Concepts & Processes – MIWE en-en

Snack Attack!

dlwpadmin — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 09:52:00 +0000

30.03.2023

Make Your Snack Business a Success!

The right concept for every business model – and the right equipment

It has long been rumoured that a well thought-out snack concept not only significantly raises the purchase amount listed on the average receipt and speeds up the periods of slower turnover, it also improves business as a whole. When it gets down to the nitty-gritty, however, all sorts of questions arise before you can successfully make the leap into the snack business. We provide guidance through the jungle of snack products to snack bakers and those looking to become established in this area. And we show you which equipment best fits your business model.

Just like with conventional bakery products, a variety of factors determine the success or failure of a snack business concept: The product range, quantities and qualities, staff and space requirements, location and target audience, but also logistics and equipment – to name only the most important aspects – all play a crucial role. They mutually affect each other in a rather complex interaction and therefore allow a variety of promising concepts in very different constellations.

Depending on the individual circumstances (and therefore a reasonable starting point is a thorough analysis of the current situation, the framework conditions and the objectives), there is no doubt that a successful concept can be developed for almost every use case. As a MIWE customer, you have several advantages, because alongside expert advice we can also offer you the most comprehensive range of thermal “snack machines” for all applications from a single source.

The basis of the snack business is products that can be sold as a quick snack immediately after baking – without further processing.

Snacks from a bakery perspective

As a snack supplier, bakers generally start from an extremely favourable starting position. For good reason, they have enjoyed a good reputation and confidence in their snack expertise among consumers for years. With their baked goods, they also have a wonderful base of ready-to-eat products or ones that are ideal to be refined into snacks.

According to a common definition, baked goods that are perfect snack products even without further processing are considered baked snacks.

To this group belong several bakery products which were originally not intended as snacks, but which have long since made a career out of being a break-time snack as a companion to a cappuccino or coke or as take-away or on-the-go food (from croissants to soft pretzels).

And of course the category of baked snacks also includes baked goods that were specifically developed for the snack business: Specially filled products (dumplings, croissants or rolls e. g. with ham-cheese-pineapple filling), products with spicy toppings (pizza, tarte flambée etc., and savoury tray-baked topped breads e. g. with vegetable topping) or those with savoury ingredients that are baked in the dough (e. g. rolls, sticks, croissants with ham, cheese, salami cubes, herbs). Products from this category are sold either cold or after being quickly crisped for immediate consumption.

In addition to baked snacks, grilled snacks are another important success factor in the snack business: Bread rolls, baguettes and ciabatta halves or sliced toast, topped for instance with tomatoes and mozzarella, ham and cheese, tuna or spicy spreads and then baked.

The third category of bakery snacks is sandwiches, and depending on where you live, you’ll be thinking of a caprese panini, a BLT sandwich, a Reuben, a bocadillo de queso or a jambon beurre. Even the simplest processing or refinement of baked raw materials can generate an extensive range of snacks. For example: With only three basic baked goods (bread roll, ciabatta, baguette) in combination with three toppings (salami, cheese, ham), we already have nine different snacks. With four baked goods and four toppings, we have 16. With a little imagination and maybe a certain degree of generosity in measuring out the ingredients, we have sales-friendly, modern interpretations of snacks that can be “individualistically” labelled to make your product stand out more.

Gastronomically ambitious snack bakers and the operators of related food service concepts are of course not only focusing on their range of baked goods, but are also expanding their assortment especially with regard to midday and evening business (depending on opening hours …) with non-bakery (warm) foods, e. g. soups, pasta, egg, meat or fish dishes, roasts, casseroles, etc.

The range of possibilities is immense in any case. At the same time, it leads us to the question of how best to organize all of this in the interaction between your (own) central production and the outlets.

Convenience levels of snack-making

As we have done for baking (where we refer to the MIWE Convenience Levels MCS), we have also summarized the conceivable organizational forms of central production, logistics and decentralized production into levels, the so-called snack levels, for the food service and snack business. And just like there, the greater the number of the convenience level, the greater the level of “convenience” of the mode of production, thus reducing the effort required in the outlet. In the following overview, we consciously focus on baked goods. However, the levels apply analogously to non-bakery snacks.

