Gingerbread is a flour confectionery that many people love. The sweet product is made from specially prepared dough.
We also produce gingerbreads with fillings - honey, nuts, etc. There are a huge number of lovers of sweet delicacies. That is why a business idea that involves the production of gingerbread is very successful.
Classification
Gingerbread products, which are currently produced in Russia, number more than a dozen types. The most popular gingerbread cookies are:
Glazed;
- Tula;
- decorated;
- with filling;
- classic.
Business idea
Cost-effective and very profitable is your own confectionery shop, whose main specialization is the production of gingerbread. To implement such a business idea, you will need initial starting capital, the sizes of which can vary from medium to large. At the first stage, it is important to choose the gingerbread recipe.
After all, the ability to produce a product that is unique and has a recognizable unsurpassed taste is the key to a leading position in this market. However, it is not always profitable to spend time searching for an individual recipe. Sometimes it is enough to use proven methods for preparing delicacies by organizing the production of the most popular types of gingerbread.
The recipe for a popular product can be easily found in the book. culinary recipes or read on various resources. Common ingredients are: wheat flour, sugar-containing raw materials (sugar, molasses, honey), fats, raising agents, various spices, and filling (jam, preserves).
Before mass introduction of a new recipe, trial batches should be made. Only when they have passed a successful “test” among acquaintances, friends and relatives, delicious sweets can be introduced into business.
Organizing your own business
A business involving the production of gingerbread cookies, and then their sale, requires renting premises for a production workshop. In addition, you will need to invest in the necessary equipment.
When opening own production There is a certain risk in someone else's premises. The lessor can terminate the contract at any time. In this case, insurance is necessary. The lease agreement should stipulate the exact terms of its validity, so that, if necessary, you can extra time for transportation of equipment to the new workshop.
Sales
The demand for gingerbread products does not tend to decrease over time. On the contrary, there are more and more lovers of the sweet product, which is a traditional delicacy in Rus'. That is why there is no need to worry about how to sell finished products.
The main channels for selling not only gingerbread, but also any confectionery are retail outlets specializing in sales food products. Sweets can be sold in small kiosks selling bakery products, as well as in grocery stores and supermarkets, grocery stores and at market stalls. Wholesale buyers will also be interested in the product.
For successful business Any distribution channel option will be good, because gingerbread is an extremely popular product. In this case, the reputation of the company will be an important success factor. The tastier the gingerbread is, the more success you will achieve in your business.
Equipment
The gingerbread production technology, regardless of the recipe used, consists of several stages. Initially, the dough is kneaded. After this, the filling is made. The next steps are forming the gingerbread, baking the product, cooling it and packaging it.
Equipment for the production of gingerbread is:
- dough mixer;
- utensils for preparing filling and syrup;
- digester;
- jigging machine;
- bake;
- coating drum;
- glazing machine;
- packaging line.
In addition to the above, there is also additional equipment. It can be purchased or rented. Additional equipment is ventilation system, transport and a variety of small equipment. In addition, you will need special clothing for the staff.
Before purchasing the raw materials from which the sweet product will be produced, as well as necessary equipment, you will need to correlate your financial capabilities with the assortment list, distribution channels, as well as the size of the rented premises. You also need advice from an experienced specialist who can give advice and recommendations on business planning. You need to approach the matter professionally, without relying on luck or luck.
Business costs
To open a gingerbread production, investments will be required, the amount of which will be approximately three million rubles. The amount is quite large, but if invested wisely, it will bring decent dividends. Initial capital will be required for:
Purchase of equipment;
- renovation of premises;
- purchase of raw materials;
- purchase of additional equipment;
- recruitment;
- office equipment;
- payment for consultations and services of lawyers and technologists;
- registration of the organization.
With such an investment, productivity technological line in one shift will be five hundred kilograms finished products. With uninterrupted sales of confectionery products financial investments will pay off in one and a half to two years.
Gingerbread production is one of the most profitable types a business that can be undertaken even by a person who is not very knowledgeable in the intricacies of culinary art. Moreover, the prospects for the development of the gingerbread business are truly stunning. Thus, according to marketing research data from the STK Group company, the capacity of the domestic market alone has prospects for direct growth in consumption of about 3.7 thousand tons of finished products various types gingerbreads and gingerbreads similar to them, according to the market segment occupied and production technology. We should not forget about the possibilities of exporting products, which have been talked about a lot lately.
