Sussex-based Raise Bakery has revealed plans to open its first branded retail site in Hove, as it aims to expand the business nationwide.
The cake firm, which has previously supplied airlines such as Virgin Atlantic, expects to open its debut branded store in summer, which will be marketed as a ‘new concept store’.
The bakery will operate a Willy Wonka-style opening launch campaign, in which a selection of competition winners will visit the shop before it has officially opened to taste what is on offer. The shop will be constructed with the windows boarded up so that the interior is not revealed until opened.
Jeremy Jacobs, managing director of Raise, said: “It will be very different to what other bakeries have done and we will be quite secretive about it in the run-up. We will finally have our brand on the high street, which is very exciting.”
As well as this, the bakery has started retailing its own branded cakes and cake bars into Bagelman, based in Brighton.
The firm has developed around 10 products to be sold by retailers, and will first look to supply to more local chains, like Bagelman. Jacobs said he would also later develop packaging for the products so he could start approaching supermarkets and more airlines, before turning to the export market.
The label on the products has been designed by the same company that worked with Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, Superfantastic.
Jacobs said: “I plan to get these products all over the country. We’ve intended to develop our own branded products for a long time.”
Looking ahead, Jacobs said the bakery was also investing in further machinery and equipment so it could extend its product range.
Raise Bakery is a family-run business specialising in cakes with a ‘home baked’ feel.
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