In Snackstufe 0 ist der Arbeitsanteil in der Filiale am höchsten: Backwaren werden halbgebacken (andere Snack-Produkte küchen- oder zubereitungsfertig) angeliefert. Alle weiteren Arbeitsschritte (z.B. Backen, Füllen, Veredeln, Belegen und/oder Garnieren) erfolgen in der Filiale. Das erhöht u.a. den Raum- und Personalaufwand in der Filiale je nach Snack-Volumen ganz erheblich, lässt aber die Konsumenten auch die frische Zubereitung der Produkte am unmittelbarsten miterleben.

The portion of work in the outlet is highest at snack level 0: Baked goods are parbaked (other snack products are delivered ready for use or preparation.) All further steps (e. g. baking, filling, refining, topping and / or garnishing) are carried out in the outlet. This considerably increases the space and personnel costs in the outlet, depending on the volume of snacks, but also brings consumers closest to the freshly prepared products.

At snack level 1, baked goods are delivered ready-baked and then refined or topped at the outlet either to build up stocks or according to demand. The baking effort is eliminated.

Toppings can be pre-produced centrally (deli-meats in a lettuce leaf); however, the final touch is given in the shop.

Conversely, snack level 2 is when the snacks are delivered (practically as convenience products) fully prepared from central production, but are typically freshly baked in the outlet (and then stored, for example, in a heated display case) or, at least, are heated at the customer’s request. This includes the majority of the products listed above among the baked or grilled snacks.

Umgekehrt liegt Snackstufe 2 vor, wenn die Snacks zwar (praktisch als Convenience-Produkte) fertig aus der Zentralproduktion angeliefert werden, aber typischerweise in der Filiale frisch gebacken (und dann z.B. in einer Warmhaltevitrine gelagert) oder auf Kundennachfrage hin beim Verkauf zumindest erhitzt werden. Hierzu zählt der Großteil der oben unter den gebackenen oder überbackenen Snacks geführten Produkte.

Snacks in snack level 3 generate the least amount of effort in the outlet: Here, the snack is delivered completely pre-produced from the central production and, if required, heated again briefly at the customer’s request.

The various thermal processes of the snack bakery

You may well have noticed: In all three snack levels, thermal processes play a role, from baking at snack level 0 to the customer-friendly quick heating of a fully pre-produced snack at snack level 3, not to mention the cooking process required if you also want to enter the world of non-baked snacks.

Snacks are impulse purchases. The impression of freshness and how the snacks are arranged are relevant to success!

As a snack baker, be sure to avoid thinking that heat only plays a minor role in snack production. Spontaneity is a characteristic of the snack business; in other words, snacks are typically impulse purchases. Therefore, in addition to their appearance and the way in which the goods are put on display (are the toppings clearly visible?) the impression of freshness is particularly relevant to success. And heat is not only a unique signal of freshness but is also known to intensify the flavour.

The various thermal processes of the snack bakery

In the table above, we have listed the thermal processes used in the snack bakery along with the processes or products with which they are commonly used. As you can see, with today’s MIWE baking stations, you can not only master all the methods you need for the snack bakery, but since they also represent all scales (see next image below) you can therefore assemble the right components to perfectly meet your needs and your process mix.

You will be pleased that, for example, all components of the Fresh Food System MIWE cube have the same footprint and can therefore be stacked on top of each other in various combinations. This also applies to the individual variants of MIWE gusto. As you can see, this side of the snack business is not that complicated.

Incidentally, our gastronomically trained application engineers are always there for you if you are on the lookout for the most suitable concept for you – even beyond mere oven technology.

After all, we want you to be successful in the snack business.

A hot combination: The Fresh Food System MIWE cube

Our Fresh Food System MIWE cube ensures that you are ideally equipped for all your tasks in the snack business. It can be configured completely freely – in other words you can adjust the selection and combination of modules perfectly to your own individual needs. Do you offer tarte flambée or pizza in your branch? How about a combination of the convection oven module MIWE cube:air and the MIWE cube:fire, which rivals any pizza oven with its 350°C temperature?

Our smallest yet still perfect all-rounder

Where space is in short supply or large capacities are not required, our MIWE gusto:snack is a popular choice. Not only is it an extremely compact, fully-fledged convection oven – thanks to its QuickServe technology and special grill plate, it can magically prepare oven-fresh, crispy snacks in less than three minutes. Need inspiration? You can download recipe cards from our website.

Get the Big Picture

dlwpadmin — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 08:00:00 +0000

30.03.2023

Get the Big Picture

What MIWE can do for you today

What do you think of when you hear the name MIWE?
Top-quality ovens? That’s all well and good. But it’s only a very small part of our range of services and products.

