By AMANDA C. DAVIS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Carving out a niche market in the competitive baking industry has proved successful for mother-daughter team Marge Collins and Kristin Sailor, who specialize in half-pound gourmet muffins.
As co-owners of Maggie's Magic Muffins in Boardman, the two have hit on a winning concept. The gourmet muffins come in 60 flavors including Day Tripper (peaches and glaze) and Abbey Road, a chocolate muffin with chocolate chips, chocolate fudge and marshmallow topping.
Tucked away in a house on Southern Boulevard, the shop also serves scones, mini muffins, muffin baskets, sandwiches, salads and gourmet coffees. Maggie's opened in 1999.
Industry publication Modern Baking surveyed bakeries in 2005 and found that to compete, many are diversifying their offerings to include coffee and other beverages, sandwiches, salads and candy.
And for good reason: Baked goods seem to be available everywhere nowadays.
Most local grocery stores along and retail giants have an in-house bakery. Stop in the local gas station, and chances are fresh baked goods are available. Other retailers also crowd the market.
The little guy
Stiff competition in the industry has put many small bakeries and family-owned shops out of business.
Collins, however, said Maggie's is growing and showed a 20 percent increase in sales over last year. About 40 dozen muffins are sold on average each day.
The recipes for the muffins were developed in 1996 in Sailor's home while she was pregnant with her second child. She spent the first two years making up muffin baskets and selling them at car dealerships, gas stations and offices. Her husband, Thomas, delivered the muffins to a handful of coffee shops in Pittsburgh.
Susan Nicolais is executive vice president of Retail Bakers of America, a McLean, Va.,-based organization that helps retail bakeries become profitable through information-sharing, trade shows and support.
She said although trends may change in the future, many retail bakeries are opening to serve a niche market. The specialty shops may sell just muffins or cupcakes or wedding cakes.
The ethnic niche
Because most bakery traditions originated outside the United States, Nicolais said, ethnic bakeries are also getting a piece of the pie.
Fred Ghossain, owner of Ghossain's Mid East Bakery on South Avenue, said as Americans' taste buds have expanded, so has his business.
"Before we relied mostly on the Middle Eastern population [for customers]," he said. "Now we have more Americans than Middle Easterners."
The Ghossain family came to the U.S. from Lebanon in the 1950s. Ghossain's father, Joseph, started the business, and a bakery was added in 1970. Ghossain said the bakery accounts for most of the company's sales, with pita bread, flatbread and spinach/feta pies at the top.
Business has increased 30 percent to 40 percent since 2004, when the store moved from a Market Street location and expanded on its current site, Ghossain said, explaining that retail sales make up about 40 percent of the business, while the bulk is made in wholesale.
Local wholesale customers include several area restaurants, grocery stores and coffee shops, and national accounts include Disney World in Orlando and fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, who has been buying Ghossain's flatbread for nearly 15 years.
"We're very fortunate," Ghossain said, explaining most new business comes word of mouth. "We have something unique you can't find anywhere."
The store sells hot foods, coffee, grocery items, breads, pastries and ready-to-eat foods including hummus, tabouli, grape leaves and wraps.
Elsewhere in the Valley
Husband and wife Richard and Amy Johns opened Amy J's Bakery Jan. 29 at 2034 Mahoning Ave., the former site of Westside Bakery. Richard Johns said he and his wife are going to rely on the homemade treats they offer, and explained business has been steady so far.
"We're going to work hard every day to retain customers and add new ones," he said.
Paul Rovnak, owner of Classic Bakery on Tiffany Boulevard — whose father owned Mr. Paul's Bakery in Youngstown for years — said family recipes, fresh ingredients and a lot of elbow grease are what keeps customers coming back.
"National chains can't compare with that," he said.
Rovnak learned the business from his father and has seen many changes over the years. The number of skilled bakers and family-owned operations has decreased as baked goods have become increasingly available in most grocery stores, gas stations and coffee shops, he said.
"It's really segmented the business," he continued, explaining that shoppers nowadays are so convenience-oriented. "We have to give customers reasons to come here."
Those reasons, he said, are quality, customer service and reasonable prices.
John Pryjma, owner of Plaza Bakery on Youngstown-Poland Road, Struthers, is banking on keeping relationships with customers.
