Asda has rolled out a ‘Bake on the Shop Floor’ model to help it introduce in-store bakery (ISB) products to smaller stores.
The equipment has been set up in 10 Asda Express stores across England ranging from Romford and Sandy Lodge in London to Worsley in Manchester, and Pride Park in Derby (full list below).
Here, a selection of bake-off products and ambient baked goods are baked and sold via the unit. They are:
- Butter Croissant
- Biscoff Croissant
- Chocolate Twist
- Pain au Raisin
- Pain au Choc
- Cinnamon Swirl
- Cheese Twist
- Snacking Focaccia
- Crusty Roll
- Shortbread Grab Bag
- Flapjack Grab Bag
- Brownie Grab Bag
The aim, the retailer told British Baker, is to bring fresh pastries and a new differentiated bakery offer to these smaller format stores, which previously did not have a fresh bakery provision.
Tesco was the first UK retailer to roll out the bake on the shop floor model in May 2024 having worked in partnership with equipment supplier Mono on the project. A year later Mono was able to make The Bake Zone unit available to the wider market.
The unit comprises a three-tray convection oven, merchandising cassettes, merchandising shelves, cooling shelves, self-serve tongs, a heat-resistant blind and a cooling rack. While the product is being baked, a heat-resistant screen is pulled down with a message to the consumer. Asda said its version was a similar unit, but it has made adjustments to allow it to be able to offer some ambient bakery products alongside the bake-off ones.
“Our in-store bakery has always been popular with customers and with over 112 Express stores offering a full ISB range, we wanted to bring the same experience to smaller-format stores where possible,” James Laws, senior director commercial and central operations at Asda Express, told British Baker. “The investment to bring the kit to these reflects our commitment to enhancing the customer experience by expanding food-to-go and ISB options in our smaller Express stores.”
The full list of stores with the equipment is: Pinewood, St. Kews, Discovery Park, Hog’s Back, Romford, Anchorsholme, Runcorn, Pride Park, Sandy Lodge, and Worsley.
The move comes shortly after Asda introduced single serve pastry and cake fixtures to more than 100 stores, with all items priced at under £1. This includes croissants, cheese and chocolate twists, pastry swirls, muffins, cookies, and more.
Laws pointed to the “huge online interest” generated by the recent launch of Asda’s Biscoff Croissants with some customers visiting stores just to try them.
“The response reflects a broader trend we’re seeing across both our Express and larger stores, with customers increasingly viewing the in-store bakery as a destination for affordable favourites and exciting new products,” he added.
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