Gingerbread technology
Gingerbread is a confectionery product, rectangular, round, oval or complex shaped, made from special gingerbread dough, with the addition of jam, spices, chopped berries, nuts, honey or candied fruits. Typically on top of the gingerbread plate in various ways an inscription or a simple design is minted and a layer of confectionery glaze is applied.
The peculiarity of gingerbread dough in the finished product is its long shelf life, which is why this culinary sweet is popular as a souvenir.
It should also be noted that domestic gingerbread makers have good and glorious long-standing traditions, known abroad. So, in particular, family Tver gingerbread makers, back at the end of the 19th century, maintained their own company stores in major European capitals and made excellent money from it.
Pros and cons of the business of preparing and selling gingerbread
The most important, and in many ways, determining factor, is that this kind of production, of course, is not industrial scale, can be placed at home. At the same time, a very significant expense item, rent of premises, is crossed out
Gingerbread dough, unlike yeast dough, does not place increased demands on the quality of flour. This is also an extremely important factor. Since when preparing a number of the same bakery products, the indicators of gluten and IDC in the grain of the food group and the flour obtained from it are decisive. We are talking primarily about the possibility of using cheap 2nd grade flour
The finished product is stored for a very long time, which makes it possible to reduce the urgency of the issue of efficiency and speed of sales of the finished product and its reserves by several orders of magnitude.
Simple enough process preparations, operations such as proofing and dough maturing do not require increased requirements for temperature and humidity conditions
The main components for production are available and do not require special conditions during transportation and storage
The most labor-intensive processes of kneading and shaping dough can be easily mechanized using available means
It is clear that the gingerbread business, like any other, has its pitfalls and negative sides:
High competition, and many players in the market have long-standing and proven production traditions. Entering the market and carving out your niche is not easy
One of the conditions for winning the sympathy of the consumer is the production of the product high quality and exclusively on natural ingredients, which allows us to exclude large but ordinary manufacturers who base their own recipes with various kinds of modifiers, essences and other ersatz products. It follows that your own recipe, based exclusively on natural products, will have an inflated cost and, as a result, a reduced competitive potential
In the case of using exclusively manual labor for kneading and shaping dough, the fund increases significantly wages, when it comes to involvement in production hired workers, the maximum possible mechanization of manual labor places increased demands on the amount of initial capital
Production food products causes certain difficulties in terms of compliance with sanitary and hygienic requirements, both premises, transport, and personnel
How much money do you need to invest and how much can you earn from making and selling gingerbread?
Having weighed all the pros and cons of a purely organizational nature, we can begin to develop a disposition on the economic front.
We will make the calculation using the example of the “Tula anniversary gingerbread” recipe, which is distinguished by its technological simplicity and stable yield of the finished product.
2nd grade flour - 100 kg, /of which 0.75 kg for the dust of the molding table/
Granulated sugar, for dough and glaze - 35 kg
Molasses – 45 kg, /in the case of using natural honey, conversion factor 0.45/
Margarine – 2 kg
Vegetable oil – 0.55kg
Baking soda - 0.4 kg
Conditioned drinking water with moisture capacity – 26 l
Mixture of spices: ginger powder, cloves and crushed cinnamon – 0.04 kg
Output of finished products: 175 pcs.
Based on the fact that the prices for the products indicated in the recipe and finished goods may vary significantly in the regions of the country; for an objective calculation, you should substitute objective figures for your area, subtract the associated production and non-production costs and obtain indicators of cost and projected profit.
Thus, on average in the Russian Federation, the average cost per kg of the finished product is 28.47 rubles, with the same average retail selling price being 62.74 rubles.
As general information it must be added that for small production with a finished product productivity of about 1000-1400 kg per month, the expected level of profitability should be in the range of 45-60% and should not be lower than 35%.
Permit and OKVED code for a business selling gingerbread
It should be recalled that the production of gingerbread and gingerbread is regulated by OKVED 10.72.32. and before production begins, it is necessary to obtain the necessary package of permits.
