Across the nation, bakery retailers share stories of optimism and fortitude.

Freshly baked on-site at each Paris Baguette café, the new fall bakery lineup features only the finest ingredients, including purees and custards made with real pumpkin, cookie butter, cranberries, pecans and brie. Paris Baguette's expert bakers and cake artists have created an exquisite lineup of offerings that bring forward the rich and decadent flavors of fall with a seasonal selection that includes: 

• Pumpkin King Cream Donut: Paris Baguette's signature King Cream Donut gets a fall twist, topped with pumpkin icing and pecans, filled with smooth pumpkin custard.
• Pumpkin-Pecan Pastry: Flaky pastry filled with rich and creamy pumpkin, topped with toasted pecans.
• Cookie Butter Crunch Layer Cake: Layers of cookie butter soft cream between vanilla sponge with cookie butter pieces and crisp pearls.

"In developing our fall menu, we are elevating the pumpkin concept to new heights with a wide array of handcrafted seasonal bakery and coffee creations," said Cathy Chavenet, senior vice president and head of marketing at Paris Baguette. "By utilizing the finest ingredients available, we want to shine the spotlight on the naturally delicious flavors of the fall season. Whether it's a made-in-house cake for your next gathering, or the perfect way to add pumpkin into your morning coffee and pastry routine, there is something for everyone to enjoy this fall at Paris Baguette."

More fall flavors are taking over the menu with savory delights such as the Turkey-Apple-Brie Baguette Sandwich, the Smoked Salmon-Cream Cheese Stuffed Croissant, Classic Quiche Lorrainne, 3-Cheese Pesto Pizzetta and more.

Other retail bakeries are innovating with great success. For Nashville-based Dozen Bakery, in 2009, founder Claire Meneely started Dozen as a one-woman holiday cookie pop-up, baking in a rented commercial kitchen and selling at local farmers markets. Thanks to word-of-mouth, some good press, and building an excellent team, Dozen continues to this day. Dozen's bakery/cafe was opened on February 2nd, 2015, Groundhog Day. 

Today, the team at Dozen provides pastries and bread to many local Nashville restaurants and serves customers from Nashville and beyond our full line of bread, pastries, and menus for breakfast, lunch, and brunch. 

Signature items include BULGUR ZA'ATAR, a bulgur wheat porridge and za'atar folded into French Country Sourdough. Another trendy dish is OLIVE + HERB, herby olive tapenade folded into French Country Sourdough. This bread has it all: a salty pop of olives, fresh herbs and garlic, + just enough lemon juice to round it all out. 

Bakeries are examining many ways to boost profits. Speaking at a recent International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) webinar, Josh Allen, founder of St. Louis-based Companion, a bakery wholesaler that supplies bread to retail and foodservice operations across the country, implemented a QA efficiency program to analyze sales vs. complaints.

“We are now producing better product more efficiently with fewer complaints,” he said, adding that fill rates (the percentage of units shipped vs. ordered) had declined to 70% during the height of the Covid pandemic. “That’s lost opportunities.”

Paramount to these ongoing efforts is the principle that every customer needs to be assured prior to purchase that “if I need something, am I going to be able to get it?” Allen explains. “That is currently the No. 1 ranked concern among our customers.”

Through rigorous efforts, the Companion team has improved its 52-week average fill rate to 99.8 – a remarkable turnaround during challenging times.

“Now you can make opportunities,” Allen says. “This might drive more customers to you and build credibility with customers.”