I am a huge Bakers Delight fan. When one opened in my local shopping centre, I cried tears of happiness. Bring on Christmas and those little lemon tarts.
So an article about Bakers Delight entering the gourmet sanga scene was always going to distract me from my afternoon’s work.
Its first “Bakers Deli” pop-up in Collingwood will showcase the new Everything Sourdough range through a menu of custom sandwiches. It is a timely way to take a familiar product and give customers a fresh reason to get excited about it.
As a customer, I am interested in the sandwiches. As a franchise lawyer, I am interested in the thinking behind them.
Australia’s enthusiasm for a gourmet sanga creates an opportunity for a brand whose business is built around bread. To my mind, the clever part is the connection between what customers currently want and something the brand already does well.
There is a useful lesson here for franchisors: even with a winning recipe, keep an eye on how your customers’ tastes are changing.
Working with franchise networks, I see how easily the daily demands of running the business can consume the time available for developing it. But staying relevant requires space to consider new products, services and ways of reaching customers. It can also give people something fresh to talk about—keeping the brand in demand and in the news.
So, how do you get those ideas rising?
1. Make time for innovation days
Set aside dedicated time to explore opportunities beyond the immediate operational issues. Bring together people from different parts of the network and ask: What are customers buying elsewhere? What could we do particularly well? What could we test?
Sometimes the opportunity is already sitting in your product range. It just needs a different presentation, pairing or occasion.
Give promising ideas an owner and a next step so they progress beyond the meeting minutes.
2. Listen to the people earning their crust
Franchisees and their teams hear customer requests every day. Ask them to keep a simple record of suggestions, questions and recurring frustrations, and submit it regularly.
Are customers asking for a particular flavour, a more convenient service or something they have seen elsewhere? Repeated requests across several locations may reveal an opportunity worth investigating.
Keep the process easy and let franchisees know what happens to their feedback. Their proximity to customers is a valuable source of insight. A formal policy governing how this operates in practice can even be included in your Manual.
3. Put a think tank on the conference menu
An annual conference brings together people with extensive practical knowledge of your business. Give them a meaningful opportunity to contribute alongside the presentations and updates.
A structured think tank can work through questions such as: What emerging customer demand could our network meet? What could we trial using our existing capabilities? What would make that commercially worthwhile?
Then follow up. Good ideas deserve a longer shelf life than the conference catering.
4. Watch your segment, here and overseas
Pay attention to what is gaining traction in Australia and overseas. Look at customer behaviour, emerging operators, product formats and how businesses are creating excitement around familiar offerings. Formal market analysis should form part of your ongoing management obligations.
Then consider what fits your own brand. A trend is most useful when there is a credible connection to your customers, capabilities and commercial model.
The sourdough sanga is a good illustration: a familiar bakery product becomes the foundation for something that speaks to a current appetite.
Before you roll it out, check the ingredients
This is where my franchise lawyer hat comes back on.
Helping franchisors develop and update their systems involves looking beyond the idea itself. How will it operate across the network? What will franchisees need to do? Who bears the cost? Do the documents support the proposed approach?
The Code’s good faith obligation is relevant to how changes are introduced. Honest communication, decisions made for legitimate commercial reasons and proper consideration of franchisees’ interests all matter. Franchisors can pursue their own legitimate commercial interests, and franchisees do not have a general veto over innovation. Explaining the rationale and genuinely considering practical feedback can help support a sound process.
If a new offering requires substantial equipment, technology or fitout changes, significant capital expenditure requirements may also come into play. The Code restricts when that expenditure can be required, with disclosure and discussion obligations applying where relevant. A power to update the operating manual should never be treated as the complete answer.
In my work with franchisors, I also check that the agreement, disclosure document and manual keep pace with the business. A new initiative can affect supply arrangements, costs, training and operating requirements—all matters worth addressing before launch.
A pop-up or limited trial can provide useful information about demand and delivery before a broader commitment. The customer needs to want the sandwich, and the numbers need to stack up for the people making it.
For franchisors, the question is: what are your customers getting excited about, and where might your network have an opportunity to meet that demand?
There could be something worth developing in your own bread basket.
And Bakers Delight, while you explore the gourmet sanga scene: please keep the little lemon tarts.