The food and hospitality industry comes with its own set of highs and lows. On one hand, there are multiple opportunities to unravel your creativity. There are several cuisines, recipes, delicacies and genre of food items that you can choose to serve. While on the other hand, challenges like quality maintenance, marketing, innovation etc. can take you for a spin. It is not a cakewalk for sure.
Food is a component that connects regions, countries and continents. Based on different cultures, food practices and consumption habits vary. With globalization on the rise and people having lesser time to spend on cooking, eating out seems like a simpler option. People now prefer convenience over spending hours in the kitchen. With that in mind, institutions like cafes, restaurants and bakeries work hard to provide the best environment for their customers. Sometimes ambience could be the reason why people prefer visiting your place and thus increase your sales.
The overall experience of visiting a place, enjoying its food, interiors, sometimes music, interaction with staff members etc. is what comprises of the ambience of the place. A majority of eating joints indeed pay special attention to ambience because it is a reason for repeat patronage, customer loyalty and the creation of more prospective clients due to word of mouth. In this article, I am going to shed some light on the essentials of creating a customer-friendly ambience for a bakery and why is it imperative to focus on a bakery’s ambience. So let us begin with the latter:
Importance of ambience in a bakery:
Perhaps the food industry is one of the most competitive ones that we know of. A lot of effort is put by bakeries to provide an amazing customer experience. It could be vintage and established bakery or a new venture trying to acquire customers – one thing that both strive for is to provide the best customer experience. Because that is one component which keeps the ball rolling. No business can sustain without providing a good experience to its customers. Bakeries are usually people’s happy place as the products are an essential part of their memorable celebrations. Also, if customers enjoy your ambience, they are more likely to stay longer and spend more!
Good ambience brings a lot of positive energy with it. This manifests into unforgettable customer experiences. Visiting places with a magnetic ambience evoke emotional responses in people. Once customers get emotionally attached to your bakery, it is unlikely for them to go to any other place than yours. That is the kind of loyalty which gets fostered due to factors like a good ambience.
Landour Bakehouse in Mussorie, India, is one such example that serves authentic delicacies in a restored vintage building with a serene view of the hills and woods. Established in 1930, this place closely resembles a 19th-century kitchen. As one enters, the fresh subtle aroma of coffee is in the air. From the wooden floor to the walls and interiors to the age-old recipes from the British era, everything resonates like an old-world charm. The experience with food does not disappoint anyone and the view of hills just adds up to the whole experience.
The crux of mentioning this place is to highlight how experiences about the ambience of a bakery are strong enough to make such an impact. So we now realize how important it is for a bakery to create the right ambience. Now let me elaborate on how can you achieve this:
Cleanliness and Hygiene:
Alright, I know this might not be the topic you would want to start with. But let me tell you it is simply impossible to create a great customer experience or even think of a good ambience without exercising the basics of hygiene and cleanliness. This could be an experience your customers take with them and create perceptions about your bakery. A new customer will always think of the practices your bakery follows concerning the hygiene of not just edible products, but all the surroundings, furniture, shelves etc.
When people walk into your bakery, how would they feel if they walk right into a place that looks like an upside-down trash can? Hygiene should be taken care of in every possible manner. It can create a very good or an extremely bad first impression based on the level of cleanliness. Especially now, after the Covid-19 outbreak, when sanitization and cleanliness have become essential, there are no second options. A lot of places have shut down or suffered major losses due to this pandemic. Then they re-opened with a promise to deliver the safest and best quality food products. Probably, we have learnt a lesson with this situation – to make cleanliness a non-negotiable aspect of our lives.
Lighting effects:
Just like the entire interior setting, the lighting of a place is equally important for creating the right ambience in a bakery. Dim lights are usually not preferred in this environment. As I already mentioned, in a bakery we deal with celebration foods a lot. This means that people must experience the same level of enthusiasm and excitement inside your bakery as they carried with them before entering.
This can be achieved with the use of right and preferably brighter set of lights. One reason is that they make your food items look attractive. Thus, inducing an urge to buy more!
The right lighting brings the atmosphere to life and sets the right mood. They can help people experience vibes that resonate with the essence of your bakery. Some interesting ideas can be the usage of colour changing lights as well. It is a simple yet effective way to create an interesting experience. Lighting needs to be carefully implemented to set the right atmosphere for your bakery.
