instore - November 2017 - 33

special report

Marketing

artisan
Artisan bakeries, by definition, aren't commercialsized bakeries. As a result, they don't have the

of the equation, artisan bakers can still stir up
interest via social media, attendance at local

most artisan bakers to invest the necessary
resources into building a brand, the trend

marketing budgets of top center-store brands. But
bakers say there are still many effective ways to
get the word out:

farmers' markets and use of other channels.

toward private label can be a good fit for both
retailer and baker.

Sampling. If consumers get a chance to try
an artisan bread instore, they're more likely
to buy it.

Alternative channels. If budgetary restraints
take traditional advertising and marketing out

Seeing the bigger picture. Through signage,
instore education and other means, letting
consumers know about the farmer, the
miller and the baker whose work went into
the bread they're thinking of buying helps
differentiate artisan product.
Private label. While it's not practical for

Taking retail in house. Many artisan bakeries
either have their own retail operations
already or are planning to add them. Having
a retail arm not only introduces a new source
of revenue for bakeries. It also helps get the
word out about the products they market to
grocery and other channels.

Whole Foods Market is an example of a Mediterra customer that
knows exactly what it wants. "(They're) a focused customer concentrated on the quality aspect," he says. At most grocery chains, the
view from upper management is quite different from the one at store
level, he says. The brass want things to be seamless and easy, but with
artisan bread, that's not usually possible, he says. "Education and being
open to education is huge. For instance, it's easy to carry 20 great olive
oils, but try that with artisan one-day bread. It's very difficult if you're
not committed."

its success for going on two decades. A Tartine Manufactory that
opened in 2016 in San Francisco will soon be joined by a second manufactory in Los Angeles.

The retailers who succeed with their instore artisan bread programs
are the ones who realize that education and staff level commitment are
mandatory for success, Ambeliotis says. Other than that, the "basics"
of merchandising and marketing product at the grocery store level
include sampling and "communicating the larger picture" of telling
consumers about the farmer, miller and baker whose efforts produced
the loaf of bread they hold in their hands.

The San Francisco manufactory is 5,000 square feet of open-to-thepublic space that serves everything from savory breakfast pastries
to flatbread sandwiches. In Los Angles, Robertson is working with
celebrated pizza master and restaurateur Chris Bianco. The new manufactory will feature artisan bread baking, on-site grain milling, on-site
coffee roasting and more.

Soon, Ambeliotis says, Mediterra will be able to test its own retail
marketing theories on itself. "Our next venture will be our own retail
stores to educate the consumer further within our market reach."

Tartine Bakery
Acclaimed bread baker Chad Robertson has long worked to bring
artisan bread out of the niche market and into the mainstream. His
small-but-renowned Tartine Bakery in San Francisco has maintained

"For me, Los Angeles is an opportunity to collaborate with other
bakers and chefs to really do something special," Robertson said
during the International Bread Symposium at Johnson & Wales
University. "The Manufactory is a forum to present bread in every
possible way to the public."

"Guys who taught me were milling everything fresh. It's amazing,"
Robertson says. "I want to get back to using lots of fresh-milled stuff.
There's no other way to get that flavor." Of course, that's not always the
easiest, or most economical, way to get things done. "For me to mill
everything myself is too much," he says. "So why not work with fresh
millers nearby?"
If Robertson has his way, places like his will lead to a bread-eating
culture in the United States that' s a bit German."If you have a breadeating culture like in Germany, you have bread with every meal," he

instore * NOVEMBER 2017 * 33

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