Hybrid bakery: making the most of every moment of the day
January 26, 2026
Bakery, coffee shop, fast food Do you still have a choice?
L'hybridization of locations is gradually making its way into the daily lives of restaurateurs. And the bakery is one of the most telling examples.
When we think of a bakery, we still think of hot croissants in the morning. But the reality of the trade has changed in recent years. Today, 55 % of the sales of France's 28,000 bakeries come from the foodservice sector.
Breakfast, brunch, lunch, snacks : business is no longer based on a single peak, but on a succession of consumption moments, each with its own uses, expectations (and constraints).
This development opens up new prospects, but also forces us to rethink the organization of the day.
Here's how it works.
6.30am - 10am: breakfast, the historic foundation of the day
Breakfast remains one of the main generators of bakery traffic: more than 6.8 million croissants are sold every day in France. Customers are regulars, habits are well established and volume is high. This slot kicks off the day and sets a fast pace right from the opening.
At this time of day, purchases are made quickly, and the average shopping basket is often limited, even when crowds are high. And yet, this almost automatic switch represents real potential, provided it is properly managed.
Managers face 3 challenges:
➜ First, the legibility of the offer. The clearer the choice, the less hesitation. Simple prioritization of products or formulas guides the order without slowing down the flow.
➜ Next, valuing the passage. The right drink at the right time or a visible formula can make the basket evolve, without giving the impression of forcing a purchase or changing habits.
➜ Finally, counter management right from the opening. A queue that stretches out too early tires out the teams and weighs on the whole morning.
When this niche is well structured, it secures a significant proportion of sales right from the start. Conversely, a tense start is often felt throughout the rest of the day.
10H - 12H: brunch, a new consumption experience in bakeries
Brunch is a contraction of "breakfast" and "lunch". A meal eaten between breakfast and lunch, which combines sweet and savoury, and is a more leisurely affair than the morning rush.
Long confined to cafés and restaurants, brunch is gradually making its way into bakeries. (first at weekends, then more and more widely). Today, it is an integral part of consumer habits.
This timing opens up several possibilities for a bakery:
➜ attract customers who weren't there in the morning and come for a more relaxed moment
➜ play on formulas that increase the average basket without multiplying references
➜ add value to products already manufactured for lunch or snacking, without creating a completely new line
But be careful, this time slot doesn't work like breakfast. The pace is slowing, customers are staying longer and expectations are changing. At the same time, you have to manage quick orders at the counter and settled customers, often with the same team.
This moment forces us to rethink the organization of our service. How can we distinguish uses without multiplying constraints? How can we maintain a clear offer while preparing for lunch? Brunch then becomes a real point of balance in the day, provided it is structured.
Want to find out more? See our resource ➜ Hybrid catering: 5 best practices in customer experience
11:30am - 2pm: lunch, when the bakery shifts to foodservice
At lunchtime, the bakery changes dimension once again. The flow intensifies, and the logic of the morning "breeze" gives way to real meal consumption.
Customers come looking for a simple way to eat fast, without sacrificing choice. Sandwiches, lunch formulas, hot products or more elaborate snacking: the range is expanding, and with it the complexity of service.
In this niche, organization is everything. The volume is high and the time available is limited. Customers have little tolerance for waitingespecially when they have a timed lunch break.
The lunchtime meal concentrates several constraints at the same time:
➜ absorb a large influx over a very short period of time, between 12 and 1:30 p.m.
➜ enable customers to choose quickly, despite a wider offer than at breakfast
➜ stringing together orders without putting preparation in the kitchen or backroom at risk
Lunch thus marks a clear shift towards the restoration. It operates more like a lunchtime service than a traditional bakery.
When well structured, this niche becomes a pillar of sales. When it is less so, it concentrates a large proportion of the day's irritants.
Want to find out more? See our resource ➜ Grab & Go: boost sales with a ready-to-go offer
2pm - 4pm: the afternoon, a quiet time often under-exploited
After the lunch rush, the pace drops off sharply. The majority of customers have left, the teams are taking a breather and the store is entering a quieter phase.
But this is not an empty slot. Different profiles can be found here: late-night breaks, informal get-togethers, teleworkersWe're also looking for Customers in less of a hurry, who take their time.
In many bakeries, this moment is treated as a mere transition. We keep it open, with no real objective, while we wait for a snack.
And yet, this niche lends itself particularly well to simple, targeted actions with few constraints.
➜ offer dedicated dessert and beverage breaks
➜ adapt messages according to the time of day, to highlight on-the-spot consumption
➜ encourage people to come back later in the day, especially for a snack
This more relaxed time also allows test messagesto adjust offers and work on the loyaltywithout the pressure of a service peak. The afternoon then becomes an ideal time for communication and animation, rather than a time-out to be endured.
Want to find out more? See our resource ➜ Off-peak periods in the restaurant business: 5 ideas to boost your sales
4pm - 6pm: the afternoon snack, an appointment to be re-established
Snacking is part of the bakery's DNA. In France, 36.5 % of adults say they taste food daily. This (gourmet) moment remains deeply rooted in customs, well beyond childhood.
Yet in many bakeries, this niche remains unstructured. The passageway exists, but without any real dedicated proposition. Customers buy what they see, but don't always identify tasting as a moment in its own right.
At the end of the day, expectations are easy to anticipate: a sweet break, a hot drink, a moment with the kids or a break after work. The potential lies less in volume than in the ability to recreate a reflex.
➜ Reintroducing snacks starts with identifiable offerings, for that very moment. A simple formula, visible at the right time, helps customers to project themselves without hesitation.
➜ This niche also lends itself very well to communication. In the late afternoon, attention is more available. Promoting a specific offerreminding us of the existence of a snack or push a consumption on the spot allows you to reactivate this appointment, without any pressure on the service.
➜ Snacking is also an interesting lever for loyalty. Targeted action can encourage regular return visits, particularly from families or local customers. It's not just a moment of passage, but an opportunity to create a habit.
Snacking is no longer just a way of disposing of the day's production. It becomes a highlight in its own right, capable of prolonging the activity and giving real continuity to the day.
Hybrid bakery: when the multiplication of uses calls for a new organization
Express breakfast, brunch, lunch on the go, afternoon break, snack at the end of the day. In the space of a few hours, the bakery is a chain of consumption moments with very different rationales.
This evolution has a direct impact on point-of-sale organization.
➜ The first topic concerns ORDER ROUTE. In the morning, customers want to go fast. At noon, they expect clarity. In the afternoon, they take their time. A single path for all these uses mechanically creates waiting, hesitation and friction at the counter.
➜ The second issue concerns the legibility of the offer. As the day progresses, so does the diversity of products on offer. Without a hierarchy based on the time of day, customers find it difficult to find their way around, and order-taking slows down, especially during peak periods.
➜ Hybridization also changes flow management. Fast food, on-the-spot consumption, take-away orders: these uses coexist in the same space. When they are not clearly centralized in an all-in-one solution, they cross paths, block each other and put teams under pressure.
➜ Finally, the multiplication of consumption moments reinforces the communication challenge. An offer that's relevant at 9am isn't necessarily relevant at 3pm. Adapting messages according to the time of day becomes essential to guide customers and promote the right products at the right time.
Faced with this complexity, the organization can no longer stand still. It needs to adapt to the rhythm of the day, without forcing teams to change their habits for every shift.
This is where digital solutions come into their own. By structuring order paths, adapting offers to different times of day and facilitating communication with customers, they allow you to manage the whole day without complexity.
Want to find out more? See our resource ➜ Catering: why digitalization will be a profitable investment in 2026
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