"I remember people who came in as kids," he said. "Now they're bringing their kids in."
The bakery has been in business for 33 years. Pryjma took over in 1984 from his in-laws, Nick and Venice Mahinis.
So many bakeries in the area have closed over the years, and Pryjma said keeping a loyal customer base likely played a big part.
"All it takes is one bad doughnut," he explained. "Word of mouth works both ways."
Competition
On its Web site, Modern Baking says that bakeries considered "in-store," like those in supermarkets, are an $18.9 billion-a-year business, while retail baking and food service markets bring in $13.9 billion each year.
Karen Reidy, manager of The Pie Factory, North Market Street, East Palestine, said competition from chains and supermarkets has taken a toll on business.
"It's going to be a very big struggle," she said. "We struggle to get by every day."
Reidy said owner John Trocheck decided to branch out and sell his baked goods wholesale to restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores. To set their products apart from others, Reidy said quality and consistency of flavors must be a priority.
"We like to keep it fresh," she said. "Our customers know the difference." The Pie Factory offers cakes, doughnuts and pies that come in 21 flavors.
Joel Steider and his father, David, run the Colonial Bake Shoppe on Elm Road in Warren. For more than six years, the two have relied on customers on their way to work for different shifts at places like Packard Electric and Trumbull Memorial Hospital. The full-line bakery also picked up business when a nearby Tops grocery store closed.
It took the Steiders a year or two to show a profit, the younger Steider said, but in recent years, he said there have been steady increases.
Jeff Naumoff, manager of Buttermaid Bakery in the Southern Park Mall, said his store relies on mall traffic in part, but has a strong repeat customer base because of its longevity.
The first Buttermaid Bakery opened in 1955 in the Boardman Plaza. The current mall location has been in business for 23 years, and a second store has opened in Pittsburgh's Ross Park Mall.
"We just have great name recognition here since we've been in the area so long," Naumoff said.
In addition, the bakery satisfies the taste of those who want something homemade, without additives or preservatives, he explained.
"No one does that anymore," he said. "Scratch bakeries are becoming a sort of past time."
Friday, April 6, 2007
By AMANDA C. DAVIS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Carving out a niche market in the competitive baking industry has proved successful for mother-daughter team Marge Collins and Kristin Sailor, who specialize in half-pound gourmet muffins.
As co-owners of Maggie's Magic Muffins in Boardman, the two have hit on a winning concept. The gourmet muffins come in 60 flavors including Day Tripper (peaches and glaze) and Abbey Road, a chocolate muffin with chocolate chips, chocolate fudge and marshmallow topping.
Tucked away in a house on Southern Boulevard, the shop also serves scones, mini muffins, muffin baskets, sandwiches, salads and gourmet coffees. Maggie's opened in 1999.
Industry publication Modern Baking surveyed bakeries in 2005 and found that to compete, many are diversifying their offerings to include coffee and other beverages, sandwiches, salads and candy.
And for good reason: Baked goods seem to be available everywhere nowadays.
Most local grocery stores along and retail giants have an in-house bakery. Stop in the local gas station, and chances are fresh baked goods are available. Other retailers also crowd the market.
The little guy
Stiff competition in the industry has put many small bakeries and family-owned shops out of business.
Collins, however, said Maggie's is growing and showed a 20 percent increase in sales over last year. About 40 dozen muffins are sold on average each day.
The recipes for the muffins were developed in 1996 in Sailor's home while she was pregnant with her second child. She spent the first two years making up muffin baskets and selling them at car dealerships, gas stations and offices. Her husband, Thomas, delivered the muffins to a handful of coffee shops in Pittsburgh.
Susan Nicolais is executive vice president of Retail Bakers of America, a McLean, Va.,-based organization that helps retail bakeries become profitable through information-sharing, trade shows and support.
She said although trends may change in the future, many retail bakeries are opening to serve a niche market. The specialty shops may sell just muffins or cupcakes or wedding cakes.
The ethnic niche
Because most bakery traditions originated outside the United States, Nicolais said, ethnic bakeries are also getting a piece of the pie.
Fred Ghossain, owner of Ghossain's Mid East Bakery on South Avenue, said as Americans' taste buds have expanded, so has his business.
"Before we relied mostly on the Middle Eastern population [for customers]," he said. "Now we have more Americans than Middle Easterners."