Think bigger! We would like to show you here how MIWE can help you create better processes, better products and ultimately better business with comprehensive expertise and holistic consulting approach.

Granted, good baking results require a good oven. But even the best oven is not enough if there are weaknesses in the process sequence upstream (or downstream): process interruptions for example, or interface problems, organizational bottlenecks, batch collisions, energy waste or, most challenging: insufficient information flows.

That’s why MIWE offers you a much broader approach beyond pure oven or bakery refrigeration technology. One, that takes a closer look at your production and logistics processes and, from this perspective, provides models of holistic processes without weak points and interfaces. In other words: optimised system concepts from one single source. That we are able to do this (and to do so probably much better than many of our market competitors) is due to our comprehensive baking expertise and our wide range of products and services.

You didn’t know that? Another reason for continue reading.

The whole world of baking – from production to shop

We are equally at home in production and in the outlet – with cutting-edge process plant technology and holistic solution approaches without the usual interface problems. We know the logistics requirements that arise between these two worlds. And we know from experience when a problem in one world may be best addressed in the other world. This is a measurable advantage for our customers, because the procedures in production and the outlet must be finely attuned to each other in order to ensure the consistently high quality of the baked goods. This will be an even more pressing need in the future than it is today.

The whole world of process technology

The MIWE convenience levels* are a comprehensive map of modern baking (and at the same time an expression of our comprehensive mastery of all processes), from fresh production to the various long-process proofing methods to production processes with freezing or vacuum conditioning. This is what today’s baking business models draw on. With this map in mind, complete production and logistics concepts for the bakery and the outlet can be developed and implemented. We know the advantages and disadvantages of the individual paths very well (also with regard to the necessary investments). We know exactly which technology is required and recommended for which process and we can design and implement the necessary production lines and process sequences, all tailored to your business model and your individual needs.

Who else can offer you that?

* The overview of the MIWE Convencience Levels can be downloaded as poster free of charge. Please fill in the form at the end of this article.

The whole world of climatic processes

Proofing – cooling – baking – freezing: These are the climatic processes of baking in which a precisely timed control of temperature and moisture creates optimal conditions for first-class baked goods. And it’s precisely here, in the critical phase in which the product quality is decisive, where the core competence of MIWE lies.

Every baker knows that the parameters of the individual process steps are interrelated, that, for example, slightly proofed goods have to be baked differently than fully proofed ones, that par-baked goods have to be treated differently than single-baked fresh goods. Therefore, it is also advisable to involve MIWE experts not only as specialists in isolated partial processes such as baking or bakery refrigeration, but also as partners in the design of the entire production process right through to energy optimisation.

This way you can benefit from our entire expertise, and we can build up a process sequence with you that is optimised at every single step, is free of any interface problems, and which consistently lays the groundwork for reaching the desired final results.

The whole world of automation

To make sure that not only the individual process steps are compatible, but also that their interconnection can be organised as rationally as possible, we have a whole range of different transport and loading systems on offer (with differing performance levels) that round off our bakery concepts and ensure the right flow in the bakery – from the simple loading aid, which minimises physical strain, to wagon oven loading systems such as the MIWE assist, or the high-performance gantry loading system such as the MIWE athlet, which can be used to implement largely automated process lines even for large throughputs. But that’s not all: landing, transfer and removal belts, docking stations, crawlers, spray belts, chutes, draw-plate trolley loaders or plank feeders (to name just a few of the available variants) bring just the right thing to the right place.

And did you know that we can also implement complete proofing and freezer systems for you – for instance as a spiral, paternoster, step or cover system, or as a pan or hanging system?

The whole world of energy

Baking uses a lot of energy. A significant part of it is used by the systems that we manufacture: The ovens, for instance, or the bakery refrigeration systems. Therefore, in the interest of our customers and as a technology leader in the industry, we were among the forerunners looking at the question: How can we help bakers reduce energy costs and be more competitive? Many years ago, we launched MIWE energy, a distinct business unit, which has exactly that in mind.

As pioneer of low-energy bakeries, we provide particularly energy-efficient components (such as the MIWE roll-in e⁺), energy recovery systems especially developed for bakeries (such as the MIWE eco:nova) and intelligent energy network and monitoring systems (like the MIWE eco:control) to ensure you get the best baked goods with the most eco-friendly use of energy.