As a conclusion, I would like to note that starting with a small production of gingerbread, as exclusively family business, entrepreneur in short terms will be able to massively increase not only production volumes, but also the range of sweet baked goods. It is worth actively seeking opportunities to reduce costs by optimizing costs and, of course, looking for new markets, without stopping at already well-developed ones. Excellent safety of products, their excellent transportability and resistance to adverse factors open up very broad prospects for both qualitative and quantitative growth of your enterprise.
Step-by-step plan for opening a business for preparing and selling gingerbread cookies
Organizing a gingerbread business is not much different from other activities related to baking confectionery products. The entrepreneur's action plan includes:
- Registration of activities with the tax service, obtaining permits.
- Rent of premises and its arrangement in accordance with the standards of regulatory authorities.
- Purchase of equipment.
- Purchase raw materials.
- Find a sales market.
- Conduct advertising, create a website.
Carrying out marketing research, drawing up a business plan will greatly simplify the work of a novice entrepreneur. Having an action plan in hand, starting the production of gingerbread is much easier.
How to choose equipment for business
For the automated process of preparing sweets, you will need to purchase special equipment:
- Apparatus for kneading dough;
- Cauldron for cooking gingerbread;
- Apparatus for product design;
- Electric oven for baking products;
- Packaging equipment.
Equipment is purchased depending on production needs. In addition, it is necessary to buy furniture for arranging the warehouse, and special uniforms for the staff. To deliver gingerbreads you will need a car.
What documents are needed for business
The first thing you have to do is register an individual enterprise or LLC. Next, you need to get approval from the SES for the premises, approve the recipe and production plan. In addition, the entrepreneur must enter into agreements for garbage removal and disinfection of premises.
The general director of “Gingerbread Studio Sofi” Olga Chekhoeva removes from the wall a frame with a piece of paper under glass. "This is an invoice from our first wholesale client, she explains. “We kept it as a souvenir in our office.” The customer, the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, returned all the gingerbreads a day after shipment, since the product did not have labels indicating the composition and expiration date. And, accordingly, he paid nothing. The products were sold out. And over the next four years, the bakery’s revenue increased 25 times, to 100 million rubles.
About 7,000 gingerbread cookies are removed from baking sheets and painted here every day. There is a characteristic smell in the director's office - the bakery is located behind the wall. “I have long wanted to start working for myself,” recalls Sofi co-owner Andrey Shurygin. In 2011, he retired from a large metropolitan enterprise of low-alcohol drinks, where he headed the regional sales department for several years. Father-in-law and brother-in-law who ran the cafeteria next to garage cooperative, gave 10 sq.m. free of charge. m for your business. Using their personal savings, 200,000 rubles, Andrey and Olga bought a small stove, a display case, and a bar counter. The company was named after their one-year-old daughter Sofia.
The business was simple: baked goods were made from frozen semi-finished products. What didn’t sell out was thrown away the next day. The entrepreneurial spouses completed the first year with the same amount that they invested - 200,000 rubles. Just not profit, but revenue. Andrei admits: if they paid rent, they would have given up in a couple of months. Once, when her husband was on a business trip, Olga baked a gingerbread house for his arrival. Andrey suggested making these for sale. “Before the New Year, many people came to us to buy gingerbread houses,” says Chekhoeva. “Later we started baking small painted gingerbread cookies that are suitable as gifts for any holiday.” It turned out that this was more profitable than baking from semi-finished products, and Sofi switched to gingerbread. Relatives provided another 20 square meters. m for production.
Andrey and Olga baked and painted gingerbread cookies with the help of two employees. Now the company employs 70 people (bakers, artists, packers, sales department), and production is located on 500 sq. m. Olga and Andrey recall their confusion when in December 2012 they received back gingerbread cookies from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which they had been baking for 10 days without rest. Having learned that the PIR gastronomic fair would be held at Crocus Expo, they hastily rented a place there. And they sold the entire lot, earning twice as much as they wanted - 600,000 rubles. The money was used to purchase ovens and racks for drying gingerbread.
