When Wonderland Bakery opens its second full-service location this autumn, the new store will serve as the piece de resistance in five years of explosive growth for the business. Mother-and-daughter team Sondra and Allyson Ames opened the Newport Beach, Calif., bakery in 2005 and quickly carved out a niche for themselves, winning over children and adults alike with the bakerys fairy tale—inspired design and desserts. The pair work “apron to apron,” as Allyson puts it, with Sondra drawing on her business and marketing expertise to build the Wonderland brand while Allyson uses her baking training to produce the bakery’s signature treats. “We wanted to create a very unique experience that didn’t exist in the retail area,” Sondra explains. “You can buy a cupcake or cookie anywhere, but you come to Wonderland for the experience? This emergence is at the heart of the Wonderland brand. “ln my imagination, the concept of Wonderland was that it would be an enchantingly delicious and whimsically fun place to visit,” Allyson says. The bakery’s theme is incorpo- rated into its baked products, with elaborate cupcakes and cookies that feature everything from butterflies and baby animals to pirates and princesses. The bakery also sells a line of carefully selected merchandise, ranging from Won- derland-themed aprons to branded mixes. The Ameses are currently working on licensing the line internationally. Sondra keeps on top of online marketing with active Face- book and MySpace pages, as well as a Twitter account that boasts more than 1,000 followers. “lt’s incredibly important to have an online presence,” Sondra says. “Eve1ything is so immediate now that you have to be connected to social media. l believe it’s actually more important than an ad or traditional marketing.” The Wonderland brand also receives a boost from its celeb- rity fans. When Whoopi Goldberg made a ringing endorsement of the bakery’s gingerbread cookies on The View, the bakery’s website was flooded with orders. After soon-to-be President Obama sampled one of the gingerbread treats, he ordered 6,000 Wonderland sugar cookies for his inauguration. Wonderland maintains its high profile by creating signature cookies for special events, most recently crafting a range of treats for the MLB All—Star Game post—game party. But what might push the Wonderland brand into national name recognition is an in—develop1nent TV show. Their production company is currently fielding offers from networks for a show that goes behind the scenes at Wonderland. “Things have really come together,” Sondra says. “The bakery’s growth, its loyal fan base, the opportunities that have come our way—it’s a great inspirational story.”
Water, Water Everywhere
Posted By admin In Production Equipment Tags: bakery, burst pipes, guy robertson, loading bays, micro organisms, plant, port coquitlam, wall cavity, water seepsBailing your business out of water problems.
By Guy Robertson
A pipe in your bakery’s bathroom wall will burst in one hour. Water will race through your office and across the plant floor, soaking everything in its path. The loading bays will overflow.
Pools will form in the basement.
You must act quickly. Apart from the immediate sanitation problem, you’re faced with hazards from damp electrical outlets and wiring. Your machinery could malfunction if water seeps into your computer hardware, it might break down permanently. You could lose valuable operating data. Meanwhile, your paper records become soggy and illegible.
It doesn’t take long for water to knock out a plenty says Jay Dargatz, President of Canstar Restorations in Port Coquitlam,
B.C. People are amazed at the amount of assets that they can lose during a flood.
Like any other food producer, a bakery is vulnerable because it can Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted By admin In Bakery and Cakes, Production Equipment, Ready to Eat Tags: authentic products, bakery, brioche, Concepts, country style, depth knowledge, flexible system, nuances, tailor made solutions
The Kaak Group is today’s answer to complex sales markets for bread and other baked products.
Highly qualified experts in six subsidiaries and eight divisions together focus on developing and providing optimal technical and technological variations and nuances for each product, be it mixed bread, toast, baguette, brioche or country-style breads.
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