The Sweet Science of Paris: What French Bakeries Can Teach Us About Innovation

Every time I go to Paris, I find it striking that there are bakery/pastry shops (they are most often combined) almost on every block. In Paris itself,  there are over 1300 shops, and yet they are usually swamped. 

The pictures are taken from the different bakeries and sweet stores within two blocks of a busy commercial street. I counted 14 stores, including specialty stores related to desserts (such as a mochi store, a couple of chocolate stores, and a cookie store). 

What I also found interesting is how the offer has evolved. It used to be that they sold mostly bread (in France, they sell 16 million baguettes a day!) and individual pastries and cakes, but they have evolved to offer more snacks (from sandwiches to quiches and drinks) as a way to increase their revenue.

Many French people go to get bread once or twice a day because they want fresh bread, and bakeries bake all day long, particularly around meal time, so they have an opportunity to upsell. 

Bread has also evolved to offer many more varieties of grains, flours, and fillings (nuts and fruits). In addition, there are more specialty stores which focus on one type of sweets (in addition to the example above, I have seen Moroccan pastries, pasteis de Nata- a Portuguese egg tart, Choux- a puff pastry , macarons, and more).

There are approximately 34,000 bakeries in France, slightly more than in the US (with a population 5 times bigger- source  ciro.io and worlddata.info)

In my neighborhood, there is a bakery/pastry shop that resembles a French bakery, selling bread, pastries, and a few tarts. They are busy most of the day ( and on weekend mornings, the line goes around the block). 

Travelling around Europe this summer made me wonder how we can innovate by learning from other countries and applying those insights to US businesses. 

Anyone want to start a bakery? :)