Bakery category performance has been mixed, according to insights shared at IDDBA.

Sales are growing for some fresh perimeter bakery items, like donuts, but middle-of-the-store items, like sandwich bread, are lagging behind. It’s not that shoppers don’t want bread anymore. Rather, shoppers are balancing an increasing number of priorities: budget concerns, dietary restrictions, taste preferences and more.

How Can Food Retailers Use Merchandising to Drive Bakery Growth?

For food retailers who want to drive category growth, merchandising is a secret weapon.

Your merchandising strategy is how you communicate to shoppers in your store, and experienced merchandisers know how impactful even a single well-thought-out display can be. Try these tactics to make it easier for customers to fall in love with your bakery and bread products.

1. Place Single-Serve Indulgences in High-Traffic Areas

Even with pressure from inflation and shifting wellness trends, the vast majority of your shoppers still want an occasional treat. Single-serve bakery items are the perfect balance of luxury and thriftiness, but they can easily get overlooked.

Try it in Your Store:
Build excitement by thinking outside the bakery department, with disruptive merchandising displays that feature individually portioned bakery items in strategic locations, like near the checkout. Think trendy, enticing flavors: single slices of blueberry yuzu cheesecake or Dubai chocolate cupcakes.

These portioned treats require refrigeration to preserve their freshness, so opt for a refrigerated case like our QC R-290 Multi-Deck Self-Contained Display Cases. With plug-and-play functionality, these cases are easy to move around your store. They can be customized to your store’s aesthetics and needs for a seamless customer experience.

2. Cross-Merchandise to Elevate Center-of-Store Offerings

When you pair products from different departments that shoppers can combine to make a complete meal, you’re making their lives simpler. Make it easier for shoppers to build bigger baskets that include bakery items with cross-merchandising.

Try it in Your Store:
Create displays that contain everything a shopper needs for a given recipe, including a recipe card. For added impact, use recipes for different meal occasions, like breakfast or seasonal holidays.

You could group sliced bread with eggs, berries, milk, syrup and a recipe for Sunday morning French toast, or combine tortillas, salsa, eggs, avocado and cheese with a recipe for breakfast tacos.

3. Incorporate Eye-Catching Signage

If you want to boost category performance, think beyond standard shelf tags. Bright colors and unexpected placement draw the eye and transform an ordinary shelf or case into a full experience for your shoppers.

Try it in Your Store:
Add a touch of whimsy with contrasting colors and larger-than-life signage. Hang a banner above a section, decorate the case with low-residue film clings and be sure to rotate visuals often.

The unexpected element gives shoppers pause, inspiring them to take a second look. Changing out these displays regularly piques shopper curiosity and adds a sense of adventure, transforming an everyday shopping trip into an elevated experience.

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As the food retail landscape evolves in response to consumer trends and inflation, merchandising is crucial to keep all your departments relevant. The right strategy can unlock growth in bakery and beyond.

No matter your merchandising goals, the experts at Hillphoenix are here to help. As your partner for full-store refrigeration solutions, we can support you every step of the way from design and installation to updated display cases and replacement parts. Contact our team to learn more.

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These merchandising takeaways are inspired by data and trends from this year’s IDDBA show, where the biggest names in food retail shared new products, perspectives and industry insights. We combined the show’s most prominent themes with our own merchandising expertise to deliver these helpful recommendations.

Stay up-to-date on the latest merchandising trends by exploring Merchandising Matters, our one-stop resource hub for all things food merchandising. You’ll find pictures to inspire you, short videos to help you set the stage for success, trend reports and so much more.

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