Ferguson Plarre’s Bakehouse unveiled its first drive-through store in April. 
The new store at South Morang in Melbourne’s north-east aims to satisfy customers’ sweet and savoury cravings on the go.
The bakery chain’s CEO, Steve Plarre, says the company is always searching for new ways to reach its customers and honour its purpose to ‘bake people happy’.
“For the last century,” he says, “most of our trade has been delivered through strip locations and shopping centres.”
But in today’s climate, Mr Plarre sees promise in a drive-through offering.
“We consider ourselves a customer focused business, and drive-through is another great way for us to deliver on this mandate,” he says.
“People are becoming increasingly comfortable and familiar with drive-through, and I think Covid has accelerated some of this trend, in terms of the low touch and low contact process.
“The emergence of delivery aggregators like Uber Eats and Deliveroo also integrate very nicely with the drive-through offering.”
Mr Plarre says commuters can now “enjoy one of our famous pies, a fresh vanilla slice and barista-made coffee without even leaving the car”.
Along with new in-store branding, the store offers “an exciting new range of cold drink options including fresh frappes, pressed juice over ice, and our amazing new Cake Shakes”.
The location
The new store is connected to a Coles Express on South Morang’s Plenty Road, which is described as “very busy”.
“We’re located on a corner with one of the intersecting roads about to open as a key link through to the Hume Highway,” says Mr Plarre.
“There’s no formal collaboration between us and the Coles Express … but we’ll most certainly be bringing them customers that they otherwise wouldn’t have had, and we’ll also trade off those customers who are stopping for fuel and convenience. Our combined footfall will benefit from our one-stop fuel and quality fresh bakehouse offering.”
Mr Plarre adds: “There’s a strong retail precinct being built directly around this location, including childcare and medical centres. Customers of these services are often aligned to our brand and offering, so we expect to see revenues grow as these open.”
What’s next
Mr Plarre says his business will be using the opening of the first concept store to optimise the customer experience and embed it in future drive-through locations.
“We’ve already earmarked a number of locations for development,” he says.
“We believe there’s a big opportunity to provide a genuine alternative to the fried chicken and burger-heavy options that adorn most major roads. If you’re going to have a treat, why not make it a good one?”
This article is published in the June issue of Convenience World.
