Bakers looking for turbo-charged marketing, business and merchandising ideas will descend on the NASCAR hub.
A timely and appropriate mix of themes, from the economy to bakery television to social networking websites, will be central to the American Retail Bakery Exposition. With the host city of Charlotte, N.C., a NASCAR flair will be evident, as well. The show, to be held Oct. 18-20, is sponsored by the Retail Bakers of America (RBA).
Joe Gibbs, NASCAR Championship team owner and the longtime coach of the Washington Redskins, will be the general session speaker, talking about perseverance and resiliency, a relevant topic for bakers given the recent turmoil in the baking industry and economy.
“We worked hard to get Joe Gibbs to speak at the convention,” says Paul Sapienza, owner of Sapienza Pastry Inc., Elmont, N.Y. “Resilience is a big theme with the current economy, so the subject seems to be important to bakers right now.”
Also on hand will be Buddy Valastro, owner of Carlo's Bakery, Hoboken, N.J., and television personality. He will create a life-size NASCAR racing car out of cake, and the television crew for his TLC show, Cake Boss, will film the endeavor. The recent surge in bakery and cake decorating programs on The Food Network and TLC, many bakers believe, is helping drive the increased popularity of decorated and specialty cakes.
The educational program will include hands-on sessions, demonstrations and business discussions. One on-trend seminar will be Alyksandra Syska's tutorial on web marketing, particularly direct e-mail marketing.
“One of the things that we found we had to put into this year's event was the social networking phenomenon. We believe our members can benefit from Twitter and Facebook, especially when a lot of what we did in the past isn't working anymore,” Sapienza says. “Young families are using social networking. Even if you aren't going to use Twitter, a bakery at least should be doing e-mail marketing. It's a great way to always stay in your customers mind with a weekly newsletter — put up some specials, best sellers.”
The exhibition also will host the 9th Annual Pillsbury Grand Champion Creative Decorating Competition. Contestants selected from across the country will compete live on the show floor, creating flowers and sprays, wedding cakes, rolled fondant designs, custom design cakes and sculpted cakes. Another competition, the 2nd Annual Cake and Bread Extravaganza, features pre-made bread and cakes that can be pre-registered or entered on site.
Registration begins at 7 a.m. and the exhibit hall opens at 11 a.m. each day.
| 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Hands-on Decorating Classes | |
| Petit Fours, Mini Wedding Cakes with Kathy Scott Decorating with Fondant with Geraldine Randlesome | ||
| 8 - 9:15 a.m. | Educational Sessions | |
| Cake Trends: Taking Wedding Cake Orders Efficiently with Steve and Joan Conway Baking Trends: Non-Traditional Baked Items with Dan “Klecko” McGleno Merchandising Trends: Direct E-mail Marketing with Aleksandra Syska | ||
| 9:30 - 10:45 a.m. | Educational Sessions | |
| Cake Trends: Increasing Productivity in Cake Businesses, moderated by Julie Bashore Baking Trends: Baking and Marketing Gluten-Free Products with Jean Carol Roberts Merchandising Trends: Effective Social Networking Through Diligence, Relevance, and Responsiveness with Stephen Mackey | ||
| 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. | Cake Decorating Competition | |
| 11:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Baking Demonstrations | |
| 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Hands-on Decorating Classes | |
| Piping Out Buttercream Profits with Carolyn Neal Advanced Fondant with Julie Bashore | ||
| 9:30 - 11 a.m. | General Session with Joe Gibbs & RBA Annual Membership Meeting | |
| 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. | Cake Decorating Competition | |
| 11:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Baking Demonstrations | |
| 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. | AIB Professional Bakery Management Seminar | |
| 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Hands-on Decorating Classes | |
| Sugar Veil with Julie Bashore Sugar Paste Flowers with Ron Ben-Israel | ||
| 8 - 9:30 a.m. | Educational Sessions | |
| Sales Trends: Basic Customer Service Business Trends: Powering Up Your Profit | ||
| 9:30 -10:45 a.m. | Educational Sessions | |
| Sales Trends: Beyond Selling Business Trends: Powering Up Your Profit | ||
| 12 - 2 p.m. | Baker-to-Baker Luncheon | |
| 2 - 7 p.m. | Charlotte Bakery Tour | |