Let’s really get into the distribution of your baked goods! In this article I will dive into a list of places you can sell your home-baked products, both online and offline.
Hopefully, this will give you some inspiration, even if you are already selling in some of these places or have an idea of where you might.
There are many places you can sell. Using these channels to differentiate and expand your business is part of your marketing strategy.
Before you start selling, you should have public liability insurance and a hygiene certificate and be registered with your local authority/FSA.
So let’s get started.
Farmers Markets
Farmers markets are found all across the country with local/regional associations in charge of organising and signing up stallholders. They have plenty of information on joining as a vendor, for example, Kent’s Farmers Market Assocation has a stallholder’s page.
Village fairs and markets
Some markets are seasonal and others are run by volunteers or local groups and councils. Keep up to date with events in your local area where you can get involved.
Weddings and private functions
As well as local fairs, fétes and markets, you could try and build relationships with event suppliers, wedding planners, venues, sports, music or business functions to be a recommended supplier.
Physical shop
Have you looked into having your own premises or storefront? This is definitely a high-risk strategy with more overhead costs, so it should be researched and planned out how you will fund it. You can consider partnering with other local businesses though, such as sharing a kitchen with a local café.
Online shop
Instead of owning a physical shop, you can start an online store for very little cost and in very little time. Many small businesses take advantage of having an online presence as it can appear in searches or maps. It also doesn’t take too much technical expertise with easy-to-use website builders like Shopify and templates being simple to set up and update.
Yumbles
One of the first dedicated UK food marketplaces targeted at people who buy home-made goods. It’s an artisan marketplace for bakes, cakes, bread and savoury food items.
Etsy
The global home of crafters. As a homemaker or craftsperson, you’ll fit nicely in amongst the thousands of crafters and tap into the millions of people who buy handmade or vintage on Etsy, in the UK and around the world. They provide sales tools, a handy portal and help promote your products to potential customers.
NOTH
Similar to Etsy, Not On The High Street (NOTH) is a little tougher on joining criteria as a seller, but presents many sales opportunities with its curated marketplace.
Tiny Marketplace
An online marketplace with a large social following and strong SEO strategy. This marketplace works a little differently but has a category for baked goods, chocolates and more.
Bakers Market
A website dedicated to bakes, only for UK sellers.
Folksy
Again, similar to Etsy, but UK-based – another marketplace opportunity.
Baking Together
Yes, including our own website, soon you’ll be able to promote your business to local audiences. We aren’t planning a complete platform like these marketplaces, but a way to build your brand.
Mums Bake Cakes
This cake website, community and marketplace has been going for many years and receives plenty of traffic which you could convert into buyers. However, since writing this it seems to have closed down, unfortunately.
My Baker
Another smaller baking business online multi-vendor platform, focusing on made-to-order celebration cakes, bespoke cakes, and birthday and wedding cakes.
Delivery platforms
Apps like JustEat, Deliveroo and UberEats are growing and even cake-makers or bakers can jump in on the action, though you will have to be prepared for quick dispatches.
Instagram is one of the most popular social media sites to sell baked products. It’s a great place to start with very little cost or barrier to entry. You can also build a local and/or loyal audience who knows where to go if they are looking for some tasty treats or cake made for a birthday. Instagram’s posts, stories and reels provide an excellent opportunity to showcase your products, your process and your personality.
Other social media
Aside from Instagram, other social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn may be useful to build an audience and find less competitive channels and groups.
Wholesale
If finding enough customers is difficult, another avenue you go down is B2B, and sell wholesale to other businesses like cafés, galleries, hotels, offices and local shops for a lower price but hopefully consistent and larger volume. They can either sell the goods or order with you directly if you do bulk orders.
Are you selling in any of these places? We’d love to hear how it’s going!
