For one hospital café, the key to sweetening sales has been rolling out an assortment of delicious muffins and cinnamon rolls on a daily basis and promoting that they are baked fresh onsite.
Stephen Scheck of Rockledge Regional Medical Center explains that ever since his team began offering fresh baked goods and placing them in a prominent location—in a clear bakery case near the cashier areas at the hospital’s cafe—sales have been on the rise.
“If the customers don’t see what you have to offer, they are not going to buy it,” said Stephen, who relies on items from the Pillsbury™ line of frozen baked goods, which his staff bakes fresh onsite. “It’s only been a few months, but we have received so many compliments that we are actually looking to expand our bakery offerings to include croissants and scones.”
He emphasizes the importance of communicating “fresh baked” to the café’s customers, primarily hospital staff members, who he aims to keep on premise rather than seeing them go to a coffee shop chain or stop elsewhere on their way to work. High-quality baked goods that the cafe customers know are baked fresh keep them coming back.
For instance, cinnamon rolls have been a big hit. Beyond being a popular breakfast item, they create a tempting aroma that is hard to resist. Using Pillsbury’s products, Stephen says his staff is able to offer baked items that customers crave without overtaxing his team.
“The Pillsbury items are very easy to prep and we know will get the consistency and quality results we are looking for every time,” said Stephen.
With the cinnamon rolls, Rockledge Cafe’s staff preps the product the night before on a sheet pan. By morning, the rolls have “slacked out” and staff can simply pop them in the oven and add cream cheese icing before serving.
The cafe also prepares a variety of muffins each day, using Pillsbury™ BatterPro™ as the foundation and adding special toppings to make them stand out. For instance, the staff often adds thinly sliced apples or brown sugar to apple cinnamon muffins or crushed walnuts on the top of banana nut muffins.
“Stephen and his staff have not only done a great job of adding premium bakery items but promoting that the items are baked on site, which has gotten a great response from customers,” said Brenden Moore, a customer account specialist from General Mills Foodservice who works with Rockledge Regional Medical Center. “Hopefully Rockledge’s success will inspire other foodservice operations to seize the opportunity that awaits them by offering and promoting fresh baked goods.”
If you’re interested in learning how you can receive a free bakery merchandiser for your operation, contact your General Mills sales representative today.