Scaling a Local Chain by Meeting Consumer Needs

I worked with this award-winning neighborhood boulangerie for over a decade, directing media and communications, product strategy, business development, and internal teams. My work received accolades from customers, vendors, and staff, with the bakery achieving historic sales goals and winning superlative local awards during my tenure.

E-Commerce Success

I pitched and single-handedly executed this client’s first online store in the midst of a pandemic. This new pre-order service balanced bakers’ need for production forecasting and customers’ draw to novelty by featuring a new set of specials every week. We increased sales by double digits and maintained that trajectory long past lockdown by applying this model to new avenues like delivery, catering, and holiday pre-orders. By fostering a sense of closeness with customers and taking swift action to seize market opportunities, we filed record profits at a time when less-adaptable competitors were forced out of business.

Media and Design

Le Quartier means ‘the neighborhood’ in French, so I made sure their marketing materials maintained the tone of a small business despite the large-scale production behind their kitchen doors. I managed and executed all marketing, photography, signage, social channels, wholesale packaging, advertising, apparel, cross-department communication, and customer engagement as this multi-location bakery opened new storefronts and expanded their wholesale roster.

Modern Point of Sale

When I first met this client, they were using an outdated cash register, requiring daily totals be manually entered into Quickbooks, leading to errors and data loss. I spearheaded the search for a suitable modern point of sale system, performing demos, requesting sales meetings, and comparing options. I led the switch to their new platform, managing thousands of SKUs, variants, and cost data.

Website Adaptation

Much of their website’s content was static, despite a new set of revolving specials and frequent community updates. To increase ease of use for internal teams, I transferred the existing website content and design to a new platform with drag and drop functionality and auto-updating content from the online store.

Brand Strategy

For a period of time, sales dipped and staff turnover rose. In an effort to identify causes and amplify internal collaboration, I developed a strategy workshop for key stakeholders. The workshop was guided by slides and workbooks covering a values discovery session, competitor analysis (including taste tests), employee reviews, SWOT analysis, customer feedback (collected using keyword data from online posts), trend reports, and recommendations formed by 8 years of sales data.

Viral UGC Contest

Reviewers and loyal customers knew Le Q’s bread was the best in the Midwest, but the bakery lacked mainstream name recognition. How could we get people talking about Le Quartier, and motivate faithful fans to spread the word? What about an insanely big reward, like free baguettes for a year? We asked contestants to share their favorite way to use the product, leaving lots of room for creativity. Submissions far surpassed our expectations: beyond just recipes and photos, we received original works of art, stop motion animations, songs, and theatrical productions celebrating Le Quartier’s baguettes.