Making a difference to succeed in serving your local community with delicious sweet bakery products often starts with making a commitment to excellence and continues through your diligent hard work to satisfy the needs of customers every day.

Be sure to carefully chart your course. 

If you accelerate too quickly, your ship will lurch, according to BakeMark.  Instead, create a targeted bake schedule with a number of small bakes throughout the day to provide fresh product and reduced food cost waste.  You will experience a new normal, so, as captain of the ship, you’ll need to constantly monitor customer count and purchasing tendencies. 

Your shop must be “ship shape” to greet returning customers to their new normal routines. 

Clean and sanitize your store in even the most out-of-the-way crevices and behind even the largest piece of equipment, according to BakeMark. Advertise your commitment to cleanliness with BakeMark posters – “COME ON IN” and “HELPFUL TIPS” (available in both English and Spanish) from your BakeMark sales rep. 

Take your passengers (customers) on culinary journeys with your fresh, delicious products.

Maria Casillas, owner of Panadería Maria, with two stores in Fontana, Calif., says that her bakery is fully committed to producing authentic bakery products to serve the rising numbers of Hispanic families who live in this area of San Bernardino County, widely known for its delicious fruits and vegetables.

“I see my panadería growing at least 30% in sales with the current offerings, as well as the new items I will be adding with the help of Bakemark,” she says.

Casillas points to the rising popularity of celebration cakes, especially during the spring and summer months. Panadería Maria specializes in modern designs of cakes for birthdays, weddings and quinceañeras. The retailer also creates signature products like cacahuates, which are peanut-shaped cookies filled with a mixture of margarine and sugar in the middle.

Special delivery

Delivery service is another point of differentiation in today’s ever-changing world. Northgate González Market recently announced a strategic partnership with Instacart, a North American leader in online grocery, to deliver grocery items including bakery from 36 store locations in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties.

Northgate Market customers will now have an additional option to shop for their favorite bakery items, as well as groceries, and have them delivered directly from the store to their door. Instacart customers will enjoy an entirely new shopping choice with a focus on the foods and flavors they are looking for – fresh and authentic Hispanic foods and flavors delivered with high quality and friendly service.

“Northgate González Market is proud to partner with Instacart to provide additional shopping options to our loyal customers,” says Mike Hendry, executive vice president, marketing & merchandising, for Northgate. “Given our company’s expanding and increasingly diverse customer profile, our partnership makes total sense as we continue to strive to provide our customers with excellence in customer service, various shopping options and an enhanced shopping experience.”

Northgate Market customers can select their city and Northgate Market store and can begin adding items to their Instacart grocery cart. An Instacart personal shopper will pick and deliver the order within the customers designated time frame – same-day or, for convenient scheduling, up to two weeks in advance. All Instacart orders default to “Leave at My Door Delivery” to ensure customers can receive their deliveries safely and can maintain social distancing guidelines.

Northgate Gonzalez Market is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary. Loyal customers have come to love Northgate González Market foods that made them famous, including Hispanic cakes, pastries and freshly made corn tortillas – made in house from masa that is still made from stone-ground corn every day.

Founded in 1980 Northgate González Market is an authentic, family-owned and operated Hispanic supermarket chain with 41 stores in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties. Headquartered in Anaheim, Calif., Northgate Market maintains its cultural heritage by offering its customers the best quality and freshest foods and personalized service.