Jenni Spinner: Could you please talk about some of the consumer trends at play in bakery purchases? Please feel free to talk about anything from the ingredients and flavors to the need for high-end, restaurant-like experiences at home. 

Mike Docherty: Consumer trends in the bakery category are evolving quickly, shaped by the desire for both comfort and novelty. Shoppers continue to crave traditional favorites, but they’re also drawn to elevated, restaurant-quality experiences they can enjoy at home. This includes premium finishes, personalized touches, and a variety of flavor profiles. Seasonal and limited-time offerings create urgency and excitement, while trend-forward flavors like nostalgic mashups are helping drive traffic—especially among younger consumers. At the same time, there’s growing demand for affordable indulgences, with consumers looking for individual and smaller portion sizes that offer a lower price point and make it easy to treat yourself without overcommitting.

To keep up with this demand without putting too much strain on their teams, in-store bakeries are leaning on turn-key solutions. Operators find that they can expand their product line and experiment with new trends while utilizing their labor more efficiently. Smaller formats also give operators more flexibility to hit key price points, reduce waste, and boost impulse purchases.

Another big trend is customization. Bakeries want to stay competitive by catering to local tastes and emerging trends, so they need the flexibility to mix and match high-quality fillings, toppings, and icings.

It’s the combination of consistent quality and creative flexibility that drives a successful program. With the right mix of labor-efficient products and customization, in-store bakeries can offer more variety, stay on-trend, and become a true destination within the store.

JS: While bakery producers and retail operations are having to keep on top of those demands, they’re also having to deal with labor challenges. How do workforce shortages impact such operations?

MD: There’s no doubt that workforce shortages put a significant strain on bakery operations. This is especially true in areas like cake decorating, which requires skilled labor that's getting harder and harder to recruit, train, and retain. And when teams are focused on time-intensive custom orders, it doesn’t leave much room for everyday bakery staples.

The resulting empty shelves have a direct impact on sales. 48% of customers walk away if they don’t find the item they’re looking for. So, labor shortages aren’t just affecting production; customer satisfaction and the bottom line are impacted, too.

JS: The good news is there are bakery products and solutions that can help mitigate the impact of labor shortage—could you please talk about that?

MD: Rise has a broad portfolio of products that doesn’t require skilled labor or specialized equipment.

In particular, we’ve made significant advancements in the cake space. With capabilities spanning from uniced cake layers and cupcakes to base-iced and fully decorated cakes, our solutions give decorators the flexibility to focus on creativity and customization. Our customers are able to build the perfect cake program that matches their available labor while creating a cake destination for their customers.

 In the cookie category, South Coast revolutionized baking with Fast Pan technology that moves cookies directly from the box into the oven. By cutting labor needs—in this case by up to 70%—precious staff time can be used for customer service and managing inventory while still offering fresh baked cookies.  

Beyond cakes and cookies, our portfolio features a growing range of labor-saving solutions designed to meet retailers where their staffing capabilities lie. This includes ready-to-sell items like pre-packaged pies, retail-ready muffins, and pre-deposited muffins that arrive baked and merchandised for immediate shelf placement. We also offer ready-to-bake solutions that provide flexibility and a fresh-from-the-oven appeal without the need for extensive in-store prep. Whether nearly finished or fully finished, these items help retailers maintain full, appealing displays while navigating today’s labor challenges.

Together, these products make it easier for operators to meet customer demand even when staff is limited.

Courtesy of Rise Baking

JS: What are some of the products that Rise offers that can help offer labor-saving sweet shortcuts? I would love to hear about the pre-cut, ready-to-decorate, and pre-iced items in your portfolio.

MD: In addition to the advancements I already mentioned, other categories in the Rise family have introduced several other exciting developments over the past year.

We've expanded our cake offering to offer a broad range of turnkey solutions, including pre-cut iced cake squares and base-iced cakes. By eliminating labor-intensive steps like icing and slicing, these ready-to-use products ensure consistent portioning and deliver up to 60% in labor savings.

 While base-iced cakes require finishing, they still save significant time and allow decorators to focus on what they do best. They're not only a game-changer for last-minute customer orders but also allow decorators to focus on decorating—where the real skill lies. In fact, decorators can complete approximately 250% more cakes by starting with base-iced cakes, enabling the flexibility to create a custom cake program.

Pre-cut, iced cake squares also deliver strong business results. With 57% of single cake square purchases impulse-driven, they’re ideal for meeting everyday price points and capturing sales for cake occasions. Operators can easily add toppings or decorations to elevate the visual appeal and boost price points. During cake square promotions, retailers have seen over a 30% increase in dollar sales and more than 50% growth in units sold.

Brill introduced pre-packaged icing pouches as well. The recyclable corrugate packaging and pouch design uses 85% less virgin plastic than traditional pails. The convenient pouch size also helps retailers showcase seasonal buttercremes without shrink or waste, aligning with their Reduce-Reuse-Recycle initiatives.

Mini bundts are another standout innovation. Capitalizing on the bite-sized bakes trend, these products offer both visual and nostalgic appeal, contributing to a +64% increase in penetration over the past 12 months and a 62% love/like rating among consumers. These fully decorated, upscale cakes come in retail-ready packaging with eye-catching labels and nutritional information on the bottom, making merchandising effortless. With four cakes per retail pack and eight packs per case, they offer thaw-and-sell convenience and dependable packaging. For added flexibility, an unfinished bulk 12-count tray is also available, allowing for customization at the store level with a variety of finishing options.

JS: Do you have any advice for bakery operations dealing with workforce shortages or otherwise looking to do more with their limited resources, in considering such helpful solutions?

MD: We are all searching for solutions that keep bakery cases full and quality high, even with lean teams. The keys are choosing easy-to-use products and ingredients that offer consistent quality and leveraging your skilled labor where it makes the most impact.

Operators should seek out versatile products that can serve multiple purposes across their portfolio. In addition to simplifying training and execution, you will have the added benefits of reduced storage needs and waste. 

Another plus side of well-stocked bakery shelves is they allow retailers to capitalize on high-margin promotional opportunities tied to holidays or consumer trends. Base products like those iced cake squares can be easily customized to offer limited-time or seasonal items, and that adds variety and excitement into the mix without putting extra strain on operations.

JS: Hope this isn’t a left-field question, but do you have a favorite item among Rise’s offerings? Feel free to mention some of the solutions we talked about, or something outside that area.  

MD: Our Kitchen Sink Cookie with a combination of chocolate chips, pretzels and salted caramel is a winner. But be warned, once you eat one, you really can’t stop! It’s also a great example of how combining familiar flavors to create something new appeals to consumers.

Related: Rise Baking Co. to phase out synthetic dyes by end-2026