Owners Rachel and Andrew Swartz (left)

Residents of Marion, Ohio, upon spotting a neighbor carrying a bright pink paperboard box, immediately recognize it as having come from Andrew's Pastries. The boxes and the bakery have become synonymous since Andrew Swartz opened his bakery in 1995. Yet Swartz takes no credit for scoring a marketing coup. In fact, pink was among the last colors he would have selected.

Minding his available start-up cash, the then 31-year-old pastry chef was on the look-out for opportunities to minimize costs. “A local box manufacturer offered me a really sweet deal on some existing stock,” Swartz recalls. “Trouble was, the boxes were pink, and he would only sell the whole lot — tens of thousands of boxes. But, I couldn't pass it up.”

He still has a few years' supply remaining, and, he admits, he likely will replenish the inventory with, you guessed it, pink boxes.

“At least, I'll have my logo printed on the boxes,” he says. Gold foil “Andrew's Pastries” labels currently identify the boxes for the uninformed.

The bakery produces pastries and sweetgoods destined for a diverse customer base from donuts for a Whirlpool Corp. manufacturing plant to European-style tortes and tarts for the country club set.

“We have flourless tortes, fresh fruit tarts and gift boxes of cookies, brownies and other items, which attract physicians, attorneys and pharmaceutical salespeople. And, special products, like white chocolate mousse cake or tiramisu, appeal to transplants from all over the country,” Swartz says. “The vast majority of customers, however, want basic products — donuts, cookies and decorated cakes.”

The bakery prides itself on the appearance of its products, and understands that customers eat with their eyes. It strives for consistent looking finished products.

Researched consumer tastes

Before opening the bakery, Swartz was familiar with the community. Born in Cleveland, Swartz and his family moved to Marion, 40 miles north of Columbus, when his father purchased a fast-food franchise.

In 1984, he graduated from Tri-Rivers Career Center, majoring in culinary arts. He worked in several restaurants in Columbus and Cleveland until 1986, when he enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y.

After graduating from its baking and pastry program, Swartz spent six years working in several upscale restaurants in North Carolina and Washington, D.C., including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. His wife, Rebecca, an English teacher, handles the bookkeeping and marketing duties.

Despite his familiarity with Marion, “I had to do my homework,” Swartz says. He visited bakeries throughout the area. “I ate every shop's donuts within a 90-mile radius of Marion,” Swartz says. He also befriended retired bakers in Marion and surrounding communities to learn what they had sold.

His research and on-going customer contact has resulted in a streamlined mix of 100 different items offered daily. “Along the way, we dumped slow sellers and have focused on items that sell,” he says. “We put our time and effort in products that give the most margin, such as cookies, brownies, bars and decorated cakes.”

The bakery's signature products include cookies, cheesecake, biscotti (see accompanying article) and donuts, though when Swartz graduated from culinary school, he was convinced that he would not sell donuts. “But, in our market, donuts are our hook. Besides tasting great, our donuts look like they came from a magazine ad,” he explains. “And, donuts have drawn in customers who became attracted to buy our cakes. We built customers' trust through donuts.”

His Signature Cookies line includes Presidential Sweets, named in honor of Marion-born Warren G. Harding. The oatmeal-coconut concoction contains golden raisins, dried cherry pieces, pecan bits, chocolate chips and espresso powder. Sweet Dreams cookies are a chocolate chip variety with cinnamon, ginger and pecans, rolled in confectioners' sugar.