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Sweet or savory, mini muffin or roasting pan, traditional shape or special purpose, $2.99 or $99, the broad range of bakeware and its versatility in the kitchen has helped retailers maintain a steady business in the category throughout the past year.

That steady business translates to 37 million pieces of bakeware shipped in the first nine months of 1999; about the same as 1998, according to Hugh Rushing of the Cookware Manufacturers Association (CMA). "Bakeware is a dependable category year in and year out," assured Rushing, who serves as president of the association.

Building a better bakeware business requires paying homage to three traditional retailing tactics: consumer education, product assortment, and merchandising.

In the current competitive world of retailing with chain consolidation, expanding big box stores, and e-commerce sites popping up everywhere, ensuring that bakeware continues as a viable part of your product mix requires a diligent commitment to each of these tactics. In a category where a single piece of bakeware can retail from $2.99 to upward of $100, dedication to the category can ensure your sales will reflect your efforts to capture the upper end of the bakeware spectrum.

The Essentials of Education

"By far, cake and cookie items comprise more than 50 percent of the bakeware category as far as dollars are concerned," Rushing explained, adding there has been a slight decline in muffin-pan popularity. But bakeware's utility extends beyond our love for chocolate-chip cookies and nut-filled coffee cakes. According to the CMA, the term bakeware refers to "those products used for foods which cook by absorbing heat from the surrounding hot air as produced in an oven (indirect heat)." Under that definition, the bakeware category represents nearly anything placed in the oven, from a clay casserole for one-pot cooking to a pizza pan to a ramekin. Analyzing changes from year to year, "We have seen an increase in roasting and meat-related baking items," added Rushing, "with the number of pieces sold in that segment for 1999 up substantially from 1998."

From both manufacturer and retailer accounts, the bakeware business is moving to the upper-end level, with better-quality and higher-priced items driving the business. To capitalize on this trend toward upper-end bakeware, it is crucial to supply appropriate information to the consumer. "What's most important when selling good bakeware is providing the information to the customer as to why one might be more expensive than another," explained Sarah Esterling, vice president for merchandising with Internet retailer Tavolo.

Regardless of where customers purchase bakeware, the primary function of the bakeware must be understood by the customer. With the variety of shapes, sizes, and types of bakeware (metal, glass, ceramic, etc.) the first consideration should be the type of baking the customer will be doing. Occasional cookie bakers may need only basic pieces. More advanced bakers will require the special shapes and forms as well as the basics. A tin-plate line may be the least expensive, but if it's just what the customer needs for a once-a-year baking attempt, is it really necessary to have him or her spend $38 on a springform? Likewise, customers who are avid bakers want heavy-duty pieces that will keep their shape, have good conductivity, and last a lifetime.

The Cooking.com Internet site offers a good example of bakeware background information. In its "primary function" area, the site offers information on which baked goods are often made with which pans: "Straight-sided round pans, some with removable bottoms, some without bottoms, are for making various tarts, tortes, and cheesecakes. High-sided pans with a funnel in the middle are for light, airy cakes, such as sponge cakes and angel food cakes, that float up the sides when baked," the description reads.

Matching the correct piece of bakeware to the customer's needs and abilities is essential. "Despite what some might say," explained Rushing, "people are still baking. They may not be baking from scratch," he admitted, "but they're baking with mixes, and that is still considered baking." Although Mom used to bake a cake from scratch, today all that is needed to create a beautiful dessert is a boxed mix and a few ingredients poured into a decorative shaped loaf or bundt pan. Now, consumers don't need to spend endless amounts of time to produce that specialized gift from the heart.

At Cooks Emporium, a cookware store located in Ames, Iowa, customers are looking at baking in a different way. "Many of our customers believe baking is a difficult thing to accomplish," explained manager Margaret Junkhan. "We try to overcome that misconception by offering creative shapes with the design built into the pan so all the customer needs is a cake mix. They then can add a bit of dried fruit and nuts, and the decoration is complete." The ease with which great-tasting, attractive baked goods can be prepared has helped bring baking out of the "only-for-special-occasions" realm.

A Plethora of Product

Most retailers carry a "good, better, best" assortment from the basics to the higher tier lines as a way to offer superior service to customers. With the broad price ranges and extensive variety of bakeware pieces available, retailers need to make it as easy as possible for customers to shop the category.

"The fun creative shapes have added sexiness into the bakeware category," said Esterling. "The category can become stagnant unless you take some of the fear out of baking and focus on the fun side. It's the right thing to do for entertaining, for children, and for an everyday baking experience."

And, if your customer base will support it, retailers can earn a lot more from the same square footage when selling bakeware at the higher-end price point than selling $2.99 low-end items. "The industry has sought to make the bakeware category a worthwhile category to carry," explained Rushing. "They're trying to take it from the $2.99 disposable units to something that will bring in more dollars per square foot, and make the customer happier in the long run."

Beyond individual pieces, bakeware sets make easy, wonderful gifts for the bridal registry. Sets are available that offer basic assortments for the newcomer to baking or the established baker seeking to renew his or her baking utensils. These gift-inspired purchases add incremental sales throughout the year, especially as the traditional June wedding is appearing in non-traditional months scattered throughout the year. Helping to raise the average bakeware ring at the register, especially in bridal registry, has been the introduction of high-end bakeware lines by the traditional bridal-registry cookware companies. Their reputation in cookware has grown the bakeware category in registry.

