Online bakery comes up with everything but the aroma

Quakebake specialises in German gingerbreads and Italian biscotti

Robert Haas' online bakery may not be able to offer customers the aromatic smell of fresh breads, but he gets to enjoy a few significant benefits: lower costs and higher profit margins.

Haas set up the Napier-based Quakebake.co.nz, named for the town's history of seismic activity, in December with an eye to being taken seriously as a production bakery and wholesaler.

"To do that normally, you have to produce a printed brochure which you can't update except by throwing it away and printing a new one. But with a website you can keep updating it."

An e-shop, he says, was a logical and natural next step. By going online, he also avoided all the costly set-up normally associated with a full production and retail facility.

The fledgling e-commerce site specialises in organic German gingerbreads and Italian biscotti. Quakebake prepares its products in small batches and sources ingredients locally whenever possible to preserve a home-cooked feel. The range of biscuits and slices is certified organic by third party Organic Farms.

Products are shipped nationwide to retail customers at a flat rate of $6.95.

Quakebake's slices have a shelf life of around three weeks. The hardier treats such as biscotti and gingerbread can last for three to four months.

Quakebake also supplies cafes and organics shops on a wholesale basis. The company has no physical shop-front and retail customers can order only by going online.

"There are not many bakers around that have only an e-shop. No one can come to my bakery, it's a production bakery only," Haas says.

The best thing about selling online is being able to take the full retail margin on products, he says.

Conversely, one of the hardest things for a small business entering the e-commerce game is choosing the right bank to operate the background credit card facility.

In Haas' case, Kiwibank had the easiest terms and most moderate fees.

Quakebake's shopping facility is powered by osCommerce, a free open-source e-commerce program.

For a small company, e-commerce website design can be a big expense that may not produce a quick return, Haas says. But the long-term savings justify the expense.

"I felt the extra cost in going from a normal website to an e-commerce site was justified."

Haas has started marketing to registered customers through email newsletters. Being included in an organic products directory has also generated a good amount of extra traffic to his site.

"It's probably going to be a couple of years before we can talk serious numbers of customers. Essentially I'm a baker, not a specialist in marketing.

"But being a small company, I can't employ someone to do that. So I have to find these things out by myself. At the moment I'm experimenting. It's one of the difficulties - finding the right ways to get the word out."

In six months of operating the website, Haas has received several applications from people keen to work as bakers.

"It's a nice little spin-off in these times of labour shortage."

Haas plans to keep Quakebake small for the time being to help it retain its niche feel and develop a customer base.

"You won't find many websites where someone is at home. By having one person as the contact at the other end of the line, whose face also appears on the packaging, I think customers will be more comfortable with using the internet to order."

quakebake.co.nz

Who: Robert Haas, owner.
Where: Napier.
What: Online bakery.
Why: Sells to cafes at wholesale, while maintaining retail margins from direct online sales.