Konditor & Cook has said it could be opening up to three pop-up outlets in the next year to trial a dedicated takeaway cake store format, British Baker can reveal.
The London-based bakery retailer, which currently operates five sites in the capital, said it will look to launch a pilot pop-up site by the end of the summer to test a new store format and to target some different locations.
The store format will have more of an emphasis on cakes, with the facility for customers to order whole cakes and for the company to deliver cake consultations. In addition, Konditor & Cook will be selling other sweet bakery items from the site, such as cake slices and brownies.
Paul Cons, managing director at Konditor & Cook, told British Baker: “We went to look at a couple of sites two days ago, as it appeals to us more doing something a bit different like a pop-up shop, rather than a permanent site. We are looking at a couple of sites in the City, including north of Oxford Street in the Soho region.”
He added that the company is also looking at site locations around mainline railway stations such as Paddington and Victoria, with the help of property firm GCW.
Cons explained: “We were drawn to the whole pop-up concept because, creatively, we were drawn to doing something a bit more contemporary. Also, as a way of testing this new store format, we want to finance it ourselves as we are not looking to borrow money or get any investors on board. So we felt it was an affordable way of testing out new ideas.”
The company has maximised on its cake offering in recent months with a new online shop, launched last November. It offers customers within the London area to order from Konditor & Cook’s full product range, with the ability to have it delivered or to select a click-and-collect service.
In addition, a select product range has also been made available to customers UK-wide through the online platform.
Other features of the new website include a design-your-own-cake service for bespoke orders, as well as a cake hotline and live chat service.
Cons said: “What we have found is that our online offering and cake hotline work well together; over the Christmas period, we weren’t far off 10% of our sales coming from this area of the business. So that is something we are looking to develop during the next year.”
Konditor & Cook currently employs around 90 members of staff across its retail bakery estate.
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