“To our surprise, we discovered that none of the major competitors - Pokrovsky Gingerbread, Tsarsky Gingerbread, Tula Gingerbread - work with chain retail,” says Olga. It was impossible not to take advantage of the fortunate situation. Andrey Shurygin remembered his sales experience and established distribution in less than a year.
The capacity needed to be expanded again, and in 2014 the bakery moved to a separate building. Today, gingerbread cookies from Sofi are sold in Perekrestok, Globus Gourmet, Ya Favorite, AV Market, Victoria (Dixie group of companies) stores and 30 other chain retailers. Sales through networks bring the bakery up to 50% of its annual revenue. The Victoria chain sells gingerbread from Khlebny Dom, Polet, Yashkino, Maski, but in curly ones gingerbread purchases only from Sofi (“A unique assortment with a themed design,” explains Dixie).
Globus Gourmet, according to Olga, initially refused Sofi products, considering them not exclusive. Then the bakery came up with a separate collection of gingerbread cookies. “The studio offers a huge assortment, every season new items appear. They are ready to quickly change the design and packaging, taking into account all our wishes,” comments Ksenia Yakovleva, senior category manager the Respublika network (Sofi has been supplying her with gingerbread cookies for more than two years, and since the fall of this year, Respublika has been ordering her sweets under her own brand).
"Tsar's Gingerbread", which appeared in the mid-1990s, has its own financial indicators does not disclose and does not comment on the activities of competitors. Its capacity is three times greater than Sofi's - about 3 million painted gingerbread cookies per year. General Director Anna Yosifova assures that the range allows you to satisfy any client’s needs and the company also works with chains such as, for example, “Your House” and “Dobryninsky”. Soon “Tsar's Gingerbread” and “Gingerbread Studio Sofi” will be next door on the same counter - in the souvenir shop of the Tretyakov Gallery.
“Our secret: no restrictions on distribution channels,” say the owners of Sofi. Their gingerbread cookies are sold in bookstores, stationery stores, theaters and gas stations. Plus corporate orders - from Russian Railways, Lufthansa, Beeline, Russian Standard Bank. “We even had a production collapse: there was a catastrophic shortage of products,” Olga recalls. - We stopped accepting corporate applications and increased prices. But people kept ordering." The excitement, however, only happens under New Year. In November-December, the studio earns up to half of its annual revenue. To overcome seasonality, Sofi is expanding its range: making sweet art kits, cookies and bars made from dried fruits and cereals. Its owners plan to take the bars to chain pharmacies and fitness centers.
“If we had the opportunity to start all over again, we probably would not agree to repeat this path,” Andrei Shurygin unexpectedly sums up. - How many nerves went into everything! But, of course, we are glad that we succeeded.” His words are interrupted phone call, and the co-owner of Sofi is immersed in negotiations with a new partner - about the supply of a large batch of gingerbread to China.
We received so many letters asking us to tell them how we prepare gingerbread and teach us how to do it the same way, that we wanted to put together all the knowledge gained over a long period of work.
Therefore, we announce the launch of our online school and invite you to take part in the first course, detailed information
.
Attention: there is a lot of self-irony in the article;) All points of view expressed in the text are the author’s and do not pretend to be objective.
The Internet is now full of offers for making gingerbread cookies. self made(as a rule, we are talking about gingerbreads painted with glaze) from market giants like Tula gingerbread, from less large companies, positioning themselves as a specialized production (i.e. like us), from various kinds of confectionery shops that succumbed to the gingerbread revolution, and, finally, from huge amount private craftsmen who spend the night painting hordes of snowmen and Christmas trees in their kitchens during the New Year period (there are many of these at the Crafts Fair and on Instagram).
Faced with a gingerbread souvenir for the first time, potential buyer, as a rule, is inspired - gingerbread cookies look very beautiful, unusual, fresh, and most importantly - made by hand, and this is still a trend.
What disappointments and, conversely, unexpectedly pleasant surprises await a consumer who decides to place an order for handmade gingerbread on the Internet?
Let's talk about the good stuff first;)
TOP 10 rave reviews:
1. Gingerbread cookies are very beautiful, is it possible to eat such beauty?!
2. I thought that gingerbread cookies were inedible, but they turned out to be delicious!
3. The gingerbread cookies are unexpectedly large; on the website they seemed much smaller, and in reality they look even better!
