TO INNOVATE is to introduce something new. Supermarket companies, with stiff competition for food sales heating from all sides, need to develop new ideas to survive... new strategies to appeal to today's complex shoppers.

The challenge for most supermarket chains is implementing the successful innovations consistently chain-wide. For obvious reasons, the larger the company, the more difficult this task becomes, particularly in the labor-driven bakery department.

Modern Baking's In-store Innovators have not implemented their new ideas across all of their stores. But, they are on the cutting edge of new concepts and are rethinking how customers shop their stores and their instore bakeries.

Marsh Supermarkets, Indianapolis, designed a new way to categorize instore baking in its stores.

Dominick's, Chicago, makes bakery part of it fresh European-style market.

Whole Foods, Austin, Texas, gives bakery the action it deserves in its new showpiece store.

Modern Baking editors selected these companies as examples of instore bakery operations willing to invest in new ideas. True innovators know what works from experience, yet are willing to take a chance on change.