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Glance around your store right now. Do you have any displays showcasing today's bakeware trends? If not, then consider this — in the four channels tracked by NPD HomeTrak, the bakeware market through June 2001 was up three percent due to the purchase of 16.5 million units year-to-date and overall sales of $133 million.

"We estimate that we cover 70 percent of the total market. When you include all the other places where one can purchase bakeware, the total market is around $190 million," said Dora Radwick, NPD's senior communications specialist.

Add to those numbers the fact that home chefs are further comprehending the important role high-quality equipment and ingredients play in their final product, and you have a category worth investment.



The Right Tools

Renee Fitch, manager of The Silo, a kitchenware store in New Milford, Conn., said her customers are educating themselves on baking techniques. The result of this education is a new breed of customers who know exactly what they want.

"People are coming in and asking very specific questions," Fitch said. "I don't know if it's the Food Network or magazines, but our customers are asking for more sophisticated products, not just everyday products. They are asking for certain molds, like a charlotte mold, for example."

Perry Reynolds, executive director of the International Housewares Association, attributes the increased attention on specialty items to the ongoing trends of cooking as entertainment and maturing consumers.

"I think that there has been a move over the last four or five years toward the purchasing of higher-quality products — even toward professional-quality products. That matches with the purchasing trends your retail audience is experiencing," Reynolds explained. "We're looking at well-traveled, aging baby boomers who have bought generalized product at market prices for years and are now purchasing products with more specific functions at a higher-quality level."

A partial list of what today's baking enthusiast requires includes: Electronic kitchen scales, instructional videotapes, cookbooks, professional pastry tools, professional proofing baskets, thermo-baking forms, silpats, confectionery funnels, stackable pastry frame sets, whisks, mandolines, apple peelers, pastry cutters, pastry combs, kitchen timers, rolling pins, pastry racks, pastry bags, pastry tips, dough cutters, heat-resistant spatulas, parchment paper, powdered sugar, flour sifters, petits-fours molds, cake turntables, cake markers . . . and of course, bakeware. So what's in your bakeware department? Maybe it's time you consider building a better bakeware business.

The items bought by customers at Beaver Falls, Penn.-based A Cook's Wares illustrate the trend towards the purchase of high-quality bakeware. Co-owner Gail Bitar is amazed but pleased with the purchasing confidence her customers display.

"What does surprise me a little bit is that people are really willing to pay the price of some of the high-end bakeware. People are becoming more interested in baking and they understand that quality is important in the kitchen and you have to pay for quality. They appear to be more willing to do that," she said. "They want product that is going to perform well and is going to last."

A Cook's Wares carries four lines of metal bakeware and flexible silicon products, as well as a collection of porcelain oven-to-table products from France and Japan. Specialized baking tools include silpats, pastry bags, pastry tips, revolving cake stands, and cake decorating kits.

"The silpats sell amazingly well, but I am not surprised since Martha Stewart is promoting them on her shows," Bitar said. "All of these products sell better in the fall near the holidays and around Easter, but if you look at all the products associated with this category, they really do well all year long."

Fitch is experiencing the same increased attention to specialty products which support her already-consistent bakeware sales. The Silo's customers are expressing interest in cake decorating and specialty desserts, driving sales of niche products, such as soufflé dishes, chef's torches, and pastry tips.

"People are very much into decorating cakes. We normally directed customers looking for cake-decorating products elsewhere, but now I am seeing such an increased demand that it's a category we're considering expanding," Fitch explained. "We can't keep the silpat in stock. It's amazing and it really is not an inexpensive piece, but people love it. And then you have the at-home crème brûlée torch selling wonderfully. It's pretty interesting to see. I don't think it's something people used to make at home 10 years ago."

Strengthening Sales

With the holidays upon us, we are deep in the midst of baking season. How you display your product mix illustrates your dedication to building sales. If your sales aren't rising to the occasion, solutions may be found by studying national sales trends, television influences, and media messages.

"Since bakeware sales are highly seasonal, the first half of the year typically represents about 37 percent of sales for the year," Radwick explained. "Bakeware sets, which represent 28 percent of total bakeware sales, are up eight percent year-to-date."

An interesting sub-category was casseroles, whose sales are up 16 percent over last year. The oven-to-table classic comprises six percent of total bakeware sales. The most frequently purchased bakeware items — baking pans, roasting pans, and cookie sheets — were off slightly from a year ago, down one to two percent.

Fitch said sales at The Silo are consistent with national trends. While consumers continue to purchase the basic elements needed for baking — cookie sheets and the like, they are also selecting products that serve a variety of purposes.

