Sunday, May 6, 2007

Pricing, Packaging and Promotion

Over the past week I have been trying to get all my ducks in a row before I make my debut. I have the baking down, but the rest of the stuff – that still needs some work.

Pricing – I have been doing some opposition research. I recently discovered that a grocery store chain has begun to sell chocolate chip cookies from a local establishment. These cookies are the basic size (1 Tsp of dough) and come packaged in a box of 6. Much to my shock they were priced at $4.95. Almost 5 bucks for 6 cookies – that is absurd. Who pays that? And if you are willing to pay .83 cent per cookie for a whole batch, I will come to your house and bake them for you there – you can enjoy the smell for free.

Packaging - Figuring out how to package and display my baked goods has been another avenue I have been checking out. Obviously for cookies, breads, bars and brownies, I can use bags and twist ties or cellophane, but that will not work for my cakes and cup cakes. In the past I have delivered such items in my trusty cake carrier or on a plate, but those have always gone to people who will return them to me. So I have been looking into alternatives. After research I have found the most cost efficient route is the bakery box. Plastic muffin/cup cake containers are just too pricey. The problem with bakery boxes is that they come in cases of 100, 250 or 500. That is a few more then I need initially – what if this doesn’t work out, what am I going to do with all those boxes, and more importantly can I afford them – to say money is tight would be the understatement of the century.

Promotion – The other thing I have been working on is a logo, the first step in the promotional material. I, of course, have the picture of what I want in my mind, but can not seam to recreate it. That is always the case. So I will continue to work on it. Here is what I am thinking for the wording, just looking for the perfect graphic – I haven't been able to clean up the background on this one. But this is the idea
Let me know what you think.

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