bake - June 2019 - 37

Cookies remain one of the most proﬁtable items in the retail

cakes at a time adds efficiency and lowers production costs,

bakery business, and automated depositing is paving the way

enabling Busch's to offer better deals on premium quality cakes

for even greater efficiencies.

than the competition. Maynard estimates that quarter-sheet
cakes probably represent Busch's highest volume of cake sales,

In one recent example, Busch's Fresh Food Market, a 17-store

along with 8-inch rounds. Carrot cakes remain a top variety.

operator based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is installing a
1,400-square-foot freezer at its central plant in nearby Clinton,

"We've made carrot cake forever, and they are one of our big-

Michigan, to assist in the conversion to automated depositing.

gest sellers," she says. "We offer carrot cakes in baby, 8-inch
and other sizes. They all sell really well. People love a good

Kelley Maynard, central kitchen manager, explains that Busch's

classic item."

supermarkets currently order muffins, cookies and other sweet
goods every other day from the central bakery. Once the

Along the same lines, blueberry is a mainstay of their muffin

freezer and a new Hinds-Bock depositor are installed this year,

program, accounting for double the sales of any other variety.

complementing the plant's existing Vemag cookie depositor,

Busch's makes 4-ounce muffins in other ﬂavors such as choco-

the central bakery will shift to portioning almost all doughs and

late chip, cranberry orange, apple cinnamon and lemon pop-

batters by machine. The expansive freezer will be used to hold

pyseed. The central bakery typically makes ﬁve to six muffin

cookie doughs, portioned muffins, sweet breads, brownies and

varieties at a time, including seasonal ﬂavors.

cakes. Such added efficiency will lead to greater selection for
stores. As always, products will be baked fresh to order.

Their scratch-made cookie program (made with US Grade AA
butter) includes two lines: 12-count packages of 1 oz cookies

"Our stores will be able to order anything they want any day of

in multiple varieties (chocolate chip, peanut butter, snicker-

the week," Maynard says. "We are hoping to expand our offer-

doodle, etc.) and 6-count packages of 2 oz gourmet cookies in

ings and be more efficient. Bakery is very important to Busch's

varieties such as salted caramel, oatmeal overload, and choco-

as a company."

late Andes mint. "For now, we are hand scooping the 6-count
cookie doughs," Maynard says. "With the new freezer, we could

Retail bakeries that produce good volume in cookies can

run them through the Vemag and eliminate hand scooping and

beneﬁt from a valuable lesson here. It will save you time and

make us more efficient."

valuable labor to automate where you can - scooping doughs
and freezing cookie doughs to use as needed in the future -

And as consumer demand shifts, especially with smaller

so that you bring greater efficiency and proﬁtability into your

household sizes and more people treating themselves to small

bakery production process.

indulgences while shopping the bakery department, Maynard
says the timing is right to adapt to changing times. In the end,

Cakes and sweet goods play an equally integral role to the suc-

Busch's will be even more successful, she believes.

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cess of Busch's central bakery. The push is on here to improve
efficiency and create a more tailored mix of varieties and sizes

"I think there is deﬁnitely a trend toward smaller portions,

that match more closely with demand.

and everything we've done on a smaller scale has been more
successful," she says. "I think people are more apt to make an

"At one point, we had a very large selection of cakes: 6-inch

impulse buy than in the past. They can pick up a baby cake

to 12-inch, rounds and squares, one-eighth sheet to full sheet.

for $5.99. It's more of an impulse buy that is not an excessive

Now we are focusing on more popular sizes," Maynard says.

amount of cake and it's not going to hurt their pocketbook."

"We began a 5-inch baby cake that has been hugely successful.
Smaller sizes sell better today."

In the end, improved efficiency at the production facility leads

Having a more efficient cake production system, in fact, provides

more efficiencies to lower retails to our guests," Maynard says.

Busch's with a distinct advantage because producing more small

"We are so excited about what we have coming."

to keeping retail prices from going up. "We are hoping to build

bakemag.com | JUN 2019 > 37
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