Bakery, bread, pastries, cookies, cakes, and desserts can be a great fit for Bubble Goods. And there is a shipping strategy that can make it much easier to sell these products beyond your local market.
Bubble Goods is a dropship marketplace. We do not hold inventory or ship orders from a Bubble Goods warehouse. Your brand packs and ships each order directly to the customer.
For bakery and dessert brands, that can mean shipping products fresh, frozen, or using a technique called slack shipping.
šŖ What Is Slack Shipping?
Slack shipping is a technique where a product is shipped frozen but is allowed to partially or completely defrost during transit so that it arrives cold or thawed rather than fully frozen.
This can work particularly well for certain bakery and dessert products.
For example, a frozen cookie dough product might arrive slightly thawed. The customer can then:
- Bake it right away
- Keep it refrigerated until they are ready to use it
- Refreeze it, if your product and labeling allow for refreezing
The idea is that the product does not necessarily need to arrive rock-solid frozen to be successfully shipped.
This can open up a much larger shipping window for products that are designed to tolerate thawing.
Not every product is appropriate for slack shipping, so your brand needs to determine whether this method works for your specific product, ingredients, packaging, and food safety requirements.
Slack shipping can be worth exploring for products such as:
- Cookie dough
- Croissants and other pastries
- Bread
- Dinner rolls
- Muffins
- Scones
- Brownies
- Cakes
- Cheesecakes
- Frozen desserts
- Other bake-at-home products
š„ Give the Customer Options
One of the advantages of shipping bakery and dessert items is that the customer may have several ways to use the product when it arrives.
Depending on your product, you could provide instructions such as:
Bake now
The customer can prepare the product shortly after delivery.
Refrigerate
The customer can keep the product refrigerated and use it later.
Refreeze
If your product is suitable for refreezing, clearly communicate that option to the customer.
The key is to give customers clear instructions based on what is actually safe and appropriate for your product.
Don't tell customers to refreeze a product unless your brand has determined that it is appropriate to do so.
š¦ Shipment Packaging Matters
Slack shipping does not mean you can ship bakery products in a regular box with no protection.
You still need packaging that protects the product during transit.
Depending on the product, this could include:
- An insulated shipping liner
- Gel packs or frozen coolant
- Dry ice, if appropriate
- Food-safe inner packaging
- A sturdy shipping box
- Packaging that prevents crushing, leaking, or damage
Your packaging should also protect the product from heat and temperature swings during transit.
š Shipping Days Matter
Many Bubble Goods sellers ship perishable products only on Mondays and Tuesdays.
This helps avoid having packages sit in carrier networks over the weekend.
For slack shipping, this can be especially useful because you're designing your shipping process around a specific amount of time in transit.
You want to know what condition your product is likely to be in when it arrives after one day, two days, or three days in transit.
Build your shipping schedule around the product you are actually sending.
š·ļø Label Your Packages Clearly
Perishable bakery and dessert shipments should have a "Perishable" sticker or label on the outside of the box.
Your product packaging should also include the appropriate storage and handling information.
Depending on your product, that could include:
- Keep frozen
- Keep refrigerated
- Room temperature storage
- Bake before consuming
- Thawing instructions
- Refreezing instructions, if applicable
- Use by or best by date
- Instructions after opening
If the storage instructions are not already printed on the product, include them inside the box.
š Make the Customer Experience Easy
Baked goods shipping works best when the customer understands exactly what they are receiving and clearly knows what to do next.
For example:
Bake today? Follow the baking instructions below.
Save for later? Refrigerate according to the storage instructions.
Want to freeze it? Follow your brand's refreezing instructions, if applicable.
The customer should never have to wonder whether their product arrived in the condition it was supposed to.
š”ļø Know Your Food Safety Requirements
As a general food safety guideline, the temperature danger zone is 40Ā°F to 140Ā°F. Temperature-sensitive products need to be handled appropriately throughout fulfillment and transit.
If your product contains ingredients that require refrigeration or has specific temperature controls, make sure your shipping process and labeling account for those requirements.
When in doubt, work with an appropriate food safety professional to validate your process.
š° Slack Shipping Can Change Your Economics
One of the biggest reasons to explore slack shipping is cost.
If your product can safely tolerate thawing during transit, you may not need to build your entire business around keeping it frozen until the customer opens the box.
That can potentially mean:
- Less coolant
- Less expensive packaging
- More flexible shipping windows
- Fewer restrictions on delivery timing
- Lower shipping costs
- A better customer experience
The exact savings will depend on your product and fulfillment setup, but it is worth testing before assuming you need the most expensive frozen shipping solution.
šŗšø Think Beyond Your Local Market
One of the biggest opportunities for bakery and dessert brands is reaching customers outside their local delivery radius.
You may already have a great product that customers love. The challenge is figuring out how to package and ship it so that someone hundreds or thousands of miles away can enjoy it.
ā Before You Launch
Make sure you have these pieces covered:
We understand that Bubble Goods is a dropship marketplace and we ship orders directly to customers.
We know whether our product can be shipped fresh, frozen, or using a slack shipping method.
We have tested our product after thawing and during the expected shipping window.
We know whether the product can be refrigerated after arrival.
We know whether the product can be refrozen after arrival, if applicable.
We have appropriate insulated packaging and coolant.
We have tested our packaging for our longest expected transit time.
We have a shipping schedule that minimizes weekend transit.
Every perishable shipment has a "Perishable" sticker on the outside.
Storage and preparation instructions are included inside the box if they are not already on the product.
We clearly explain to customers what to expect when their order arrives.
We have considered the full cost of our packaging and shipping setup.
We have tested our process before shipping!
š„ The Bottom Line
Bakery and dessert brands don't always need to choose between expensive frozen shipping and local-only delivery.
For the right products, you can ship frozen, chilled, or slack shipped to allow the product to thaw during transit, and give customers clear instructions for baking, refrigerating, or refreezing when appropriate.
Bread, Bakery or Dessert brand? Start Selling With Bubble Goods Today!