The Ghossain family came to the U.S. from Lebanon in the 1950s. Ghossain's father, Joseph, started the business, and a bakery was added in 1970. Ghossain said the bakery accounts for most of the company's sales, with pita bread, flatbread and spinach/feta pies at the top.
Business has increased 30 percent to 40 percent since 2004, when the store moved from a Market Street location and expanded on its current site, Ghossain said, explaining that retail sales make up about 40 percent of the business, while the bulk is made in wholesale.
Local wholesale customers include several area restaurants, grocery stores and coffee shops, and national accounts include Disney World in Orlando and fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, who has been buying Ghossain's flatbread for nearly 15 years.
"We're very fortunate," Ghossain said, explaining most new business comes word of mouth. "We have something unique you can't find anywhere."
The store sells hot foods, coffee, grocery items, breads, pastries and ready-to-eat foods including hummus, tabouli, grape leaves and wraps.
Elsewhere in the Valley
Husband and wife Richard and Amy Johns opened Amy J's Bakery Jan. 29 at 2034 Mahoning Ave., the former site of Westside Bakery. Richard Johns said he and his wife are going to rely on the homemade treats they offer, and explained business has been steady so far.
"We're going to work hard every day to retain customers and add new ones," he said.
Paul Rovnak, owner of Classic Bakery on Tiffany Boulevard — whose father owned Mr. Paul's Bakery in Youngstown for years — said family recipes, fresh ingredients and a lot of elbow grease are what keeps customers coming back.
"National chains can't compare with that," he said.
Rovnak learned the business from his father and has seen many changes over the years. The number of skilled bakers and family-owned operations has decreased as baked goods have become increasingly available in most grocery stores, gas stations and coffee shops, he said.
"It's really segmented the business," he continued, explaining that shoppers nowadays are so convenience-oriented. "We have to give customers reasons to come here."
Those reasons, he said, are quality, customer service and reasonable prices.
John Pryjma, owner of Plaza Bakery on Youngstown-Poland Road, Struthers, is banking on keeping relationships with customers.
"I remember people who came in as kids," he said. "Now they're bringing their kids in."
The bakery has been in business for 33 years. Pryjma took over in 1984 from his in-laws, Nick and Venice Mahinis.
So many bakeries in the area have closed over the years, and Pryjma said keeping a loyal customer base likely played a big part.
"All it takes is one bad doughnut," he explained. "Word of mouth works both ways."
Competition
On its Web site, Modern Baking says that bakeries considered "in-store," like those in supermarkets, are an $18.9 billion-a-year business, while retail baking and food service markets bring in $13.9 billion each year.
Karen Reidy, manager of The Pie Factory, North Market Street, East Palestine, said competition from chains and supermarkets has taken a toll on business.
"It's going to be a very big struggle," she said. "We struggle to get by every day."
Reidy said owner John Trocheck decided to branch out and sell his baked goods wholesale to restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores. To set their products apart from others, Reidy said quality and consistency of flavors must be a priority.
"We like to keep it fresh," she said. "Our customers know the difference." The Pie Factory offers cakes, doughnuts and pies that come in 21 flavors.
Joel Steider and his father, David, run the Colonial Bake Shoppe on Elm Road in Warren. For more than six years, the two have relied on customers on their way to work for different shifts at places like Packard Electric and Trumbull Memorial Hospital. The full-line bakery also picked up business when a nearby Tops grocery store closed.
It took the Steiders a year or two to show a profit, the younger Steider said, but in recent years, he said there have been steady increases.
Jeff Naumoff, manager of Buttermaid Bakery in the Southern Park Mall, said his store relies on mall traffic in part, but has a strong repeat customer base because of its longevity.
The first Buttermaid Bakery opened in 1955 in the Boardman Plaza. The current mall location has been in business for 23 years, and a second store has opened in Pittsburgh's Ross Park Mall.
"We just have great name recognition here since we've been in the area so long," Naumoff said.
In addition, the bakery satisfies the taste of those who want something homemade, without additives or preservatives, he explained.
"No one does that anymore," he said. "Scratch bakeries are becoming a sort of past time."
Friday, April 6, 2007
whose father owned Mr. Paul's Bakery in Youngstown for years — said family recipes, fresh ingredients and a lot of...
