Starting a food and bakery business requires lots of passion and hard work. Thankfully, when you’re a foodie yourself, operating your food and bakery business becomes less stressful, as you love what you do. It needs backbreaking work to ensure it stays running well, efficiently, and stays productive. And if you lack the dedication and determination to push yourself to the limits, it’s easy to fail in this type of business.
However, being passionate and a hard worker are not the only things you need to make a food and bakery business work. You also need to get the right pieces of equipment to get your business running.
A food and bakery business needs heavy industrial equipment to keep up with production. Know that they can be quite costly, so you must be strategic with your spending to ensure you’re setting your food and bakery business off on a good start.
To start with, here are some of the most common equipment you’re going to need:
1. Ribbon Blender
If you’re serious about your food and bakery business, one of the most powerful industrial equipment you’re going to need is a ribbon blender. It’s cost-effective, versatile, and can withstand high volumes of mixing of dry solids.
A ribbon blender can perform certain functions, like the following:
- Blending large quantities of dry ingredients
- Coating solid particles with liquid amounts
- Mixing ingredients in bulk
2. Dough Preparation Equipment
For a bakery, you’ll need basic dough preparation equipment. After all, making dough will be one of the most done processes in your bakery. And, without the right equipment to speed up the process, it may consume a lot of your time and delay production.
Some of the most important dough preparation equipment you’ll need to include:
- Commercial mixers
- Work tables for kneading
- Proofing cabinets
- Dough dividers
3. Storage Equipment And Supplies
Having a proper storage system in your kitchen is very important. Not only does it ensure everything’s in order, but it also keeps your restaurant and bakery hygienic. You wouldn’t want to have tools and equipment all over the place.
Even if you have a small kitchen or prep area, you can always maximize that space’s efficiency and productivity by having the right storage and organizational equipment.
Some of the things you’ll need are the following:
- Proper shelving: You need to get great ones installed in your shop to store equipment, utensils, tools, and even your ingredients, so that these are all kept in an orderly and tidy manner.
- Food bags and packaging: You can use them to store your goods and allow you to easily sell them to your customers.
- Refrigerator and freezer Your primary storage space for your premade baked goodies. You can also store dishes and ingredients in them that spoil fast.
4. Commercial Ovens
If you’re planning to start small or from home, you can use your home oven as your first baking equipment. However, once you start to expand your business and produce more goods, you’re going to need an industrial or commercial oven that is more powerful and bigger than your home oven. Getting one can help you keep up with the increase of production demands once you grow your business.
Know that there are different types of commercial ovens, and some of them are below:
- Convection Ovens
- Combi Ovens
- Conveyor Room Ovens
- Cook-and-Hold Ovens
- Deck Ovens
- Steam Ovens
The oven you’ll choose depends on the kind of goods you’ll produce regularly. For instance, if your focus is more on artisan bread, then a deck oven to give you a crispy base is needed.
5. Display Shelving
When customers walk into your restaurant or bakery, you need to strike a good first impression. Depending on the stock that you have, you may want to end up displaying some of your baked goods and other food items.
So, you’ll also need good-quality display shelves or racks. Note that these aren’t just your ordinary racks, as you’ll also need those that come with a refrigerated option, particularly if you’re displaying food and cake, which needs to be displayed and kept cold.
6. Cleaning And Washing Equipment
The sink, faucets, and dishwashers you’ll have in your shop will be quite different from the ones you usually have at home. Because they’re for your business, they must be bigger and more durable to withstand frequent washing and cleaning of a large number of items.
And as you get those industrial sinks installed, be sure to have a station with enough storage and supply for sponges, dishwashing liquid, and even your employees’ sink gloves, among others.
7. POS And Accounting Equipment
Common to both food and bakery businesses are the point of sale (POS) machine and accounting equipment. POS terminals allow you to make it easy for you to process orders and keep track of your sales.
If you don’t have the money yet for a POS terminal, you can settle using your laptop or any smart device you have as you can install POS apps and connect a barcode scanner to them. That kind of setup is especially handy if you will accept online orders.
8. Stand Mixers / Hand Mixers
Stand mixers and hand mixers are an essential part of every food-related business. Choose one that’s ideal for commercial purposes and it should be capable of withstanding heavy mixing needs.
Stand mixers can take a lot of workload off your hands. Rather than do the mixing all by yourself, a heavy-duty stand mixer does the job for you while you complete your other baking tasks.
Conclusion
This list isn’t by any means, exhaustive. But it can help you see the big picture and give you an idea of how to start your food or baking business.
You don’t have to buy everything all at once. The best strategy to do is to start with those which you know for certain you’ll need. Most importantly, no matter the equipment you purchase, do make sure you’re also sourcing it out from a reputable supplier.
About Carson Derrow
