Innovation has been at the heart of the Ferguson Plarre business since the 1930s when Otto Plarre introduced eclairs, the latest Parisian delight, to his bakery business.

Today the bakery chain excels at being a fast follower, quickly turning viral social media trends into new products that their loyal fans love.

Fourth-generation business owner Steve Plarre says “For our brand, innovation in food is about new twists on old favourites. While the things that sell best are still the custard tart, a vanilla slice or Otto’s chocolate eclair, we love to keep our product range contemporary.”

For this bakery chain, innovation is crucial, but it doesn’t trump quality; it kickstarts the process in the test kitchen. 

“It’s about more than how it looks in a photo, it’s about reproducing a beautiful product that’s made with honest ingredients, and that can be produced at scale,” Steve says.

Manufacturing innovation at Ferguson Plarre

However, the brand’s taste for innovation extends well beyond the delicious baked goods on display in its 85+ stores across Victoria. 

It is harnessing technology to drive change and streamline processes that benefit franchisees and customers.

Ferguson Plarre’s business model is traditionally based on daily, centralised manufacturing, with fresh product distributed to all the stores.

Now it’s trialling a new approach, one designed to maximise customer appeal while ensuring operational excellence.

“With a centralised kitchen you can lose some of the theatre and the aroma that happens in a bakery,” Steve says. “A few of our stores are now proving and baking fresh Danish pastries and croissants and the smell is wonderful – the halo effect is just incredible.”

A shift in production methods brings complexity of labour and process back into the stores, so the test period in company-owned stores is an essential part of adopting any change.

It’s crucial to find the right balance of efficiencies and customer appeal, Steve says.

“We can make all the complex products that require a professional baker at the central facility. But providing franchisees with automated provers so they can dish up a croissant made 30 minutes ago, with all the aromas wafting through the store, is very appealing,” he says.

Other products can go from frozen to baked without any proving process and can deliver a much fresher experience and enhanced taste and quality, he adds.

Digital advancements improve customer service

In-store baking will suit some products, and larger stores with the capacity to bring in new equipment. Results so far from corporate stores participating in the trial show a positive impact on revenue. 

The franchisor’s commitment to technical advancement led to developing its proprietary online ordering, adding its decorated cake process to the customer apps. This innovation allows customers to order and customise their cakes directly, via their device. 

“People are really looking to self-serve, even our older customers are becoming digitally inclined,” Steve points out.

The team has spent a year finessing the process so that customers can choose from the 14,500 cake options, customising the shape, colour and size to suit their needs.

“With AI that complexity becomes more manageable and we’ve just finalised putting that into a digital format,” Steve says.

The digital addition also serves as a valuable tool for franchisees.

“We know that it will streamline some of the labour and the complexity in in our stores. And we capture the data in a way that really helps us know what’s working and what’s not working, and this will empower franchisees to make key decisions based on timely and relevant data,” Steve says.

Whether it is digital advancements that streamline processes, a manufacturing reset, or an on-trend dessert cake or special sandwich flavour, Ferguson Plarre drives innovation that will give franchisees a competitive edge.