I’m spending Christmas in Vancouver and in my neighbourhood browsing trek came across Cobs. You actually smell them before you see them. Their sidewalk sandwich board makes one simple claim: “Baked Today. Sold Today.”
COBS Bread bakers create traditional and gourmet breads from scratch everyday. According to their FB page, they have 67 bakeries in Canada and are a part of the most successful franchise bakery network in the world – Bakers Delight.
So how does something so big, keep itself looking so intimate? It looks like a ‘Mom and POP’ through franchising and gets involved in its communities through it “End of Day Giving” program. It claims that in the past 6 years, COBS Bread has donated over $10 million in bread to charities. “We have a weekly schedule that accommodates pickups from seven charities per bakery”, it says on its website.
And I’ve figured out why their doors were so wide open when I passed at 5:00am this morning. They want to get that smell out. That’s their best advertising, as they appeal to our noses. I stood outside and saw the passion, teamwork and sense of urgency that this Kerrisdale team bring to their work.
What a simple point of difference. Baked Today. Sold Today. I’m sure everyone gets it; including their customers, team members and also their shareholders, who must be putting a lot of bread in the bank.
