Technologies and methods to combat food waste in the sector, especially from the perspective of small businesses 

Food waste is a major problem in our bakery industry, especially for small businesses that operate on tight margins. However, there are various technologies and methods to counteract this problem.  

Bread Schedules 

One example and tested method is to deliberately reduce the daily range by introducing "bread schedules", so that every type of bread is still available to buy, but not every one of them has to be baked every day. At the beginning of this process we do a carefully carried out “ABC analysis” of the individual products and days with a link to the staff occupancy plans in production. This can be done digitally with tools or in the tried and tested way. 

Sell leftover stock 

Using apps to sell leftover stock at reduced prices has also proven to be an effective solution.  

Platforms such as "Too Good To Go" enable bakeries, such as ours at Bakery Schmitt, to sell surplus baked goods at the end of the day instead of throwing them away. This not only reduces waste, but also generates additional income and attracts new customers.  

Production planning 

Precise production planning is crucial to avoid overproduction. By analyzing data from sales figures and customer behavior based on cash register data, bakeries can better adapt their production to demand. In our company it is permanently necessary, as not only production peaks but also the deployment planning of staff in quieter times is the basis for economic work. 

Reusing Leftovers 

There is also potential in creatively reusing leftovers in new products. For example, stale bread can be partially dried, ground, soaked and added to the new dough, which not only improves the freshness of the bread in question, but also its taste. We add a portion of old bread to almost every new bread in order not only to increase the water retention, but also to bring the roasty aroma of a baked crust into the interior of the bread 

80% of the flavors come from the crust - and these complement the new bread by using old bread.

Try it out!