The New Jersey Bakers Board of Trade (NJBBT) announced at their Spring Workshop last week that they will begin accepting nominations for their Retail Bakery of the Year Awards on May 1^st. The Retail Bakery of the Year Awards have been established by the NJBBT to recognize and honor outstanding bakeries across New Jersey.

“We are thrilled to announce the Retail Bakery of the Year Award program,” said Dale A. Biles, NJBBT President. “There are so many great bakeries here in New Jersey. If you know of a bakery deserving of this honor, we encourage you to submit a nomination.”

New Jersey bakeries must meet the following criteria to be considered:

• Bakeries must be self-nominated or nominated by another Baking Professional.
• Nominations will be accepted online only from May 1^st through September 1^st at the New Jersey Bakers Board of Trade website.
• Must specify the area where the bakery is located: NORTH (North of Raritan River and 287), CENTRAL (South of Raritan River and 287 to 195), or SOUTH (South of 195).
• Provide 3 photos of the bakery: Exterior, Sales area, and Production area.
• Provide address of bakery (Must be an active retail location with up to date Health Inspection and Liability Insurance).
• Must provide owner(s) name(s) and active email address(es).
• List the one signature product that your bakery is best known for.
• Include a brief explanation of participation and/or non-monetary contributions that your bakery has made to your community.

A panel of baking industry judges will ultimately select the winners. On a specific day, entrants will be asked to deliver 2-3 of their signature products to the NJBBT judges for evaluation. Based on the evaluation of the judges, 3 semi-finalists in each area will be chosen. Judges will then visit each of the 9 semi-finalist bakeries and award 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place winners in each area based on the following criteria:

• Curb appeal of bakery
• Sales floor customer feel; cleanliness, signage & merchandising, modern fixtures and showcases, product presentation.
• Production area; cleanliness, ingredient storage, organization of dry goods, walk-in boxes
• How the bakery promotes, advertises, and markets themselves to their customers

The awards will be announced on April 8, 2018, the opening day of the 2018 Atlantic Bakery Expo. Winners will be notified 2 weeks prior to the show to make sure they are able to attend and be photographed accepting their awards from the NJBBT President. Winners will receive a plaque and window sign.

The NJBBT is accepting nominations online beginning Monday, May 1 through Friday, September 1, 2017. The nomination form can be found here.