4. It turns out that you can make gingerbread in the shape of almost anything. We ordered our friends a copy of their home, it turned out very cool!
5. Gingerbread can be stored for a long time (up to six months) without special conditions.
6. Gingerbread is well transported, even to other cities and countries.
7. Gingerbread cookies can be hung on the Christmas tree and then eaten.
8. You can make gingerbread cookies in the form of wedding bonbonnieres and write the names of the guests on them.
9. Illuminated gingerbread houses are something unreal. My child was absolutely delighted!
10. We ordered for school and the question is who was more delighted - the children or the parent committee :).
And now about the negative. Listed below the most common criticisms of gingerbread(in fairness, we note that the criticism applies to many manufacturers):
1) Gingerbread cookies are very hard, stale, dried out, impossible to eat .
The remark is not entirely unfounded. Compared to our original Russian honey gingerbreads with filling, gingerbread with painted glaze can indeed be quite tough. Or rather, they are very dense and more like cookies than gingerbread. The fault here is partly the translation from English gingerbread - literally “ginger bread”, in Russian translation - gingerbread. At European and American Christmas markets, gingerbread and gingerbread houses are a traditional delicacy and decoration. And, believe me, they are almost made of stone. German lebkuchen does not seem to be intended for food at all. What is this connected with? The answer is simple - with the recipe. In order for the gingerbread cookies to hold their shape during baking and not spread, the dough should be quite tight. The icing on gingerbread cookies is also very hard - essentially it is congealed egg white with sugar. BUT! This does not mean that gingerbread is inedible. Very edible, especially with tea;)
And, of course, there is one trick: to make the gingerbreads softer, place them in a tightly closed container along with a piece of bread and an orange peel... After a day, the gingerbreads will gain moisture and become softer!
2) The glaze colors the tongue! (“And in general, I thought that the yellow frosting was lemon, and the red frosting was strawberry...”)
For those who don't know - food coloring natural origin(like beet or cherry juice) cannot produce a bright, rich color. When painting gingerbread cookies (believe me, 90% of those on sale) artificial gels are used. food coloring. And yes, they color the tongue. By the way, bright mastic cakes or green or blue candies also color the tongue. Edible gouache also colors the tongue. But this does not mean that all these products are inedible.
To avoid staining your tongue, choose gingerbread cookies with white icing or check with the manufacturer about the origin of the dye. By the way, bright icing with a fruity taste is in 99% of cases a dye plus an artificial flavor.
3) Why are gingerbread cookies so small?
Indeed, gingerbread cookies are usually quite short - about half a centimeter, and the size in width and length can reach 15 cm; with a larger size, gingerbread cookies very often crack. If you want to order a tall and large gingerbread, it is better to opt for gingerbread with filling. On our website we indicate the sizes of gingerbread cookies and gift sets on the individual page of each product.
4) Why are there no fillings in gingerbread cookies?
Because you obviously ordered gingerbread, which doesn't have any filling.
5) Over time, the glaze fell off the gingerbread cookies.
This happens if you store gingerbread cookies in open and dry air - the culprit is the high dryness of the air. This often happens if the packaging is not airtight (although very beautiful).
6) Why is it so expensive?
A common complaint: “The gingerbread is only 10 cm in size, but costs 100 rubles, what kind of golden gingerbread is this, I can buy a whole kilogram in the store for 100 rubles?!” The reason for this “blatant injustice” is manual labor bakers, artists and packers. However, we note that some manufacturers sell gingerbread at a very high markup, even for a product with a high cost, such as handmade gingerbread. Often the price for the same gingerbread from different manufacturers can differ by 2-3 times. Is it really true that where it is more expensive, better and of higher quality, you need to understand each specific case, but in 50% of cases the inflated price compared to competitors is not justified in any way (competitors, if anything happens, forgive me! ;)).
7) Why such small discounts? We order 5 thousand gingerbread cookies, give us at least a 50% discount.
