A new website that enables consumers to order and pay for treats from their local bakery has been launched by Bako North Western Group.
Bakers.Market is the UK’s first online marketplace for customers to find, order and securely pay for collection or delivery of products from bakeries across the country, according to Bako.
Independent bakeries in the UK with or without an existing online store can register on the site now, with the public-facing side of it due to launch in June. They do not have to be Bako customers.
It comes as bakeries across the UK have been forced to look at alternative methods of selling goods to customers amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with many turning to delivery or click-and-collect.
“When we first began exploring the idea for the site with a straw poll of our existing customers, we found that only a third offered an online store capability already. The rest asked potential customers to either contact them using a phone number, email or web-based order form and usually were not able to securely take customer payments,” said Bako North Western Group CEO Mike Tully.
“We launched Bakers.Market to provide a modern and sophisticated buying experience for bakery customers across the UK, connecting them with their local bakers so that they can access the bakery products they love through a slick, online experience.”
The website was designed and built by London-based Vida Technologies. Bako will handle promotion of it to online shoppers and is also offering to help bakeries get up and running with their own, local marketing to support the central campaign and drive customers to the site.
“We have made the site easy-to-use to provide a low barrier of entry for bakers who are new to selling online, allowing them to start small, test the market and grow their online businesses,” added Madhusudan Sunkara of Vida Technologies.
“It also opens up a wider national audience for local bakers, giving UK consumers access to a wide variety of local delicacies. For example, many in London would never have heard of Welsh Oggies or Chorley Cakes or Scottish Black Buns, but they can find out about them and order them, where possible, on Bakers.Market.”
In March, the Cybake team at Redblack Software also sought to connect bakeries with consumers via Baker Direct – an online directory of bakeries offering a delivery service in the UK and Ireland.
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