Staff conduct:
This makes for a very essential component that helps to create the right experience for your customers. A bakery is also a service-based business. Without quality service, a bakery can’t thrive. Since a lot of bakeries also create a small space for people to sit and devour their baked goods, staff interactions with customers increase. Employees that display courtesy, are well mannered and treat customers with respect create the best ambience. Another aspect to emphasize is the communication between customers and employees. Communication should be clear, the staff members well versed with product knowledge and other information related to the bakery.
This can easily be achieved by providing the right training to employees. Cover essential topics like – How to greet the customers on their arrival or how to make them aware of your products. Then there are things like suggesting what to order based on customer’s requirements and occasion. Customers appreciate that advice from employees when they feel stuck or confused. Sometimes asking your employees to be creative or adding humour to conversations can be a great idea. People generally like talking to fun-loving people and prefer visiting smiling faces! Therefore such things can help in increasing your sales too…
Design and outlay:
Design happens to be an important and integral part of the ambience of a bakery. Design refers to the entire outlay and positioning of all things like furniture, architecture, décor, walls etc. Customers may judge you based on the interior design way before they order and taste your food. Design can be the make or break component for a bakery. It can determine the success or failure of a venture. Let me list down a few such components that will define the design of a place:
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- Texture& colour of the walls
- The positioning of billing counter, display showcases etc.
- The positioning of the seating area/furniture
- Colors & texture of ceiling & floor
- The way food items are displayed
Customers can build an emotional connection with these surroundings and atmosphere. This is because the colours and décor can trigger emotional responses in humans. For instance, the choice of bright colours & warm tones triggers a feeling of nostalgia, comfort, friendly environment. On the other hand, darker shades kill appetite and induce a feeling of unrest in people. The décor and architecture are equally important. The overall design provides a visual treat to customers upon entering the premises. And we would want them to create the right perceptions of your bakery.
Artwork, wall décor and other articles:
The choices of artworks that adorn the walls of your bakery or wall decorations are a symbol of your bakery’s values. Just like the wall colours, artwork like paintings or photos should resonate with the business values. People feel more at home and comfortable when they are surrounded by beautiful artwork. However, ensure to choose the right images and colours in these as well. A wrong selection here can very well alter the entire purpose of placing them in your bakery in the first place.
Distance and space:
The relative positioning of furniture in the seating area while maintaining a proper distance so that everyone can enjoy their space peacefully is very crucial. With the Covid-19 pandemic still in the picture, it is best to make sure that there is enough space utilization done to fulfil the norms of social distancing. This needs to be implemented in the seating area, queues, display area etc. Typically every place where people come in contact with others. The customers expect a good experience and not an uncomfortable one. And the right utilization of space can make all the difference here.
Nobody prefers to feel trapped or cramped in a corner. It is best to utilize the available space wisely. Likely, people will not prefer coming back to your bakery if they feel confined or do not get enough space to think and make decisions about their order peacefully.
Rhythm & Music:
Distracting noises are something your customers never prefer listening to. An establishment like a bakery can always add that bling to its atmosphere by playing music, which resonates with its personality. Usually, such places should have soft music, either instrumental or the ones that are pleasing to hear. This should also not disturb people who like to spend some quiet time either working or reading for a while.
However, the presence of subtle music while enjoying a quiet time is always rewarding. Several factors affect the choice of music. The location or geography, likes &dislikes, trending or not, all factors come into the picture when finalizing the kind of music to complement the essence of your bakery.
Our main ingredient “Bakery products”:
How can we forget food when we are discussing how to provide the best ambience to customers. It is not about the choice of food but its effect on people that matter. Food also can alter emotions. And we hope that it is positively understood. The way food is presented is sometimes more important than how it tastes. The right presentation adds a deep level of happiness and enjoyment for the customers. So we must not undermine its importance.
Connecting with your customers:
No experience is complete without building the right relationships with your customers. All the things I elaborated today add up to the creation of wonderful and happy customer experiences. However, one last thing that matters the most is how customers feel connected to your brand. That defines your brand value and the trust that people have on your bakery. Investing your time in interacting with customers and paying attention to the little details can make all the difference. Surely people will go home with a happy heart after visiting your bakery.
There are many components which eventually help to create the right ambience of a place. And they, in turn, define a bakery’s success. While there is no one-size-fits-all plan to follow and implement. Yet, it is clear that a great ambience is one of the major contributors to the success of a bakery!