The holiday season is upon us, which means it’s time to break out the aprons, fire up the ovens, and prepare for the glorious (yet slightly terrifying) holiday rush. For small bakeries, this is a golden opportunity to boost sales, attract customers, and—let’s face it—sell a lot of sugar and butter to people who need a little joy in their lives.
But how can you capitalize on the holiday chaos without losing your sanity in the process?
Fear not, this post is designed to share a few proven sales and marketing strategies to make your bakery the talk of the town this holiday season.
1. Make Your Menu a Holiday Wonderland (But Don’t Go Overboard)
Ah, the magic of seasonal flavors. Customers are practically begging for pumpkin spice everything. However, before you go wild with gingerbread-flavored potato chips and eggnog cupcakes I recommend that you stick with classic holiday flavors that are guaranteed crowd-pleasers.
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Festive Cakes and Cookies: Think snowflakes, reindeer, and sugar-laden sleighs. You can’t go wrong with a cookie shaped like Santa.
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Holiday Pie Frenzy: Pumpkin, pecan, apple... let’s be real, people will buy ANY pie if it’s wrapped in a cute holiday box and adorned with enough whipped cream to satisfy their inner child.
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Merry Cocoa-mas: Hot cocoa or mulled cider, anyone? Add a little festive sparkle and suddenly, you’ve got the drink of the season.
Pro Tip: If it’s seasonal and covered in frosting, it will sell. You can even throw in a snowman-shaped loaf of bread, and people will be all over it. (Probably not a good idea, but we’ll leave that to your creativity).
2. Flash Sales and Early Bird Specials (Because Everyone Loves a Deal)
Ah, the magic words: "limited-time offer". Nothing gets people’s wallets out faster than the fear of missing out on something that may or may not be a bargain. So why not make it an art form this holiday season?
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Pre-Order Deals: Encourage customers to plan ahead for their holiday parties. Offer a “pre-order bonus” where they get a free cookie or a 10% discount if they place their order before the Christmas shopping madness begins. You know, like a holiday survival kit.
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12 Days of Christmas Sales: Run a “12 Days of Sweet Deals” promotion where each day features a different item. Cookies one day, croissants the next, and maybe a free gingerbread man that looks suspiciously like your cousin Bob.
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Buy One, Get One: Buy a gingerbread house, get a free cookie for Santa. Trust me, they will not say no.
You can also go old-school with a “flash sale” that starts at random times—because nothing screams excitement like buying a $50 cake at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday.
3. Online Ordering & Delivery: Because We’ve All Been There, 4pm on Christmas Eve
Holiday shopping is stressful. Baking is stressful. But nothing is more stressful than realizing you forgot to order a pie for Aunt Linda. By offering online ordering and delivery, you can become their holiday hero.
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Order Ahead, Skip the Line: Offer an online ordering system for pickups so customers can skip the line and quickly get back to their busy holiday errands.
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Delivery: Offering local delivery will have you feeling like the Santa of baked goods. Just make sure your delivery driver is dressed like an elf. Or don’t. Your call.
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Gift Cards: When in doubt, sell gift cards. They are perfect stocking stuffer recommendation and a no brainer for most shoppers on the go. And if you’re feeling generous, throw in a free cookie for them to sample your treats.
4. Pop-Ups & Holiday Markets: Let’s Get Out There, People!
There’s nothing more festive than joining in on the fun of a local holiday market. You get to engage with customers, hand out samples (hello, free advertising!), and bask in the glory of your delicious creations. Your customers will thank you for the fuel as they shop for other handmade, novelty items from local artisans.
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Local Holiday Markets: Rent a booth at a local market and watch people happily trade their money for carbs. You could even partner with local artists or coffee shops for a joint pop-up. After all, no one’s ever been upset about having a cupcake and a latte at the same time. It’s a match made in heaven.
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Pop-Up Bakery, Pop-Up Joy: If you’re feeling fancy, host a pop-up bakery at a local venue. You can show off your seasonal menu and maybe even have a few “exclusive” items for sale. Think of it as your bakery’s red carpet moment.
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Decorate Your Stall Like You’re Getting Paid in Cookies: Do it up! Bright lights, festive wreaths, and maybe a few oversized gingerbread men. Who cares if it’s over-the-top? It’s the holidays. Over-the-top is basically the theme of the season.
5. Social Media: ‘Tis the Season for Free Advertising
If you’re not on Instagram during the holidays, are you even a bakery? It’s like the official social media holiday headquarters, where people post photos of food they’ve never actually eaten.
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Behind-the-Scenes Shenanigans: Share photos of your baking disasters, like the time you accidentally made a batch of cookies that looked more like a crime scene than a festive treat. People love authenticity! (Bonus points if your team is wearing ugly sweaters and everyone’s holding a spatula like a weapon.)
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Engage, Engage, Engage: Do a “holiday baking challenge” where followers can post their attempts at making your signature treats. Reward the best (or funniest) with free goodies. Everyone loves a competition, especially when it involves sugar and butter.
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Holiday Countdown: Create a countdown to Christmas with a different item featured every day, or sneak in a limited-time offer. Consider it a “gift” to your followers…even though the real gift is the sugar rush you’ll provide.
6. Plan Ahead (Or, How to Not Lose Your Mind During the Rush)
Let’s be real, there’s a lot going on during the holidays. There’s the baking, the orders, the customers who suddenly think they can just show up on Christmas Eve and expect a 5 dozen cookies. You’ll need to prepare, or else you’ll end up weeping in front of a mountain of flour at 2 a.m.
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Batch Production: Make sure you have plenty of your most popular items prepped and ready to go. The last thing you need is to be running around like a headless chicken because someone ordered 80 sugar cookies and you’ve already run out of sprinkles.
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Pre-Order for the Win: Give customers an easy way to place holiday orders early. That way, they can order their Christmas desserts weeks in advance while you sip hot cocoa and smile smugly.
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Holiday Packaging: Think smart when it comes to purchasing holiday packaging. Since red, gold and sliver packaging can also be used for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and (again) next holiday season, you can easily select packaging that can be used now and in the future.
7. Give Back and Spread Some Holiday Cheer (Because You’re the Good Guy, Right?)
The holidays are about giving back, so why not take the opportunity to do some good? Plus, being the local bakery that spreads holiday joy might just earn you some “I love this bakery!” points.
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Charity Donations: Partner with a local food bank or shelter and donate a percentage of your profits.
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Community Events: Sponsor a local holiday event, parade, or even a gingerbread house contest (for which you’ll definitely be a judge). It’s all about getting your name out there while spreading holiday cheer.
In conclusion...
The holiday rush is the perfect time to get creative with your small bakery and make a sweet impression (pun absolutely intended). With some fun menu items, strategic deals, and a bit of holiday spirit, you can turn the season into a baking bonanza that customers will remember long after the last piece of pie is gone. So, roll up those sleeves, preheat that oven, and let the holiday hustle begin!
Cyd Mitchell Hodges
Business Blogger, Retail Bakers of America
Cydni Mitchell Hodges (aka Cyd) is a Bakery Consultant and the Sweet Business Coach behind Sweet Fest®. Based in Atlanta, GA, Sweet Fest® is an online company that supports the business needs of the Sweet Community in the areas of professional development, marketing, branding and web design.
By trade, Cyd is an accountant & financial analyst with a Masters from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the Founder of the Sugar Coin Academy, an online business academy for business owners in the baking and sweets industry, and she is also the organizer of The Ultimate Sugar Show, Georgia’s Largest Annual Baking and Sweets Expo in Atlanta. She is also the Business Blogger for the Retail Bakers of America.