bake - July 2018 - 30
n Fuwith fall creations T his autumn, bakeries should prepare to break some rules for exciting and fresh twists on seasonal desserts. The newest trends appeal to customers both young and old - everyone is welcome to the party with a mixture of styles, unexpected colors and unusual influences. Classic holiday icons get a modern makeover influenced by social media, and favorite treats are bright and Instagram-worthy. The happy colors of summer find their place in fall foods this year, livening up the autumn palette. Sweets are made for sharing, so coordinated, mix-and-match desserts are growing in popularity. Back to School is a great opportunity for dessert sales, particularly when words of encouragement or silly school puns are included on the treat. Dessert makers should look to the city for trend inspiration - unexpected urban textures (like cement) mixed with flashy graffiti patterns and fast food icons make for treats that are too cool for school. "Hand-drawn" doodles and splashes of color celebrate the creative artist in everyone. Think bite-sized and hand-held treats that are easy to slip into a lunch box or share in a classroom. Cute is the new creepy for Halloween sweets. Desserts are a big part of this treat-focused holiday and become popular icons alongside the expected ghosts and jack-o-lanterns. For a twist, the upcoming "Creep it Cute" trend turns pumpkins bright pink and HIGHLIGHTING unicorn horns overtake devil horns. Social media and Snapchat filters are a big influence for Halloween desserts, and even the popular pineapple is a welcome surprise for this fall holiday. Add a little sparkle to your Halloween orange and black this year with shimmer colors and brights, especially pink, lime green and purple. Thanksgiving desserts get a Bohemian color palette. Customers are increasingly seeking out desserts with natural food colors, including Boho warm magentas and cool turquoises that add a modern flair to traditional fall oranges and browns. Stylized rustic icons like flowers, leaves and hand-written fonts appear on cakes with a "home-made" feel. Friends are increasingly included when it comes to Thanksgiving celebrations prompting the trend "friendsgiving," which is a more casual, diverse and personalized gathering among friends. Shareable large desserts are accompanied with small treats personalized for each guest in a variety of flavors, decorations or even messaging. Lucks (lucks.com) helps bakeries easily achieve these on-trend looks for fall with our line of edible decorations and professional grade food color. We study the trends so you don't have to, and recently launched some exciting new products to help you plan for market-ready fall 2018 desserts. Lucks decorations can be easily added in-store or on a high-volume production line. the value The road to higher profitability relies on creating new levels of price points that depend more on perceived value than price. If a consumer considers a $3 cupcake to be a valued treat, then the threshold has been achieved. "Creating new price points in categories of products has been good for all of us," says Page Busken of the iconic Busken Bakery in Cincinnati, now in its 90th year. "Now you can sell a cupcake for $2 or more. We like that." Brian Busken, vice president of Busken Bakery, points out that millennials are opening more doors for creative expression at cake shops. "If you make something on-trend and adorable," he says, "there is not as much price sensitivity." Examples include headline-grabbing creations like the Atomic Cake, a popular cake that originated on the South Side of Chicago. Longtime family owned retailer Weber's Bakery makes a version they call a banana split torte. Tom Major, president of Orland Park Bakery, explains their version of the Atomic Cake: "It is made from yellow cake on the bottom, topped with Bavarian cream, bananas and whipped cream, and then a layer of banana cake with strawberries and whipped cream and topped with chocolate cake and fudge and topped with whipped cream. The Atomic Cake is legendary." Cute is the new creepy for cakes and other sweets for Halloween. Desserts are a big part of this treatfocused holiday. Lucks 30 2018 THE FALL ISSUE