The Magic of Merchandising

Tell a story with bakeware, and you'll be more likely to catch the attention of not only the avid, but the occasional, baker. "We do a lot of cross-merchandising within the bakeware category using cookbooks more than any other item," explained Junkhan. "That way we can give the customer some idea of the things one can make with the bakeware." But just about anything baking-related can be pulled together to create an enticing baking story. Accessories are an essential component to bring the whole baking theme full circle. An avid baker will need a stand mixer, mixing bowls, pastry brushes, pastry bags, rubber spatulas, rolling pins, measuring spoons, pie plates, cake-decorating kits, even ingredients such as vanilla or food-coloring kits. By merchandising all these products in the same area, you can put baking into perspective for your customers. In the process, your store will become known as the one-stop shopping source for anything related to bakeware.

At Kitchen Glamor, a Michigan-based cookware store, all bakeware-related items are merchandised together in one part of the store, away from the cookware and the gadgets. There, bakeware, cake-decorating tools, wedding-cake equipment, candy equipment, chocolate molds and more are merchandised. "With everything sold in one area of the store," explained Harry Patsalis, buyer for Kitchen Glamor, "the customer can focus on anything that might potentially be required for baking needs."

Junkhan is careful not to overdo the display merchandising. "If we create too much of a display by bringing in too many different products, the customer doesn't want to shop the category for fear of messing up the display," she explained.

Kitchen Glamor extends its merchandising of bakeware and other categories through an informational Web site. Not yet ready for e-commerce, the site offers information about the bakeware available in the Kitchen Glamor catalogue and stores. "Also, our staff members who answer the phones for the catalog are well-educated and can guide the customer to the proper choice," Patsalis added.

The design features of bakeware often aren't realized until the pieces are used. New decorative shapes can make the simplest of recipes look elegant with minimal effort. "Once customers use the bakeware, they're usually sold on it," assured Junkhan. To get the customer to that point, participants in cooking classes at Cooks Emporium have the opportunity to use bakeware during the classes. "They can see first-hand how a specific piece of bakeware functions before purchasing it for home use," explained Junkhan.

The Internet retailer Tavolo cross-merchandises bakeware with recipes and ingredients. Links from the bakeware page to the recipe feature page help consumers realize the many uses of a specific piece. Promotions such as a Fall Baking Special further ensure consumers have all the basics necessary for holiday baking.

Sharing the Secret of Success

The holidays may be behind us, but that doesn't mean your bakeware business should lie dormant until the fall. Whether it's a birthday celebration or a Friday night pizza party, there is always an occasion for bakeware. Focus on consumer education, product assortment, and merchandising throughout the entire year, and you'll soon realize you've discovered the secret to building a better bakeware business.







Aluminum — In general, the thickness of the aluminum bakeware will determine its quality: the heavier or thicker it is, the more durable the piece. Gauge is usually described by a number: the smaller the number, the thicker the aluminum. Aluminum has excellent heat-conductivity properties, bakes quickly and evenly, and is lightweight so it is easy to handle.

Stainless Steel — Exceptionally durable, stainless steel is one of the easiest materials to maintain. With normal use, stainless-steel bakeware will not dent, warp, or chip. Many pieces are manufactured to combine stainless with other metals in order to improve the bakeware's heat conductivity. For instance, two-ply will have a stainless-steel exterior with another metal in the interior, and three-ply has stainless steel on both the inside and outside surfaces with a layer of copper, carbon steel, or aluminum forming the core.

Copper — Copper's superior and uniform heat conductivity allows for even heat distribution. Copper can be easily polished using a commercial copper cleaner or a mixture of flour, salt, lemon juice, and ammonia, or a mixture of vinegar and flour.

Cast Iron — Greatly improved in recent years, cast-iron utensils are excellent for browning, frying, stewing, and baking foods. Natural cast iron should be seasoned, and should not be washed with strong detergents or scoured.

Tin — Tin plating refers to the process of plunging plates of iron into molten tin to provide a protective coating for the metal. Tin-plated steel plays an important role in the baking industry because it is durable and possesses excellent inherent baking qualities. Little care is required since the tinplate provides the necessary protection to help the steel-based material resist rusting and staining.

Porcelain on Metal — The porcelain provides a permanent, smooth, glassy surface which is a highly durable glass. A standard coating for roasting pans, the porcelain enamel is applied to aluminum, stainless steel, and cast iron. The finish offers an unlimited variety of colors and design effects with stain- and scratch-resistant qualities.

Glass, Glass-Ceramic, and Ceramic — The major features of heat-resistant glass, glass-ceramic, and ceramic bakeware are that they are attractive, easy to clean, and offer a one-dish convenience from oven to table. Those designed for baking can be taken from the refrigerator and put in a preheated oven after the bakeware reaches room temperature. Like glass, ceramic bakeware holds heat for a long time, providing the added benefit of a serving piece. The glass-ceramic is the most thermally shock-resistant material, allowing it to take extreme temperature changes, and is excellent for roasting, broiling, or baking in a conventional or microwave oven.

Information provided by Cookware Manufacturers Association.





• Thirty-seven million pieces of bakeware were shipped during the first nine months of 1999 — about the same as in 1998.



• Cake and cookie items comprise more than 50 percent of the dollar volume in the bakeware category.



• Roasting and meat-related baking items generated the highest increase in sales, according to a report by the CMA.



• The bakeware business is trending toward high-end pieces, which bring in better margins for retailers.



• Bakeware strategy for success: consumer education, product assortment, and year-long merchandising.