Guide to setting up a bakery without effort

Baking is a profession that dates back many years and is of great importance in people’s daily lives. Setting up a bakery can be a complicated task, but following the right steps will not be so tedious.

Bread is a fundamental food in people’s diet, so you must offer the best prices and quality products in your business.

Know the paperwork you must do, the machinery that is necessary to start the production of your business, what should be the profiles of the people to hire and the factors to choose the location of the establishment.

Types of bakery

One of the first steps you should take is to choose the type of bakery you are going to set up, whether you are going to offer bread made on the spot or whether you are going to pack the bread and put it in display cases like in supermarkets.

Choose the type of bakery that is profitable for the investment you are making and the space in which you are going to sell so as not to saturate the business.

Bakery of dispatch

The dispatch bakery is the one that sells bread that has been made in another bakery or that bakes pre-baked and frozen bread.

This type of bakery does not require a large investment, since you only need to buy a freezer to keep the breads, the oven to bake them, the shelves to offer the breads and the money to buy the frozen breads.

Own bread or bakery

For years, most bakeries have changed their sales concept to focus on quality, freshness and naturalness.

In this type of bakery, customers come in and can see the variety of products they offer and the raw materials they use to make them.

Unlike office bakeries, the bakery shop needs the person setting up the business to have knowledge about working in bakeries, to provide training to their employees about the products to be served on the premises and how to make them.

Requirements for setting up a bakery according to type

Each type of bakery has its own notable differences, so the requirements you need to issue to start working are not the same.

Requirements for setting up a bread office

To set up a bread shop, you only need a license that allows the sale of food products, like the one that supermarkets and convenience stores have.

The sales licence is applied for and when approved, a declaration and a technical project of the site is made to obtain the permit to open the premises. If you are granted the permit, you can start work without having to go through an inspection.

When your premises are in operation, the health service and the town hall will make frequent visits to ensure that you comply with town planning and health regulations.

Find out everything you need to open a bakery

Bread makers working with up to 7.5 kilowatts of power are required to communicate, as in bread shops, in order to obtain a food sales licence.

If the power exceeds 7.5 kilowatts, the bakery is part of the classified activity and requires multiple permits.

It is necessary to obtain a health registration number, a health authorisation, a town planning licence and an environmental licence to open the business.

As you have to go to different bodies and offices that manage these papers, the procedures become slow and the opening date of the premises is delayed.

Don’t leave anything to chance: tips for selecting the location

When visiting the options of the places where you could set up a bakery, you should visit the surroundings and look for simple but relevant data.

You should check to see if there are any competitors near your business and what options they offer to the public, what the people are like and what locations are around your business.

Answering this type of question is important to avoid having the competition nearby, selling almost the same products and choosing their options for quality, price or loyalty to the bakery.

Therefore, it is best to get a place in an area that does not have many bakeries and that is home to many people.

What equipment do you need?

When you open your establishment, you need more than a counter and a cash register. You need the equipment to make the bread, the shelves, the decorations and the emergency products.

Although there are different types of bakeries, you will need almost the same equipment, such as ovens, dough mixers, tables, proofers, baking trays, a refrigerator and baking tools.

In terms of structure, the establishment must have smoke extractors, emergency exits and fire extinguishers.

Step by step to set up a bakery

The essential steps you must follow to set up a quality bakery are as follows:

• You must acquire the municipal activity license. To do so, you must present a basic technical project that indicates that your establishment meets all the requirements to start working.
• You also need to draw up a fire prevention plan, pay the licence fee and have your company’s NIF or CIF.
• Once the licence has been approved, work can begin on fitting out the establishment if you have a building licence.
• When you have completed the renovations, the council will visit your premises to conduct an inspection to ensure that you comply with the regulations and to give you the opening licence.
• If you want your customers to have a place to sit outside the premises, you must apply for a permit to install candles.
• Before you start receiving income from the bakery, you have to make a census declaration expressing your tax situation.

Strategies for bakers of the future

The bakery has evolved from being a craft and family business to a business with high demand and competition.

In these times, it is necessary to adapt to new technologies and not to stay with the traditional that in time will become obsolete.

With increased competition, bakery entrepreneurs have doubled their efforts to be the business that offers the best quality and a greater variety of products compared to the rest.

As a new entrepreneur it is important to know the sector and how it is managed to set up a bakery, so if you apply these strategies correctly you will be closer to having the success and profits you want in your business.

Use equipment according to the latest advances

The work in a bakery is strong because of the extended working hours, the 365 days they work and the large daily production.

That’s why involving new equipment makes your employees’ jobs easier and you notice an improvement in their working conditions. In addition, jobs are offered to people without experience but who learn how to use each machine.

Quality: the basis of a successful business

Quality is essential to attract potential customers and make them prefer your products to those offered by the competition.

If you want your products to be fresh and of high quality, you must invest in the best raw materials so that they have the crunchy and soft texture that customers look for in a loaf of bread.

You can also try to take out breads and buns at any time of the day so that customers buy a fresh product fresh from the oven.

Innovate and offer options

In order to make more profit, it is important that you offer a wide variety of products to increase your business offering.

Customers like to have options to choose what they like best and taste it, so selling few types of bread is a disadvantage for your business.

In addition to the bakery, you can have a dedicated area for baking and another for pastries in case they feel like eating a sweet or buying a cake for a celebration.