August 19, 2020 
Instagram has been helping bakeries grow for a while now. Its focus on rich imagery and video – both with the power to make you salivate – has been helping bakers worldwide express themselves.
We’ve the pleasure of sharing some of London’s finest Instagram accounts to help spark some ideas for your bakery. And some tips to boot.
Follow their accounts, browse their photos, or maybe even pay them a visit—these bakeries are renowned for quality products and great customer care. They just so happen to share their baking art with the world via Instagram.
If you’re a growing bakery wondering how to best market yourself on the social channel, then give these accounts a follow. They’re a masterclass in intrigue.
The Little Bread Pedlar
The Little Bread Pedlar (LPB) are a Bermondsey based artisan bakery whose Instagram account offers an interesting variety of images and videos showing work in action, bakes being prepared and of course, the finished product.
Boasting 11k followers, their page is bustling with engagement and activity.
Demonstration videos to build trust
LBP’s page is sprinkled with a series of videos showing their artisan bakers at work. Not only do these videos bring a lot of engagement in the form of likes and shares, they also instil an important trait within their customers: trust.
Showing their staff at work gives the consumer an insight into how their favourite bakes are created; from bread to crafted muffins and croissants.
Their staff’s skill, ability and efficiency are clear to see. LBP’s videos are partnered with music (which they link the credits to). The art of folding and preparing dough alongside the upbeat soundtrack makes for an entertaining watch; it also makes you a little hungry.
Keeping it personal
Every person who features in LBP’s videos and images are tagged.
Images showing the people behind the bakery add to the personality and personability, but also give the consumers an opportunity to reach out directly, if they want to.
Keeping customers informed during lockdown
While the nation has been in lockdown, some bakeries have still been operating through it all to supply bread and other such essentials. LPB has been doing just that. While they’ve been keeping their followers entertained with behind-the-scenes videos and images, they’ve also used the platform to keep them updated about opening times and other restrictions.
These updates keep their customers in the know – and further down this post they also mention how the earlier opening times mean warm bakes for early risers (such as key workers). Posts like this engage and support their local community, something Instagram has allowed bakeries to do during COVID.
anges de sucre
Cake bake extraordinaire Reshmi Bennett under the brand anges de sucre wows her 48k followers on Instagram with colour, creativity and personality. The bakery is renowned as the “best cakes in London”, and it’s easy to see why.
Intuitive and personal highlight reels
Alongside stories, Instagram’s “highlight” feature allows the user to save their stories permanently and host them on their page.
Anges de sucre’s page offers a vast selection of intuitive and personal highlights that breed interaction.
The highlight reels feature customer shout outs to stop-motion-styled cake decoration. Also, you’ll find video snippets of collaborations with other bakeries, work with salted caramel, a popular and must-include ingredient right now, and even recipe breakdowns.
Reshmi Bennett has really thought about her insight reels, and alongside her bright and fun page – which is a feast for the eyes – it gives her fans a reason to return again and again to find updates to their favorite sections.
Building a personal brand
Another thing Reshmi Bennet does so well is build herself up as a personal brand. Because of the success of her bakery, and her page, she is well known and synonymous with her brand anges de sucre.
She’s built a human brand behind her bakery, which is perhaps why her interaction is so high—customers and fans know they’re talking to her.
Taking up handmade video making courses
During COVID, some bakery owners have taken the time to upskill for the benefit of their followers. Reshmi Bennet posted to inform her fanbase that she’d be undergoing a “handmade video course” to create different styles of content; namely how-to demonstrations alongside stop-motion cake decorating:
This very video content is winning high engagement for Reshmi’s bakery, and keeping her front and centre of potential customers.
Get Bakels Articles delivered to your inbox
Dominique Ansel Bakery
All the images and videos Dominique Ansel Bakery share have a magazine quality and feel. Their upmarket style comes across on their Instagram page. While this style differentiates them from the arguably more personable side to our previous examples, it makes them no less appealing to their huge 110k fan base.
Consistency is key
When it comes to post etiquette, few bakers are doing it better than Dominique Ansel.
What do we mean when we say post etiquette? We’re talking about:
- the topics
- the colour palette
- the style and format
- the use of backdrops
- any branding and its positioning
When you scroll through the enormous variety of images, which also include food outside of their bakes, there isn’t a single one that looks out of place, or of a different quality.
The only posts that break the mould are their dedicated posts to staff or key workers.
Followers know exactly what they’re getting and – if the engagement rates are anything to go by – enjoy it.
London-based delivery
While we’ve been fighting COVID, Dominique Ansel has been offering hamper deliveries to their customers in London. The best thing is that their images have directly impacted on interest, as this post’s comments show:
Like in our other examples, Instagram has given bakers the opportunity to keep in contact with their customers. But, that interaction can go further than conversation; it has turned into orders.
A platform to indulge and advertise at the same time
One thing each of our examples does brilliantly, is use Instagram as a platform to simultaneously indulge and advertise. Take this example from Dominique Ansel:
The image fits their content style perfectly, and their personal story within the post itself draws customers into the tale behind the bake, offering them the opportunity to become part of it all.
Customers crave connection with the brands they buy from, so the human element offered by each of these accounts strikes a very effective chord with today’s customer.
Stats reveal that Gen Z takes center stage as the largest user base on Instagram, followed by millennials. With 1billion active users, and 90% of those following a business account, there’s a huge potential audience your bakery could tap into.
Here to keep your bakes looking picture-perfect
If you’re thinking of using the examples above to start – or grow – your own Instagram page—we can help keep your bakes picture-perfect. Take a look at our huge range of ingredients that will help you create quality batches, time after time. If you’ve questions or a particular need, then get in contact with us today, we’d love to hear from you.