That’s good for your reputation. And definitely good for your business. And for the environment, of course!

The whole world of data

Knowledge is power, as the saying goes. The fact is: Only those who know what happens when, how and why have the full overview and can, if necessary, react as needed. The more you know about your processes and their sequence, the easier it is to identify weaknesses in the system and resolve them in a controlled manner, regardless of whether they concern the organisation and sequence of processes in the bakery or the handling of many distributed systems in the outlets.

With MIWE connectivity, we were able to meet the pre-requisites early on for recording and consolidating process data and preparing it as the basis for optimised system management and monitoring.

This applies to MIWE remote, the remote monitoring system for our bakery refrigeration systems. This also applies to the MIWE eco:control, which makes all the energy flows in your bakery transparent. Of course, this is especially true of the MIWE smart baking suite (sbs), which allows a large number of distributed baking stations to be managed and supplied in the simplest and most centralised way with baking programs, settings and other control data.

Even if baking 4.0 is not at the very top of the agenda for you at present: Its development is proceeding rapidly. Therefore, if you do not want to find out tomorrow that you bet on the wrong horse, you should pay particular attention when selecting your supplier to ensure that you are provided with a solid path to the future at this critical point. MIWE can do this.

Prepared for change

The world of baking is undergoing rapid transformation. Who knows that better than you? The only constant is change. What today promises flourishing sales and a healthy return may well be an outdated approach tomorrow. Therefore, it is good to look for a partner who, on one hand, has the economic strength to work with you to solve the challenges that lie ahead. And, on the other hand, who demonstrates the agility required to constantly adapt to changing market situations. This can mean, for example, integrating a new trend product into your production process at short notice. Or turning over a larger variety of products with smaller batches. Or in addition to highly automated process lines also installing one with purely manual components. Or helping you to profit from the pro-longed freshness of vacuum conditioning and increasing the corresponding optimisation potential in the interplay between production and branch outlets. Or … or … or …

Whatever your challenges may be tomorrow, no matter what your product portfolio looks like in the future, one thing will remain a certainty: With MIWE, you will be prepared.

Always

“Life Cycle Management” is not a puzzling foreign term for us, but a fully embodied way of working. We always keep the entire life cycle of products in mind.
On the one hand, this applies to the continuous development of our products and services on the basis of constantly changing and new requirements from our markets. That’s why with MIWE systems, you can always be assured that you are investing in systems that are at the cutting edge both technically and technologically and that are future proof in every respect.

But that also applies to the way in which we treat a system once it has been delivered. “Uptime” (i. e. availability) and “Total Cost of Ownership” are guiding concepts for us. During product development, we ensure trouble-free operation by using materials and a design that are not only sufficiently robust but also allow for easy accessibility to all maintenance-relevant units. If, contrary to expectations, a fault should occur, our service and spare parts organisation – which has widely been praised as outstanding – will ensure that the system is fully available again as soon as possible.

As a result, MIWE systems are among the most economical in the long run.

The MIWE Convenience Level (MCL) Poster

Whether it’s frozen dough piece baking with par-baked frosted dough pieces, long-process proofing using MIWE smartproof or the final bake for semi-baked goods at the point of sale – the MIWE Convenience Steps (MCS) poster provides information about all the process steps for the individual procedures. All of that information is clearly divided into central production processes and work steps in the branches.

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Talk to our experts

In the mood for change? Are you in the middle of making plans for your production facility, large or small? Then let’s get talking! No matter where you are at the moment or where you want to go – our planning experts will be happy to guide you along the way. We look forward to hearing from you!

Technology for central production

From production baking ovens, including loading and transport, to bakery refrigeration technology and energy efficiency systems: our website gives you an overview of our solutions for your bakery and, of course, all the details about our technology for central production.

Technology for in-store baking

The heart of every bakery is its oven – be it is a convection oven, a deck oven, a combination system or even a gastro system for extended use in food service. You will find an overview of the complete range of modern in-store baking options on our website.

Successful digitalisation in branch operations

Who doesn’t wish they could always stay on top of things and take advantage of all the opportunities offered by digitalisation. But what exactly does that actually mean for your business and your bakery branches? Whether you are a branch manager, sales manager, baking supervisor, administrator or quality manager, our website will show you how you can benefit from digitalising your processes with our management software MIWE smart baking suite. Our white paper is also available for download there, where we share plenty of useful information with you including what funding opportunities are available.