How to prepare for Pancake Day

How you can maximise your pancake profits

8 February 2023

2 mins read

1Jacqui Dales, London Road Bakery (Spar), Boston

"Pancake Day is quite big for us. We usually have a display stand at the front of the shop and we try to cater for everyone by stocking ready-made pancakes, which can just be microwaved in a few minutes, as well as pre-made pancake mix and all of the ingredients you need to make them your own.

"Some people don't have the time to make pancakes from scratch, though, so having all of these options means there's something for everyone.

"We have worked with Ferrero previously, and they have provided Nutella-branded PoS for Pancake Day. Nutella is by far the biggest seller for us at this time of year and is a must-stock for any store planning for Pancake Day.

"In the past, Ferrero has also provided cooking kits for children with aprons and hats so they can get involved with making the pancakes themselves, and that's been really popular."

2Sue Nithyanandan, Costcutter Epsom, Surrey

"Pancake Day is big for us and we usually have a display close to the front of our store with ready-made pancake mix, different toppings and ingredients to make your own pancakes.

"Availability is something we’re going to have to think about as Pancake Day gets closer. Due to shortages at the moment, if we order six cases of eggs, we’re lucky if we get three. It's something we have to order every day for this reason. As the event gets closer, we often find it difficult to order in things like Nutella, so will need to make sure we’re stocked up.

"Nutella is always on promotion in the run up to Pancake Day, too, which is something Costcutter organises with Ferrero.

"In the spring before the first Covid-19 lockdown, we had the children from a local primary school come into the store with their teachers to buy the ingredients they needed to make pancakes at school."

3Simon Biddle, SimplyFresh, Worcester

"Pancake Day for us is something that really happens the week before, which is when we will put together a promotional bay with all of the ingredients and popular fillings.

"We then we see a real rush in the days before and then the night before, too. Prior to this it can be slow, but a display lets our customers know they can pick up everything at our store.

"Normally these kinds of events are really valuable to our business, but, this year, I am not certain. If you look at all of the ingredients that go into a pancake – eggs and flour particularly – these are items that have gone up significantly in price, whether because of shortages, the war in Ukraine or inflation.

"So, this year we are going to have to look for products that give us the best possible margins while not overpricing products. Normally this is a really useful sales opportunity during a quieter time, so hopefully the same will be true this year."

Read more Pancake Day product news and category advice

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