Where we’re “dough-ing,” we don’t need roads.
We’ve launched our Bakery of the Future (BOTF) in select stores, but we didn’t need a time machine to get there.
The BOTF is an initiative to improve the bakery department. Through the project, the sales floor was redesigned to help sell more products and create an overall better experience for our customers.
“The customer of today shops differently than customers of previous generations,” says Business Development Director of Bakery John Buchanan.
Display tables are gone, replaced by sleek vertical merchandising pods. We added wayfinding signs, which makes all the sweet treats and goodies you’ve been looking for — like cookies, cake slices, pies and more — easily accessible.
In addition, there is a hot grab and go case featuring breakfast sandwiches and warm cookies, as well as a “pick your own” case for single-serve items, such as doughnuts and bagels.
Not only that, our cake-tacular decorators are more visible.
“We wanted to show off their exceptional skill set,” John said.
Bakery clerks are front and center, ready to assist customers and available to hand out free cookies to our littlest shoppers.
Also more visible? Our ovens remain in the open so customers can see the real-time baking of our delectable products.
“Nothing speaks more to being fresh than when you see bread turning in the oven,” John said.
Locations
Right now, there are only 4 BOTF locations, all in Florida:
- #1171, Lakeland
- #1394, St. Petersburg
- #1337, Naples and
- #1371, Riverview.
Both the St. Petersburg and Naples locations have a full cafe located in-store, while Lakeland and Riverview have a self-service beverage station. All 4 have seating areas.
So jump in your DeLorean, or whatever mode of transportation you have, and go check them out! Don’t drive 88 miles an hour though — you might get pulled over.
