In order to start your own bakery, you need a list of equipment and essential supplies. Generally, there is a good amount of initial equipment needed to start a bakery.
It is very important to have a complete list of items required to start and run a bakery business, especially when you are preparing the bakery business plan; you need to quote the equipment and supplies cost in the financial planning section. Moreover, a complete list will make sure, you have every piece of equipment needed to start a bakery.
Complete List of Equipment Needed to Start a Bakery
This article will list the basic equipment you must have to open a bakery business, whether it’s a home-based bakery or one in a busy commercial area. You may rent a commercial kitchen too to avoid heavy costs, however, you do have to buy some small baking-specific items.
Here goes the list:
1. Baking Equipment.
A must for starting a bakery business. A huge variety of equipment is categorized under this head, i.e.
- A commercial mixer with a variety of mixing accessories. Depending on your needs, you can choose between a stand or tabletop mixer.
- Heavy-duty food processor/chopper, because you will need it for a variety of recipes.
- A turnover machine for crimping, folding, trimming, and sealing dough.
- Slicers to help in preparing loaves and bagels.
- A bakery should also be stocked with other essential utensils such as rolling pins, dough rolling mats, icing grates, and spatulas of every size.
- If you’re planning to offer cakes and custom cakes, make sure to stock your bakery with a variety of cake décor accessories and supplies.
- Oven; without it, baking cannot happen.
- A variety of pans for different applications, i.e. pies, cakes, spring forms, loaves, etc.
- Donut fryer.
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2. Storage Equipment & Supplies.
Every business requires storage supplies in one way or other and so is the case with the bakery business. You need to store supplies, utensils, etc. as well as display/store prepared goods in a clean and hygienic environment, and for this very purpose, you require a list of storage equipment and supplies which may include:
- Shelving is one of the most important requirements for a bakery because it serves as a storage space for keeping all your ingredients, other supplies, plates, and utensils, etc.
- A refrigerator and a freezer are must-have appliances for a bakery because the business will need a lot of refrigeration, i.e. you need to keep all your ingredients fresh and make things much easier for you and your employees when you receive a new order. You may start a home-based bakery with a refrigerator only, but ultimately, you will need freezers too!
- Pans & storage utensils—these speak for themselves. When you’re running a bakery, you’ll need materials to bake your products that won’t run out. Keep an extensive amount of pans, utensils, and backups of each material on hand. Stock up!
- Food bags. This is where you can get creative. Sure, you could go the plain route and save a few dollars, but it might pay off to have your customers walking around with your logo on their bag of goodies. Create a cool design, and make sure it’s eye-catching! Always make sure to have more than enough food bags in your storage space.
3. Display & Packaging.
Your presentation makes the first impression so make sure, you have everything to present your baked stuff in the best possible way. Things needed for presentation may include:
- Display cases are a must for presentation as it’s the key to attracting customers. You may skip this item in case of an online bakery, but there you will require a highly responsive website to display your items with an option to order online.
- Good quality packaging; since there are so many options for packaging available, you need to spend some time to explore the ideas and have one that best suits your brand. Make sure you have everything to make packaging impressive, i.e. cardboard, and plastic, waxed paper, etc.
- Serving trays/plates/cutlery; particularly when you are opening a bakery with the seating arrangement.
4. Other Equipment & Supplies.
Starting and running a bakery is not just about storing ingredients, baking and selling, rather it’s more of a systematic business process whereby you are running operations to make profits. So, you need a list of items other than baking, storing, and packaging, and the list includes:
Organization
- A good business accounting software is hugely important for a bakery that wants to succeed in the long run. Once orders start pouring in, being fulfilled, and eventually being paid for, you’ll seriously appreciate having a central place to manage your money influx. Many small businesses use downloadable software like QuickBooks, which can help consolidate your money management and save time that would have been spent figuring out complicated software.
- An organized filing system; how are you going to run a successful business if your files are constantly scattered and floating around where they shouldn’t? One of the first things you should do before starting operations is to put a system in place that will ensure no file gets lost in the computer or outside world. Keeping track of records and customer data is imperative to small businesses’ success.
- Merchant account solution in order to accept credit cards: In this day and age, a business is almost certain to fail if they do not accept the most basic form of payment in 2021—credit cards! There are countless scenarios in which a customer might come in excited, see that you only accept cash, and leave dejected—and worst of all, without a purchase. It’s a bonus if you can buy an add-on system that accepts electronic payments like Apple or Android Pay.
Physical Supplies
- Aprons, hairnets, hats: The worst-case scenario for a bakery, especially if you’re just starting out, is running into sanitary problems. Be on top of this. Before anyone’s hands touch the dough or the icing, ensure that they are wearing gear such as aprons, hairnets, or hats to keep themselves and the products as clean as possible.
- A delivery bike/van if you plan to offer delivery service. You may also partner up with services like Uber to save the cost of a van/bike. If you plan to do consistent deliveries or even catering, it’s probably a good idea to set some money aside to buy a company vehicle with car insurance. Plus, it will look more official!
5. Make Room for Good Restaurant Furniture
Along with the aroma of freshly baked food, your bakery can score major brownie points with a visually striking ambiance. There are many ways to accomplish this but the most effective method, by far, simply entails filling up your bakery’s interior space with good restaurant furniture.
Make room for transparent cabinets that give a sample of all the treats and delights your bakery has to offer. A couple of comfortable chairs with sturdy tables would also allow you to offer an in-dining option to customers. Suffice to say, restaurant furniture can take the ambiance of your bakery up a few notches.
The Bottom Line:
Depending upon your business model, you may need some more items, but the items mentioned in my list are the ones without which you cannot start/run a bakery business. So, make sure you have them all!