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Foodservice bakeries hold their ground (Top 50 largest foodservice bakery operations)

Dec 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Matthew Reynolds, managing editor

Foodservice operators look to strengthen core competencies and stay true to their identities in light of increasing competition.

“An item that's doing particularly well is what we call a Tulip, a cross between a muffin and a cake wrapped in paper that looks like a flower,” he says. The chain charges a premium, even though it's smaller. People want indulgence, but they want to stay healthy. Perceptions of health and quality are more important factors in a value proposition than is sheer volume.

Forecasting 2010

“Historically, the restaurant industry neither leads the economy into or out of periods of economic downturns,” says Bonnie Riggs, restaurant industry analyst with the consumer research firm NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y. “This recession is generally believed to be more severe than those in recent history, and this time the industry not only realized traffic losses, but customer spending was declining. This is the first time since NPD began tracking that the industry realized a fall off in dollars spent at restaurants.”

High unemployment, low consumer confidence, tightened credit and grocery store price wars are taking their toll on the restaurant industry, but there are some signs of a light at the end of the tunnel.

A recent NPD foodservice survey concluded that consumers believe the economy is beginning to improve, or at least isn't getting any worse. Based on these results, the company predicts that the industry will remain weak in the first half of 2010, with the rate of visits slowing early in the year only to turn slightly positive by the end of the year. Still the status quo isn't a growth friendly environment, as evidenced by the low number of planned additions among the Top 50.

Knowing that unit growth might not be in the cards until later in the year, foodservice bakery operators are focusing on higher end items in order to drive up ticket sales.

“I see the necessity for larger gross margin items, as 75 cent cookies aren't going to get you where you need to be,” says House of Bread's McCann. “You have to get that ticket price up, bundling items is one way to do it.”

Despite the tepid predictions, the fast-casual niche that most foodservice bakeries and bakery cafés occupy is still a “sweet spot.” Consumers want quality, healthful food while they are on the go, and the model is in a unique position to offer it. But the promise of an improved economy will reveal a shift in consumer demands.

“The first things you'll see coming back will be natural foods and sustainability. Altruistic consumer behaviors are first to go in a tough economy, but they'll be back as the consumers get more confident,” Frechette says.

That will not happen overnight, though. “It's going to take awhile before [consumers] feel comfortable spending again,” Riggs says. Until they do, diligent foodservice bakeries will be need to defend their turf on the restaurant spectrum by fostering and focusing what made them successful to begin with.

 

Top 50 largest foodservice bakery operations

Ranked by number of foodservice bakeries





Total U.S. Units

Current rank Prev rank Chain Headquarters business 2009 2008 Planned additions Sales (millions)
1 1 Dunkin' Donuts Canton, MA donut shops 8,835 6,600 40 4,800
2 2 Tim Hortons* Dublin, OH full-line bakeries 3,437 3,221 80 5,280
3 3 Panera Bread Richmond Heights, MO bakery cafes 1,325 1,168 85 2,649
4 4 Auntie Anne's Gap, PA pretzel, cookie bakeries 950 920 60 309
5 5 Daylight Donuts Tulsa, OK donut shops 828 828 0 280
6 6 Cinnabon Atlanta, GA cinnamon roll bakeries 700 690 60 23
7 7 Einstein-Noah Bagel Lakewood, CO bagel bakeries 649 612 42 420
8 8 Bob Evans Restaurants Columbus, OH restaurants 570 579 2 1,034
9 12 Krispy Kreme Doughnut Winston-Salem, NC donut shops 509 423 0 784
10 11 Golden Corral Raleigh, NC restaurants 485 481 0 1,518
11 10 Perkins Family Restaurants Memphis, TN restaurants 481 485 0 535
12 13 Schlotzsky's Austin, TX restaurants 420 400 30 260
13 15 Big Boy Restaurant & Bakery Warren, MI restaurants 291 291 10 580
14 17 Bruegger's Bagel Bakery Burlington, VT bagel bakeries 283 256 41 199
15 9 Mrs. Fields Famous Brands Salt Lake City, UT cookie, pretzel bakeries 268 538 0 41
16 14 Ryan's Family Steak House Greer, SC restaurants 243 296 0 725
17 20 Yum Yum Donut Shops/Winchell's Donuts City of Industry, CA donut shops 228 228 3 70
18 16 Village Inn Denver, CO restaurants 226 263 0 215
19 21 Au Bon Pain Boston, MA bakery cafes 226 226 10 300
20 22 Great Harvest Bread Dillon, MT bread bakeries 225 220 7 NA
21 23 Wetzel's Pretzels Pasadena, CA pretzel, cookie bakeries 205 190 30 64
22 18 Cookie Bouquet/Cookies by Design Plano, TX cookie bakeries 200 250 0 48
23 24 The Cheesecake Factory Calabasas Hills, CA restaurants 161 157 15 1,528
24 25 Honey Dew Assoc. Plainville, MA donut shops 155 155 0 56
25 26 Atlanta Bread Co. Smyrna, GA bakery cafes 148 145 3 92
26 29 Cosi Deerfield, IL bakery cafes 141 135 60 140
27 28 Marie Callendar Aliso Viejo, CA restaurants 133 138 0 300
28 30 My Favorite Muffin/Big Apple Bagel Deerfield, IL muffin/bagel bakeries 113 134 0 50
29 31 Coco's Bakery Restaurant Carlsbad, CA restaurants 110 109 0 150
30 32 Corner Bakery Dallas, TX bakery cafes 108 103 0 240
31 34 Paradise Donuts Catoosa, OK donut shops 93 93 0 278
32 33 Southern Maid Donuts Garland, TX donut shops 90 95 0 NA
33 35 Grandy's Lewisville, TX restaurants 81 81 0 105
34 37 Great American Bagel Westmont, IL bagel bakeries 80 65 6 43
35 40 Paradise Bakery & Café Scottsdale, AZ bakery cafes 72 42 0 60
36 36 La Madeleine Bakery, Café & Bistro Dallas, TX bakery cafes 65 65 0 13
37 27 Bakers Square Denver, CO restaurants 55 143 0 135
38 36 Frullati Café & Bakery Scottsdale, AZ bakery cafes 53 64 0 70
39 NR Spicy Pickle Denver, CO restaurants 42 34 10 15
40 42 Lee's Sandwiches San Jose, CA bakery cafes 37 37 10 NA
41 43 Breadsmith Whitefish Bay, WI bread bakeries 34 35 0 2
42 44 The Kolache Factory Houston, TX bakery cafes 33 33 5 37
43 45 LaMar's Donuts Centenniel, CO donut shops 29 30 0 19
44 41 Bear Rock Café Cary, NC bakery cafes 24 38 2 52
45 46 André-Boudin Bakeries San Francisco, CA bakery cafes 23 30 NA 40
46 39 Wall Street Deli Lake Success, NY bakery cafes 22 44 1 9
47 47 Finagle A Bagle Auburndale, MA bagel bakeries 20 20 0 20
48 48 Champagne French Bakery Café San Marcos, CA bakery cafes 15 15 0 9
49 NR House of Bread San Louis Obispo, CA bakery cafes 7 6 2 NA
50 50 Vie de France Yamazaki Vienna, VA bakery cafes 6 7 0 44


* Total includes locations in Canada

Source: Modern Baking estimate and actual data

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