Week 2B - Business Research

 Businesses Chosen: 

Hostess Brands, Inc.
Milk Bar Store
Bpatisserie
Angelo Brocato
Petite Madeline Bakery

Hostess Brands, Inc. 

1. https://www.hostessbrands.com/

2. Hostess Brands, Inc. is an international (American based) giant retail bakery. They specialize in prepackaged, individual serving, commercial snack cakes and baked goods. 

3. Social Media (none listed on website): https://www.instagram.com/hostess_snacks/?hl=en , https://www.facebook.com/Hostess/ , https://twitter.com/hostess_snacks?lang=en  - Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are where Hostess has a social media presence but they are mostly active on Facebook and Instagram. The last posts for both of those mediums were 09/05 however their Twitter was last active on 07/08 which is a LONG pause when it comes to Social Media. Twitter has a little over 116k followers, Instagram has 225k followers, and Facebook has 1.1 million followers. Overall - the profiles are not as active as you'd think. Their Facebook had a pause (before 09/05) that started on August 18th. Their Instagram last had a post before 09/05 on 08/23. 

4. I think that overall Hostess is not as social media savvy as they should be, and I definitely think that they could better use social media across all platforms to connect with customers and better sell their brand to a new generation. Twitter is a great way for brands to closely connect with customers through humor and more individualized character and I think that their Twitter could be much better utilized to draw in younger demographic customers. 

Milk Bar

1. https://milkbarstore.com/

2. Milk Bar began as a United States bakery that was built in conjunction with a restaurant that expanded to a stand alone bakery, then expanded to multiple locations, then grew to begin shipping to customers and selling through large grocery stores. Products like ice cream, cookies, and cakes can be shipped domestically and internationally while stores are all United States based. 

3. Social Media (not listed on website): https://www.instagram.com/milkbarstore/?hl=en , https://business.facebook.com/pg/milkbarstore/posts/ , https://twitter.com/milkbarstore?lang=en , https://www.tiktok.com/@milkbarstore?lang=en - Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter are the four active social media profiles for Milk Bar. Their Instagram, with 846k followers, has almost daily postings (sometimes more than one in a day). The Milk Bar TikTok has 224k followers and sees 3-5 posts a month roughly. Milk Bar's Twitter has 60k followers and has between five and ten tweets a month. Finally, Milk Bar's Facebook has 108k followers, but hasn't had a post since December of 2021. 

4. I think that Milk Bar really focuses on the social media that serves their brand well, as well as what connects them to their target demographic. Their goods photograph and record well, so using platforms that specialize and prioritize those types of goods are the best place to advertise and sell. The typical customer tends to be younger and I'm not surprised that they don't put a lot of effort into their Facebook as its not considered a "younger person" friendly platform these days.

Bpatisserie

1. https://bpatisserie.com/

2. Bpatisserie is a French Style American bakery that is well known in the pastry industry while only having a physical location in San Francisco combined with some small shipping orders. 

3. Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/bpatisserie/?hl=en , https://www.facebook.com/b.patisserie , https://twitter.com/b_patisserie?lang=en . Twitter is by far the least used, and the most abandoned, social media profile of Bpatisserie (2.7k followers). The last tweet or activity was 2017 and I don't foresee much more usage coming from it. Their Facebook with 10k followers had one post in July of 2022 with a break before that of slightly over a year (earlier in July of 2021). Their 38k follower Instagram has only slightly better stats with 1-3 posts a month roughly. 

4. Based on what I know about the business, I'm not overly shocked about their lack of social media presence or acumen. This is a business that focuses on their art, what they specialize in, and I think would view social media as almost beneath their brand. They rely on word of mouth, hype, industry knowledge, and local/tourist customer bases to continue to bring in business. 

Angelo Brocato

1. https://www.angelobrocatoicecream.com/

2. Angelo Brocato is a regional/cultural bakery started and based in New Orleans for over a hundred years. It is a neighberhood staple focusing on Italian pastries and sweets following long traditions to continue a brand of family favorites and comfort sweets. 

3. Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/angelobrocatoicecream/?hl=en , https://twitter.com/angelobrocatos . Angelo Brocato's Instagram is really the only profile I'd consider active, with 3.8k followers, and they post 3-5 times a month. I mentioned their Twitter here but after being created in 2014 ( only 140 followers ) it was abandoned after being used a handful of times. 

4. I am not shocked with their lack of social media presence, but included them because of it as a way to demonstrate that some businesses have learned how to thrive without keeping up with social media. Any local or well traveled tourist to New Orleans knows Brocatos, frequents it often, and recognizes it for its old world charm and decidedly slow pace when it comes to technology and keeping up with the times. This character, charm, and tradition have built a strong customer base that would rather come in, get their number, pick out their pastries, and sit with a cup of espresso before heading back home to share in their goodies. A true local legend, Brocatos doesn't require social media to connect with customers and continue their thriving local business. 

Petite Madeline Bakery

1. https://www.petitemadelinebakery.com/

2. Petite Madeline Bakery is a small town French style bakery located in Oceanside. It is an enigma, in its market, because it focuses on tiny, french sweets in a market saturated by ocean, health food, and sunshine. 

3. Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/PetiteMadelineBakery/ , https://www.instagram.com/petitemadelinebakery/?hl=en . This bakery has a Facebook following of 3.2k followers and is quite hit or miss on posting. There has been a freeze in posting since April, for a month or two before that there were 1-3 posts a month, but then another few month freeze. Their Instagram has a few hundred more followers at 3.8k and they seem to prefer that social media platform to update with daily or every other day posts since its inception. 

4. I think that one would have to consider the type of business Petite Madeline Bakery is when evaluating their social media presentation. When reading about the business in news and on their own website - its a mother/daughter duo passion project and I don't personally think that they are interested in growing or scaling above a small community cafe/bakery project. Word of mouth, repeat customers, and passerbys really are their bread and butter and their Instagram is just active enough to keep those customers up to date on their day to day. 

Overall, I was not shocked by the research or really what I found. I feel like once a business gets as large or international as Hostess, social media can really be a back burner because they have already saturated the market and whatever sales/new products become available are directly available to the customer in store. Milk Bar is a good case study in new generation popular business because they have harnessed the power of their strongest platforms and can connect quickly with customers. They also stay relevant by keeping up with trends and catching attention with partnerships and promotions (i.e. their summer Taco Bell collaboration). 

Bpatisserie is a specialized concept bakery that really focuses on their artwork, passion, and the sales area almost an afterthought and way to fund the pursuit of their passions. Their social media, when used, is focused on showcasing their talent/skill versus trying to make a sale or bring in a customer base. Angelo Brocato is a great case study in small cultural bakeries that are able to thrive and build a stable customer base without using much social media as its a business that builds on tradition and social media would in some ways mar that ideal. Lastly, Petite Madeline Bakery is a great showing of how small community businesses can use minimal social media to stay connected and how small businesses can work social media to their optimal needs without focusing on it to much due to no growth being planned or anticipated.