This guide covers preorders, custom cakes, holiday rushes, wholesale accounts and a 30 day plan. It also covers what to do about the empty case at 5 p.m.
Sell what you have already baked, or bake what you have already sold
The central tension in a bakery is waste. Walk-in traffic is hard to predict, so some items sell out by 10 a.m. and others sit until close. Every marketing tactic that moves a sale before the bake, such as a preorder, a standing order or a custom order, lowers that risk.
Think of your offers in two lanes. The daily case is for spontaneous customers. The preorder lane is for people who plan, and it carries a higher ticket.
Preorders and standing orders
Offer a simple preorder for the items that run out first, such as loaves, croissants or a morning box. Set a cutoff time the night before, and say clearly when and where pickup happens. Announce the preorder list weekly so regulars can plan around it.
Standing orders go further. A customer who wants a loaf every Saturday should be able to say so once and stop thinking about it. That makes your production predictable and gives you a reliable relationship.
Custom cakes need a process, not just photos
Custom cakes carry a bigger ticket and more work. Marketing should attract the right inquiries and screen out the wrong ones. Publish a short menu of flavors, sizes and starting prices, state your lead time, and explain deposit and cancellation rules.
Use an inquiry form that asks for the date, number of guests, flavor, allergies and inspiration photos. Reply with a tidy quote and a deposit link. Only show real finished cakes in your gallery, and get permission from clients where they appear.
Ten ideas for a bakery
Pick the ideas that move sales ahead of the bake or use leftovers well. Skip anything that adds hands-on work at the busiest hour.
- A Friday preorder box for weekend brunches, closed on Thursday night.
- A holiday menu released four to six weeks ahead, with a firm order deadline.
- A last-hour case discount or surprise bag at a set time, to reduce waste without devaluing your product.
- A loaf subscription with a weekly pickup day.
- A coffee shop or restaurant wholesale program with a printed price sheet and delivery days.
- A wedding and event tasting day with a limited number of slots.
- A weekly new item announced on Tuesday, available only that week.
- A short video of dough being shaped, filmed from a fixed angle.
- A kids decorating class on a slow weekend afternoon.
- A thank-you card in every cake box with a link to reorder.
Holidays and seasons
Bakeries often see their biggest days around Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day and other holidays. Capacity, not demand, is the limit. Close orders early, cap volume at what the oven can produce well, and say so in your marketing.
A waitlist is better than overbooking. It protects quality and signals that your work is in demand. Write down what sold out, by what hour, so next year you bake closer to the real number.
Wholesale
Selling to cafes, restaurants and offices brings steady volume at a lower margin. Pitch it by bringing samples, a price sheet and a delivery schedule. Offer a trial order and be honest about your minimums. One reliable wholesale account can fill the early production hours that would otherwise go to the case.
Online ordering and Studio
A bakery is one of the best fits for ordering ahead. Servestack offers commission-free online ordering on the restaurant's own site, with SMS and email tools to announce holiday menus and preorder windows. Studio can build the holiday menu, a window poster, a box insert and short reels from your own clips, starting from your logo and menu. Photos of your real baked goods should always be the lead image.
A 30 day plan
Do the process work first, then promote it.
- Week 1: write the custom cake menu, lead time and deposit policy, and add an inquiry form.
- Week 2: launch a weekly preorder for your top three items.
- Week 3: visit five cafes or restaurants with samples and a wholesale price sheet.
- Week 4: draft the next holiday menu and announce its order deadline.
| Revenue lane | Who buys | Marketing lever |
|---|---|---|
| Daily case | Walk-ins | Window, scent, a new item |
| Preorders | Planners and regulars | Weekly list, cutoff time |
| Custom cakes | Hosts and families | Process page, tasting day |
| Holiday | Seasonal buyers | Early menu, firm cap |
| Wholesale | Cafes and offices | Samples, price sheet |