"Oven to tableware is always very popular because it fills a variety of needs," Fitch said. People are more conscious of how they spend their money and are attempting to purchase items that have more than one use. Roasting sets are also very popular. Chicago Metallic makes a nice one that comes with the rack itself. People can bake brownies or a sheet cake and then roast a chicken."

Another area of growth for The Silo is in the children's department where baking sets are flying off the shelf.

"There is also a huge trend with children's baking," Fitch continued, "A few years ago, we had children's sets and they didn't do well, but now we can't keep them on the shelves."

To profit from these trends, The Silo has reconfigured its bakeware department to incorporate oven-to-table ceramic products, baking utensils, and bakeware. The results have benefited both customers and sales.

"We used to keep them separate, but keeping them together actually helps the sale. Customers come in looking for a jelly roll pan and then see a piece of Emile Henry next to it and they discover that product will fill a variety of needs," said Fitch.

Demonstrate Quality

Your customers just can't live without some particular tools — even if they don't know it. Illustrating the difference high-quality tools and equipment can provide bakers will lead to increased sales and loyal customers. Other products you have to demonstrate are those "see-it-to-believe-it" items only specialty stores have the time and staff to demonstrate properly. Most of these products — like charlotte molds — are niche products that are perfect for your store.

A gadget called a bread cloche is a great tool to feature. The cloche is composed of two pieces of unglazed terra cotta pottery that fit together to make a baking chamber. This little chamber is almost airtight, so that the vapor for the dough itself creates a steamy baking chamber capable of producing crusty breads. Simply stated, it becomes an oven inside the oven. This product makes for a great in-store demonstration, allowing you to also feature high-quality ingredients, such as yeast, flours, and herbs.

Another worthy demonstration is one that delineates rolling pins. While many consumers incorrectly think any rolling pin will do, matching the right rolling pin to the job makes baking easier. Wooden pins offer the maximum kitchen versatility. A pin with handles may be easier to use, but a simple cylinder provides more direct control of the dough.

Ranging from nonstick to stainless steel to wood, each rolling pin boasts its own benefit, whether it's ergonomically correct, smooth rolling, or heavy weighted. Providing customers with a test area is a great way to get sales rolling. Stock accessories such as pie dishes, pie vents, measuring cups, pastry boards, French tart pans, and specialty molds nearby.

While many retailers conduct baking demonstrations in cooking classes, don't limit yourself. In-store demonstrations are a great sales tool. Baking a batch of cookies or a loaf of bread stimulates your customers' olfactory senses, pulling them directly to your demonstration area. Once you've gained an audience, you can demonstrate the benefits of a multitude of high-end equipment, from the best in stainless steel bakeware to the importance of utilizing ergonomically correct utensils.

A Cook's Wares features baking stones and specialty yeast, as well as high-quality vanillas, chocolates, and olive oils. Fitch's baking staples include dry cocoa, vanilla, marble slabs, and electronic scales. A new item she recently tested at home in her own batch of oatmeal cookies is vanilla bean paste.

She explained, "We carry Madagascar Bourbon vanilla from Nielsen-Massey and just brought in their new vanilla bean paste. It's very thick — almost like a maple syrup and the color is like a vanilla, but it has little specks of vanilla beans. You use the same amount as regular vanilla, but it's a direct replacement for one vanilla bean."

The Silo also encourages its customers' creativity with numerous baking classes. Fitch said product demonstrations during those classes help in-store sales as students learn why certain products provide better results.

"We normally have bread classes and we sell a lot of baking (pizza) stones after baking classes," she explained. "Marble slabs are also selling well because people are incorporating them into their kitchens for pastries."

Following through on baking classes and demonstrations with creative displays is also important. When designing these displays, go beyond the traditional. A great display for this quarter is one with a holiday-harvest theme that incorporates cast iron products like corn molds, ceramic oven-to-tableware in autumn tones, a high-quality nonstick rolling pin, and a professional bakeware set strategically placed around a marble slab with heat-resistant utensils.

Or create a timeless cake-decorating display complete with a pastry bag, springform pans, decorative bundt pans, stainless steel measuring spoons, a flour sifter, mixing bowls, a double boiler, and a cake-decorating turntable. Consider including other special items in your store like a cake lifter, cake pedestals, and cake totes. Be sure to include ingredients such as high-quality baking chocolate, chocolate dessert cups, vanilla, and organic flour and sugar. Top it off with a great cookbook on baking — propped on a stand and opened to a mouth-watering photo — and you have an eye-catching, gift-inspiring display that is the perfect recipe for a delicious baking season.