How Bakeries Successfully Ship Cakes: Methods and Tips
Shipping cakes is not an easy job for bakeries because it involves the ideal protection of delicate bakery goods from packaging to delivering to customs in a pristine condition. It is important to consider the trustworthy carrier service, protective packaging, and careful planning to package cake for delivery.
How do professionals transport cakes? Professional bakers use the sturdy and flat-base carrier to ensure a snug fit for cakes while using thermal bags to maintain them in a pristine condition. You can also learn how to deliver cakes safely to improve customer experience with your bakery.
Why Shipping Cakes is Important for Bakeries
When your business is growing rapidly, it is necessary to expand beyond the nearby areas to engage more potential customers. The shipment of cakes to different locations allows your bakery business to become prominent in a broader market and special events such as birthdays and weddings. It is essential for your bakery to focus on the pristine condition and freshness of your cakes for an excellent presentation to capture customers’ attention.
Types of Ideal Cakes for Shipping
It is true that not all cakes are perfect for the shipping process. Some cakes are more prone to handling, temperature fluctuations, and movement. Let’s take a closer look at the best cakes for shipping without facing any challenges.
- Bundt Cakes: Sturdy and dense treats remain intact during shipping.
- Cheese Cakes: Solid surfaces make them ideal for transportation, and even refrigeration is essential.
- Layer Cakes with Excellent Icing: Ganache and buttercream are more stable options than delicate frosting or whipped cream.
- Pound Cakes: Excellent resistance to damage because of firmness during transportation.
How Do I Ship Baked Goods for Business?
Select the Ideal Packaging Materials
What is the best way to ship a cake? The best way is to wrap the cake in durable material such as a plastic wrap before placing it in the packaging box. It is a fact that packaging like custom cake boxes with logo is essential to maintain freshness while ensuring safe transportation of cakes.
You can check the essential components of packaging for shipping a cake.
- Cake Box: A food-safe and sustainable option made to hold cakes in original condition by ensuring a snug fit without leaving excessive space.
- Cooling Packs: Essential components to ensure temperature maintenance for cakes that need refrigeration during transportation, such as cheesecakes.
- Padding Material: crinkle paper, bubble wrap, and foam inserts to prevent the movement of cakes within a box.
- Outer Shipping Box: Select sturdy packaging, such as a corrugated cardboard box, to accommodate the cake box with padding. This packaging ensures excellent safety from external contaminants.
Secure the Cake for Shipping
When you have packed the cake, it’s time to safeguard it through ideal strategies. You can wrap the cake into a cake collar or plastic wrap, safeguarding it from being dry. It is also good to freeze cakes to ensure stability during transportation.
The preference for additional padding inside the cake packaging ensures the prevention of sliding. You can also include layers of foam or bubble wrap between the box edges and cake. Sealing the outer box using packaging tape is a good approach. Labeling the box, such as “This Side Up” and “Fragile,” is essential to ensure ideal handling during transportation.
Partner with a Reliable Shipping Carrier
Careful selection is important when you are choosing a carrier service to ship your cakes to potential customers in a timely and safe way. It is a good approach to go for overnight or two-day shipping to reduce the time your cake spends during transportation.it will minimize damage and spoilage.
You may prefer a service that provides real-time tracking of orders for customers and bakeries. It is an effective and wise decision to ensure your products are insured during shipment to avoid potential losses due to delay or damage. Top carrier companies such as DHL, UPS, and FedEx are reliable options for shipping cakes because they ensure the shipment of perishables through refrigeration or coolers.
Provide Customer Instructions
It is necessary to inform your customers about handling when a cake is shipped to the destination. You can convey the unboxing instructions, allowing customers to open the packaging without harming the cake.
It is a good approach to provide your customers with storage recommendations like serving and refrigeration. You can also update consumers about the shelf life of cakes.
Special Considerations for Various Cake Types
How do you pack bakery products for shipping? Different packaging solutions, such as custom pastry boxes for bakery business, can be used to preserve and ship products. You can learn about the packaging of bakery items for shipping.
Shipping Buttercream Cakes
Buttercream cakes require excellent refrigeration with careful packaging for melting prevention. You can use frozen gel to maintain the intact condition while using the overnight shipping service.
Shipping Fondant Cakes
Fondant cakes are stable products and easier to transport. You need to avoid direct contact between an outer box and the cake by using the padding.
Shipping Tiered Cakes
It is challenging to ship the tiered cakes. It is a good strategy to ship the tiers separately and offer instructions for assembly to customers.
Best Practices to Ship Cakes
- Freezing: It is essential to freeze your cakes to ensure they are less prone to damage while maintaining freshness during transportation.
- Prefer Temperature-Controlled Shipping: Use temperature-controlled shipping for cakes that need refrigeration.
- Avoid Peak Seasons: Shipment during busy seasons or holidays can result in a delay, causing damage or spoilage.
Final Thoughts
Cake shipment is a delicate process needing reliable carrier service and proper packaging while communicating with customers. You can prefer ideal materials and strategies to keep your cakes fresh during transportation. Shipping pies and pastries can be done through a similar way, altering a little bit. Therefore, you can deliver your baked goods successfully and excpand your business.