Making 10 different gingerbreads is indeed more difficult than 10 identical ones, but the difference between twenty and two thousand identical ones is not so obvious, because... Each gingerbread still does not draw itself. Moreover, for circulations of thousands, we even thought about making a markup, because... you need to have serious perseverance and an iron nervous system to draw identical snowmen or ducks for a whole week for 8 hours.
8) Gingerbread cookies are not at all the same as on the website/photo.
9) I can make gingerbread cookies better myself.
Great! ;)
10) I gave gingerbread to my six-month-old child, and he developed an allergy, what do you put in gingerbread???
Please do not give gingerbread to small children - they contain spices, and the icing contains dry protein and dyes, which can cause allergies.
So, as you can see, everything depends on the expectations of the buyer, who is often confused about what product he is ordering.
To avoid disappointment from the purchase, check all the details with the manufacturers in advance.
For example, when placing an order at Cookie Craft, you can come and see/try samples of gingerbread in advance; the tasting is absolutely free.
We also want to say that when ordering handmade gingerbread from domestic producers, you give the opportunity to work for girls (and sometimes boys) artisans who love manual labor, try, give their best and are very happy when the customer is satisfied (and are sad if something goes wrong).
All the best and delicious (and beautiful) gingerbread!
Your Cookie Craft.
P.S. For those who are not accustomed to respecting copyright, any reprinting of this text or its excerpt is prohibited without the written permission of the project management.
Before pregnancy, she worked at the Jaguar/Land Rover service center as a service coordinator, and now bakes and sells gingerbread.
START. When Anya was expecting a child, her husband died. The idea of an ideal family has collapsed. Anya needed an activity in which she could express herself. This is how the idea of getting into cooking came up - making gingerbread.
Several months passed from concept to implementation. Anna baked her first gingerbread cookies when her son Seryozha was three months old - now he is almost six months old.
COOKING. Zakharenko tried several dough recipes found on the Internet. I settled on the one that I liked the most in taste. It contains honey, butter, cinnamon, ginger, egg, flour and sugar.
The dyes used are imported; when painting, they do not spoil the taste of gingerbread.
Painting is done using glaze. Anya cooks it herself. Working with icing is the most painstaking: you need to carefully apply the design, there is no room for error, otherwise the gingerbread will be ruined. If Anya applies decorations or letters made from glaze of a different color to a layer of glaze of one color, she first waits for the base to dry. The drying process of all layers lasts 12-14 hours.
Because of this, a lot of surfaces are required on which the gingerbread can lie. Therefore, Anya Zakharenko’s family allocated the largest room for her to work. There are several tables and shelves in it.
Price. Depends on the size and complexity of the design. The smallest cost 40-50 rubles, the largest - 300 rubles. You can buy a set, for example, an Easter set costs 600 rubles.
BUSINESS. Anya Zakharenko makes gingerbreads by hand, traditional forms It is not used for cutting out dough. Her assortment includes gingerbread cookies in the form of an emblem football clubs, strollers, bottles and pacifiers, cars, bees, tulips. The aspiring confectioner posted photos of gingerbread cookies on social network Instagram. There her friends and colleagues saw these photographs. They were the first clients.
Anya asks clients to place orders two days in advance. Usually gingerbread is ordered for birthdays, Easter, March 8 and February 23, and weddings. The author thinks through the design of future products, bakes and paints them. All this time, her mother is babysitting Anya’s son, Seryozha.
“Sometimes I get so caught up in work that I forget about food. I remember only when my mother reminds me that I need to eat so that I have milk to feed my son,” says Zakharenko.
The whole family participates in making gingerbread. Dad goes grocery shopping with Anya, mom babysits Seryozha and sometimes delivers orders to customers.
Gallery__________________
"Mom scolds me for low prices. But I don’t want to bully them for the sake of more revenue,” the girl notes. The cost of her gingerbreads is really lower than the market price.
Anya earns an average of 25-30 thousand rubles a month from gingerbread. The maximum so far is about 45 thousand rubles, which fell on the celebration of Valentine's Day and February 23. This is pure profit. In addition, she spends an average of about 30 thousand rubles on ingredients.
Now the young mother is thinking about staying in business after her maternity leave. “I would really like to open my own confectionery shop, where everyone could buy my gingerbread cookies. There is something to work on,” says Anya.
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