What's Your Specialty? Creating a Signature Product in Your Home Baking Business

So far, the home baking business aspirant has gotten guidance and tips about starting a home based bakery in Seven Steps to Turn Your Holiday Recipes into a Baking Business. The new home baker who has only a little money to invest initially learned through $20 and a Cookie Sheet: The Minimalist Approach to Starting a Home Baking Business that it's possible to still start their business. The home baker had help in finding her niche product line in Finding Your Product Niche Parts I and II.

Today's guide involves the home baker creating a signature product as a part of her home bakery. A signature baked item is something that you and you alone make. It could be a twist of flavor, texture or appearance on an old favorite. Or, added different ingredients to create a variation. Or, combine two different baked items into something completely new.

In her book, Start and Run a Home-Based Food Business, Mimi S. Fix writes that a signature product can take a few years to be recognized and generate steady income. I say, within your area where you'll be operating your home bakery, you can become an overnight sensation. There are some advantages of offering a signature product:

1) For a truly delicious, gotta-have-it, mouth watering signature product, you will have no competition, especially in the beginning.

2) You can charge more for your product, since it's a specialty, and there is no competition.

3) You can expect repeat orders. Everyone wants to be able to have something different and delicious to serve at their gatherings.

Creating and selling a signature product is not for every home baker. It does make one stand out from the pack. In the long run, the signature product can make the difference between your home bakery being set apart from other bakery businesses. At the onset of your baking enterprise, the home baker may spend more time researching and testing the market. Creating a signature baked item should be fun. The purpose of the research is to look at other bakeries in your area selling similar products. Would your signature item do as well or better than the competition in your area?

Other Sources

Fix, Mimi Shotland. Start and Run a Home-Based Food Business. Bellingham, WA (2009)