celebrating, and what kind of special treats you have in store for them.
2. Tour the Kitchen Virtually
People love to see how things are made, and their favorite baked treat is no exception. Set up live or prerecorded tours of your kitchen to show people the ins and outs of your bakery. People enjoy sneaking a peek behind the scenes. Make sure you introduce your team so customers can see who’s making all the magic happen.
3. Conduct Demonstrations
Whether you have a particularly unique process or maybe you just bake with flair, share that with your customers. A virtual demonstration works well with cake decorating like piping techniques or using fondant. Prerecord a video outside of normal business hours for a more controlled environment.
4. Host an Online Class
Baking classes give your customers a wonderful experience and your bakery more awareness. Online classes could be as straightforward as how to make scones or custard, but you also specialize by giving your class a theme. Have some fun with a kids’ baking class or a class on how to make pet-friendly treats for their furry friends at home.
5. Offer Limited Edition Products
To celebrate National Bakery Day, you could offer a limited edition product to generate buzz around your bakery. Now would be a great time to experiment with flavors. If they don’t sell well, then you simply stop offering them after the celebration. But if you’ve found something that does exceptionally well, you can bring it back from time to time. The key to limited-edition offerings is to keep them limited. People jump at the chance to try something special before they miss out. You could send out an email to your loyalty program member beforehand to give them an opportunity to try them first.
6. Decorate Your Storefront
Don’t be afraid to go big when it comes to decorating your store for National Bakery Day. It gives you a chance to interact with your customers and let them know about the holiday. If you are a member of the Retail Bakers of America, you can incorporate their free marketing kit.
7. Host a Virtual Taste Test Event
Virtual and taste testing don’t normally go together, but with some creativity and planning, it can be a success. Here’s one way you can do it: Send out an email marketing message detailing your sample offering and have interested customers sign up to pick up their free sample(s) during a designated window of time.
8. Post on Social Media
Whatever you are doing to celebrate National Bakery Day, make sure to post about it on social media. If you are hosting a virtual event, create a Facebook event page. If you’re decorating with a giant inflatable cupcake outside your store, upload it to Instagram. Use the holiday’s official hashtag: #NationalBakeryDay, and their slogans, “Keep Your Dough Local” and “Feed Your Knead for Local.” Here are some best practices for using social media to keep in mind.
9. Support your Community
National Bakery Day is all about backing local bakeries. As a local bakery, return the favor and share why you love serving your community. Make your support tangible by donating to a local food bank or using a portion of the proceeds for a particular item to support a local charity.
10. Write a Blog Post
What inspired your love of baking? Who has helped you get where you are? This holiday is a perfect time to share your bakery’s history and why you love doing what you do with a blog post. This will help you form a personal connection with your readers as well.
11. Run specials
Pass savings onto your customers by using specials and discounts. You could run a different special every day or one discount throughout September. Read more about how specials can drive traffic to your bakery on every other day of the year.
12. Make It Official
Ask your local officials to recognize National Bakery Day. It’s an easy way to get positive publicity for everyone involved. You can use this site to find contact information about your local elected officials like your governor or mayor. They may also have social media pages that you can utilize.
13. Give Back
National Bakery Day is a wonderful time to use your bakery to give back. Team up with your local food pantry or other charities that accept baked goods.
14. Plan a Pop-open
If you’re not able to have customers in your store or need to concentrate your celebrations into one day, you could run a pop-open. It creates a higher concentration of sales in one day instead of paying operational and labor costs for multiple days that might not break even. The limited open can generate interest and create scarcity, leading to more sales.
15. Lower Your Delivery Fee for the Day
If you use a delivery service to offer your bakery customers your goods straight to their door, you may think about reducing or removing the delivery fee in celebration of the day!
16. Update Your Google My Business Page
Don’t miss one of the simplest ways to market your bakery: Google My Business! Add your updates so that people searching for scrumptious goods can see what you’re up to on National Bakery Day.
17. Party!
National Bakery Day is your day! Amongst all your specials, events, and promotions, don’t forget to have fun. Thank your staff, take a break. After it’s all said and done, have a party for just you and your team. You’ve worked hard to make your bakery exceptional.
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