Coffee Meets Bagels: How to Merge Carb Goodness at Your Coffee Shop

‍TLDR

You’ve probably noticed the latest trend hitting coffee shops everywhere - bagels. It seems like every indie cafe and big chain is adding bagels, bagel sandwiches, and other baked goods to their menu. As a coffee shop

owner, you’re always looking for ways to boost sales, engage new customers, and stand out from the competition. Offering high-quality bagels and bagel sandwiches in addition to your usual fare of coffee, tea, and light snacks is a no-brainer. Bagels pair perfectly with coffee, your customers clearly have an appetite for them, and they provide more opportunities for upselling and bundling. The real question is - how can you make the most of this hot trend and use bagels to take your coffee shop to the next level? We’ve got some ideas to help you successfully merge coffee and bagels.

Coffee shops everywhere are catching on to a trend that’s sweeping the nation - adding fresh-baked bagels to their menus. It’s a match made in breakfast heaven.

The Rise of Bagels at Coffee Shops

More and more third-wave coffee roasters and indie cafes are teaming up with local bagel shops or baking their own bagels in-house to create delicious breakfast sandwiches and pairings. Places like Coffee Dose in Orange County offer bagel sandwiches like the Lox & Loaded, The Popper, and the OC OG. Hidden Grounds Coffee in Hoboken and Jersey City started offering fresh bagels via their mobile app. Even small-town shops like Kino’s Coffee in Cissna Park and Paxton Illinois have found success with their popular breakfast sandwiches on homemade bagels.

The key is high-quality, artisanal bagels that complement your specialty coffee. Look for bagels that are kettle-boiled, hand-rolled, and locally-sourced. Classic flavors like plain, sesame seed, everything, cinnamon raisin, or asiago cheese pair well with most coffees. You’ll want bagels that stand up to spreads and sandwiches but aren’t too dense. Offer bagel sandwiches, spreads like cream cheese or peanut butter, and bagel pairings with flavored coffees.

Promote your bagel and coffee specials on social media using mouth-watering photos. Highlight where your bagels come from and any unique or seasonal flavors. Run contests for customers to name their favorite bagel sandwich. You’ll be building buzz and bringing more customers through your doors in no time.

The trend of gourmet coffee shops offering artisanal bagels is heating up. By hopping on board, you can attract new regulars, increase check averages, and cement your status as the go-to spot for the best breakfast in town. Fresh-baked bagels and great coffee - could there be a better combination?

Benefits of Adding Bagels to Your Coffee Shop Menu

Adding bagels to your coffee shop menu is a win-win. Here are a few benefits you'll gain:

• Attract new customers. Bagels appeal to a wide range of tastes and dietary needs. Offering them gives people more reason to visit your shop, especially if you have unique or artisanal bagel varieties.
• Increase sales. Bagels are an easy add-on sale with coffee or a cheap snack option on their own. Either way, your average transaction amount will go up.
• Low cost, high profit. Bagels are inexpensive to make but can be sold at a nice markup. This boosts your bottom line with little extra effort or investment.
• Versatile menu addition. There are many ways to serve bagels - with spreads like cream cheese or peanut butter, topped with eggs for breakfast sandwiches, or used for burgers and sandwiches at lunch. Get creative!
• Meet customer demand. Bagels have become a wildly popular bakery item and coffee shop staple. Your customers likely expect you to have them, so you must keep up with trends to stay competitive.

Really, the biggest challenge is deciding which kinds of bagels to offer. Go for classics like plain, sesame seed, and ‘everything’ or mix in more unique choices like Asiago cheese, blueberry, or pumpkin spice. You could even do specials with homemade bagel toppings or different cream cheese flavors.

The opportunities are endless. Why not combine coffee and bagels to give your customers the best of both worlds? Adding this dynamic duo to your menu is a smart move that will boost your business in more ways than one. Now that’s worth raising your cup or bagel to!

Best Ways to Promote Your New Bagel Menu

To get customers excited about your new bagel menu, focus on promotion. Here are some of the best ways to spread the word:

Catering and Events

Offering catering services for birthdays, office meetings, and other events is a great way to expose new customers to your bagels. Create bagel trays and breakfast sandwich platters for parties and meetings. Hand out coupons or free bagels to attendees to encourage them to come back to your shop.

Signature Bagels and Sandwiches

Develop some signature bagels and breakfast sandwiches that are unique to your shop. Come up with fun names and high-quality ingredients to make them stand out. Promote these featured items on your menu, website, and social media. Customers will come in just to try your one-of-a-kind creations.

