July 3, 2025
Are you looking to grab a slice of the $504.78 billion global bakery market in 2025? The Canadian bakery product market is expected to reach $42.1 billion by 2035, growing at a steady 2.099% CAGR. Consumers now want fresh, artisanal treats and easy online ordering.
A strong bakery marketing plan helps you meet rising demand, shape your brand, and build loyalty, all on a budget. Whether you're running a local cafe, cloud kitchen, or small bakery business, smart marketing is now essential for growth.
In this guide, you'll learn how to build a digital-first marketing strategy for a bakery, run seasonal campaigns, set up a loyalty program, and avoid common mistakes. Let's create a bakery marketing plan that turns every pastry into a profit-maker.
Consumer habits are shifting fast. Shoppers are increasingly seeking healthier ingredients, eco-friendly packaging, and convenient digital options. If your bakery isn't meeting these expectations, someone else will.
From family-owned bakeries to cloud kitchens, everyone's feeling the heat. The rise of online-only sellers has made local competition tighter than ever. A clear marketing strategy for a bakery helps you build your brand, connect with your neighborhood, and drive repeat business.
More than ads and discounts, a solid marketing plan for a bakery covers everything, from your tone of voice to your seasonal promotions. It's your blueprint for growth in a crowded, fast-changing space.
If you're planning a rebrand or launching your first product line, a well-thought-out marketing strategy is the foundation of your bakery business.
So, what does an effective bakery marketing strategy actually include? Let's examine the key components of smart growth.
Before you get into tactics, it's important to know what makes a bakery marketing plan work. Here's what you must note:
Treat this plan like your recipe; it guides everything you do, from promotions to packaging.
Now that your plan has a solid foundation, it's time to discuss bakery marketing plans that will actually drive results in 2025.
Your strategy should reflect how people shop, search, and share in 2025. With more competition and shorter attention spans, you need creative ways to stay top-of-mind. Your marketing strategy for a bakery must also work across both offline and digital channels.
Let's look at the top 10 strategies that can shape your bakery marketing plan for the year ahead.
Ensure your bakery appears when locals search online. Start by claiming and updating your Google Business profile. Use bakery-specific keywords and your neighborhood name in your business description and posts (e.g., "Toronto gluten-free bakery" or "Maple Ridge custom cakes").
Add high-quality product photos, respond to reviews, and post weekly updates or promos. Keep your hours, location, and contact info accurate. These small steps boost your ranking and trust.
It supports your overall marketing strategy of bakery visibility and customer reach without high spending.
Your website is your digital storefront. It should be fast, mobile-friendly, and easy to use. Add your story, full menu, seasonal offers, and blog content to attract both search engines and food lovers. Add forms for custom cake orders or catering inquiries.
Use iOrder's commission-free online ordering to promote direct online ordering and reduce third-party commission fees. Set up website and QR ordering, pickup, and delivery, all from one platform.
A website ties your entire marketing plan for a bakery business together, giving you full control over sales and branding.
Tap into cultural events and holidays to boost bakery sales. Try Valentine's Day cupcakes or Halloween cookies. Launch limited-time flavors or themed boxes and take pre-orders.
Use a simple calendar to plan campaigns on a monthly basis. Offer early bird deals or small discounts for advance bookings. Promote on Instagram, email, and your website. These campaigns give your bakery marketing plan fresh energy all year.
Keep your regulars coming back. Offer free treats after 5 or 10 visits, birthday surprises, or member-only deals.
Digital punch cards and loyalty and reward points are easy to set up with platforms like iOrders.
Customers can track rewards without carrying a physical card. Your POS can also link their visit data, helping you target them with relevant offers.
This loyalty-based marketing strategy for bakery businesses improves repeat sales and customer satisfaction.
Team up with nearby coffee shops, office spaces, or event planners. Offer to supply croissants or brownies and let them showcase your name. In return, they cross-promote each other on social media or window posters.
Try attending weekend markets or community events where you can distribute samples and collect email addresses. It boosts brand awareness in your local area, a key part of any marketing plan for a bakery.
Paid ads don't need a big budget. Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads enable you to target users based on location, age, and interests related to food.
Promote new launches, combo deals, or special hours. Retarget users who visited your site or added items to their cart but didn't buy.
For instance, show an ad with a 10% discount to people who saw your last cookie campaign.
With iOrder's managed marketing services, you can reach out to your audience and increase awareness with personalized messages.
Use this as a high-impact tool within your broader bakery marketing strategy.
People trust other customers more than ads. Ask your buyers to post pictures of your baked goods using a specific hashtag. Run monthly contests where the best photo wins a free treat.
Feature tagged photos on your feed or homepage. You can also create a wall in-store with customer stories. It builds brand love while giving you free, authentic content.
A user-driven bakery marketing plan makes your audience part of your story.
Collect emails and phone numbers through online orders, loyalty signups, or events. Send out weekly updates with new menu items, holiday pre-orders, and promo codes.
Use iOrder's smart campaigns to segment your list for targeted communication and reorders.
You can send wedding cake promos to one group and gluten-free offers to another. SMS is great for sending last-minute reminders or flash sales on the same day.
This part of your marketing plan for a bakery keeps you in touch with customers year-round.
Photos sell bakes. Hire a local photographer or use natural light and a quality camera or phone to shoot high-resolution photos. Short-form videos are also trending. Use Instagram Reels or TikTok to show how a croissant is made or what's baking today.
Behind-the-scenes footage or chef tips build a connection. Your visuals are the face of your marketing strategy for your bakery in 2025.
Let regulars pre-order cakes or boxes for pickup. Go a step further with weekly or monthly treat boxes. Try for "Bread of the Week" or seasonal cupcake sets.
It generates predictable revenue and makes you part of your customers’ routine. Add subscription signups to your website and social channels. Use iOrders' AI-powered Review System to analyze customer sentiment on each item so you can improve your offerings and respond to feedback from one place. Also, track recurring orders and send alerts.
A smart marketing plan for a bakery that includes recurring orders and review automation keeps your business steady and responsive.
With iOrders' white-label mobile app, you can offer a personalized ordering experience, send push notifications, and track guest behavior through insightful analytics, all from one branded app.
These ten strategies can help shape a bakery marketing plan that aligns with how people buy and browse in 2025.
Ready to stay ahead of your competitors? Let's look at the mistakes many bakeries still make and how you can avoid them.
Even the best bakery marketing plan can fail if a few key areas are ignored. Many small bakeries start with good ideas but lose steam by making avoidable mistakes. These errors can harm your reputation, waste time, or result in low returns.
Here are five common marketing slip-ups and how to avoid them:
With iOrder's delivery as a service, you simplify operations by eliminating commissions and the cost of maintaining a delivery fleet while enabling you to delight guests with direct, timely delivery.
By avoiding these common errors, your bakery marketing strategy stays efficient and focused on growth.
A smart bakery marketing plan in 2025 is your recipe for growth. With changing consumer habits, rising competition, and digital-first buying behavior, you need a mix of strong branding, local SEO, loyalty programs, and personalized campaigns to stand out.
Using targeted strategies, such as optimizing local SEO and Google Business, partnering with local cafes or events, and investing in product photography and short videos, can improve the customer experience and build repeat sales.
However, there are still challenges, such as staying consistent, measuring what works, and keeping up with technological advancements. Avoiding common mistakes like ignoring delivery experience or underusing data can make all the difference.
Looking to simplify the marketing side of your bakery business? Want to automate campaigns, get more online orders, and turn feedback into growth? Book a free demo with iOrders today and see how we support smarter bakery operations in 2025.
