minneapolis  (sept.  18, 2008) – General Mills today announced that Johnson’s Bakery in Duluth, Minn., was selected as one of the grand prize winners in the company’s Merchandising Makeover: Pillsbury Bakery Edition contest, presented in collaboration with the Retail Bakers of America (RBA).As a winner, co-owners Scott Johnson and Sharon Torrison received $5,000 to remodel their family’s 62-year-old bakery.  The brother and sister team recently completed the finishing touches and unveiled their newly renovated bakery at a special recognition event in September. 

“Our bakery is in a building that was constructed in 1916 and it has a lot of charm, but our décor needed updating,” said Scott Johnson, co-owner of Johnson’s Bakery. “Since we completed the makeover, we have had a lot of positive response from our customers. They really enjoy the new atmosphere.” 

 

A team from General Mills and the RBA worked with Johnson and Torrison to evaluate the bakery and develop a blueprint that would make the biggest impact with their given budget. They moved forward with a plan that optimized the bakery’s space to better merchandise its products and provide customers a more efficient shopping experience.   

 
Johnson and Torrison used the funds to installnew flooring, lighting, and shelving, refurbished its sales area and moved the bakery’s coffee shop to the front of the store to give customers a bakery-café experience. A team from General Mills pitched in to help paint the store’s vintage tin ceilings and walls. The old coffee shop space was repurposed for the bakery’s wholesale business. 

 

 

 

Johnson’s Bakery provides a broad array of pastries, cookies, cakes and donuts, in addition to breads and rolls. As stated by Johnson, the bakery takes great pride in the quality of its baked-from-scratch sugar cookies and donuts, using a recipe from Johnson’s grandmother. The bakery also runs a wholesale business, providing a full line of baked goods and breads to foodservice customers in the restaurant and hospitality industry.

 

According to Lynn Schurman, president of the Retail Bakers of America, bakeries today can make a big difference in their retail space with a modest budget.

 

“With baked goods available to consumers in so many places, retail bakeries need to stay competitive in today’s marketplace,” said Schurman. “One way they can do that is by investing some time and effort to effectively merchandise in their sales area. Retail bakeries may be surprised to learn they can easily update their retail space with a minimal investment.”

 

For bakeries looking to update their retail space, the Pillsbury Bakery Institute offers the following low-cost merchandising tips.

1.   Make your products jump off the shelf. Clearly mark products in display cases with professional-looking signage.

2.   Think of your bakery as an “edible gift shop.” Keep grab-and-go items by the counter for convenience, impulse, and easy gift ideas.

3.   Keep bakery cases looking full. Rotate fresh products to the front of the case throughout the day.

4.   Remind customer of your signature items. Communicate this through brochures, flyers, samples, and special features and promotions.

5.   Keep your store-front clean and inviting. A fresh coat of paint goes a long ways in creating that welcoming environment.

 

The Merchandising Makeover contest was open to members of the Retail Bakers of America association. Members were asked to write an original essay explaining why their bakery could benefit from a makeover. A panel judged entries based on the entrant’s vision for their bakery’s future, demonstrated passion for the baking industry, and effective articulation of how the bakery could benefit from a merchandising makeover.  Two grand prize winners received a store-front Merchandising Makeover for their bakery valued up to $5,000 each. The second grand prize winner will be announced in coming months. The sweepstakes ended January 31, 2008. Official rules available online at www.rbanet.com.

 

The General Mills Bakeries & Foodservice division sells a wide array of high-quality products into the retail bakery channel, such as bakery flour, dry baking mixes and frozen products including cinnamon rolls, muffins, puff pastry, scones and other sweet goods.It also markets dry baking mixes and bakery flour in the foodservice, restaurant and wholesale bakery channels. In addition, the division sells General Mills branded cereal, yogurt, snacks and more in a wide variety of foodservice outlets, such as cafeterias, convenience stores and vending machines. The division generates more than $1.8 billion in annual sales.