Mobile App Marketing

If you have a mobile app, use it to highlight your new bagel sandwiches and specials. Push notifications are an easy way to reach your most loyal customers and let them know about the exciting additions to your menu. App users tend to visit more frequently, so targeting them will lead to a big impact.

You can also run social media contests and giveaways featuring your new bagels. Post mouth-watering photos of your breakfast sandwiches on Instagram and Facebook. Use hashtags to increase visibility and engage with your followers.

With the right promotional mix, your new bagel menu will soon become the talk of the town. Focus on catering, signature items, mobile marketing, and social media to spread the word to existing and new customers alike. Before you know it, the bagel trend will be driving new business to your coffee shop every day.

Integrating Mobile Ordering for Bagels

Integrating mobile ordering for bagels and coffee is a win-win. It provides convenience for your customers and helps boost sales for your business. With more people relying on their smartphones each day, a mobile app is key.

Develop an App

Developing a user-friendly app for your coffee and bagel shop is a must. Allow customers to browse your menu, place and pay for orders, and select a pickup time right from their phone. Consider offering deals and discounts exclusive to app users to drive downloads.

Streamline the Ordering Process

An efficient mobile ordering system should make the experience quick and simple. Let customers select from categories like “Bagels,” “Breakfast Sandwiches,” “Drinks” and “Bakery.” Provide photos and descriptions for each item. Allow saving of favorite or recent orders for faster checkout. Integrate a rewards or loyalty program so customers earn points or discounts with each purchase.

Promote Convenience

The biggest benefit of mobile ordering is convenience. Advertise the ability to skip waiting in line and enjoy fast, contactless pickup. Once an order is placed, have it ready at the selected time so customers can grab and go. Send notifications when the order is ready for pickup. Bagels and coffee are meant to be enjoyed on the run, so play up how your mobile ordering facilitates that.

Continuously Improve

Monitor how customers are using the mobile ordering system and look for ways to enhance their experience. Send surveys asking for feedback on what they like and what could be improved. Look for any issues like items not available or problems at pickup. Make ongoing updates to fix any bugs, add requested features, update photos, or revise the menu and product descriptions.

Staying on the cutting edge of technology and continuously improving your mobile ordering system will ensure your coffee and bagel shop remains a step ahead of the competition. With convenience and efficiency at their fingertips, your loyal customers will keep coming back for more.

Implementing a Loyalty Program for Coffee and Bagels

A loyalty program is key to turning your coffee and bagel customers into regulars. It gives people an incentive to choose your shop over competitors and keeps them coming back. The most common approach is to offer reward points for every coffee, bagel or other item purchased. Once customers accumulate enough points, they can redeem them for free drinks or snacks.

Keep it simple

The simpler your program, the easier it is for customers to understand and the more likely they are to participate. Have just a single card for earning and redeeming points. Award one point for every dollar spent. When customers reach 50 or 100 points, they get a free item. This straightforward system is easy to explain to new customers.

Offer meaningful rewards

Free coffee, bagels and other menu items that people already enjoy are meaningful rewards. Discounts on larger orders or merchandise also entice customers. Whatever you offer, make the points required to earn a reward attainable. If people have to spend too much to earn anything, they may get frustrated and stop participating.

Promote your program

Spread the word about your new loyalty program through social media, in-store signs, and your staff. Explain how people can sign up, how points are earned and redeemed, and what rewards are available. The more customers understand how beneficial the program is, the more eager they’ll be to join.

Track and engage

Use your loyalty program to build personal connections with customers. Collect contact information and purchase history when people sign up so you can reach out with special offers on their birthdays or when they’re close to earning a reward. Send program updates, menu specials, and exclusive deals through email, social media, and in-app messaging. Engaged, loyal customers will become your best advocates.

Implementing a well-designed loyalty program is key to keeping coffee and bagel customers coming back for more. Offer them an incentive to choose you over the competition, keep things simple, provide meaningful rewards, spread the word, and engage with your loyal customers. Do that, and your program will be instrumental in building a base of regulars.

Final Thoughts 

So there you have it, a few easy ways to merge the hottest food and drink trends under your coffee shop's roof. Adding high-quality bagels to your menu is a simple step that can open up a whole new source of business and boost your bottom line. People already love coming to cozy, community-centered coffee shops to work, meet up with friends, or just recharge. Giving them delicious bagels to enjoy along with their coffee or espresso drink is a perfect pairing that will keep them coming back again and again. Stay on top of trends in the food and beverage industry, keep optimizing your menu based on what your customers crave, and keep providing that welcoming atmosphere that sets neighborhood coffee shops apart. Do that and you'll be riding the wave of success in no time by bringing coffee and bagels together at your shop. You've got this! Now go spread the word that there's a new must-try menu in town.