10 Ideas for a More Profitable Bake Sale

Most bake sales are full of chocolate chip cookies and brownies. Those are delicious but sometimes going out of your way to do something a little different can go a long way in getting your bake sale noticed – which means more profits! Here are some ideas to help your bake sale stand out from the crowd.

1.Skip the cheap looking paper plates and go for something more elegant. You’d be surprised at how inexpensive nice disposable plastic plates are and they make your desserts look fancier. To a customer that makes them even more worth buying!
2.On the subject of dessert dishes, use different kinds! Don’t just stick to one kind of plate or bowl. Try using different shapes of bowls for different desserts. Disposable dessertware comes in so many styles!
3.Try some “non-traditional” bake sale desserts. You can use disposable dessert cups to offer pudding, mousse, or parfaits along with the regular bake sale foods. This can also be an easy way to make sure you’ve got more gluten free options for sale.
4.Offer drinks too. You’d be surprised how much you can boost your sales by offering hot chocolate, coffee, or lemonade too. The best part is that drinks are very inexpensive to make so you’ll be earning plenty of profit from those sales.
5.Have at least one gluten free option, one vegan option, and make sure anything with nuts is marked properly and set away from everything without nuts. Health concerns are important! Be ready for when customers ask which is which. Decorative tags or index cards to label everything is a good idea.
6.Some people will want to eat their snacks right away, other people will want to take them home with them. You should have a way for them to take some home if they want. Boxes, bags, or aluminum foil are the easiest.
7.Offer samples if you can. People will stick around longer and be more likely to make a purchase if you have small samples.
8.If the location allows it you can make it more of an event by playing music or offering some kind of demonstration. Cupcake or cake decorating demonstrations are really popular and you can sell the newly decorated food right after!
9.Print out thank you cards and put one in each bag as people leave. It’ll leave them feeling good about the purchase and they’ll remember it if you have another bake sale in the future.
10.Plan ahead and order your dessertware and silverware in bulk. You’ll save a lot of money and if there is some left over you can store it for next year’s bake sale!

At the end of the day, the number one thing you can do to make your bake sale more profitable is make sure you’re having fun. Your customers can tell if you’re enjoying yourself and are going to have more fun themselves if you’re having a good time!