In the last 5 years, the price of food has increased by 30%, according to the Bank of Spain, which has caused this to have a direct impact on the hospitality business and more specifically on that of pastry shops. Setting up one of these businesses can reach 200,000 euros, but taking into account that the profitability can be between 7% and 15%. But with rising prices and increasingly suffocated households, this type of business has weakened, which makes us wonder if it is really worth it.
In this sense, Adrian G. Martín has interviewed Matías Pomar, a fourth-generation pastry chef who has explained what it is like to set up a pastry shop, what margins it has and what the most common problems are when setting up this type of increasingly industrialized business.
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“Setting up a pastry shop from scratch costs more than 100,000 euros”
Matías is clear that setting up a pastry shop today is not an easy task. “If you have to start from scratch, you need a very large infrastructure and I don’t know if it’s worth it.” That is why he recommends opting for a transfer rather than opening a new location.
According to details, opening a single store can cost around 100,000 euros, not counting the workshop, which can raise the investment to 200,000 or 300,000 euros depending on the equipment and production volume. “A professional oven or freezer can cost more than 20,000 or 30,000 euros,” he adds.
Added to this are personnel costs, supplies and raw materials, which have become significantly more expensive. “The net margin of a pastry shop is between 8% and 12%, and that is going well,” says Pomar. The reason is that we work with perishable products. “If you make 10 pieces and you don’t sell eight, you still don’t have a tie; with the ninth you start to earn something and with the tenth, you triumph.”
“It is difficult to find personnel who want to work in this profession”
The master pastry chef confesses that one of the biggest problems in the sector is the lack of qualified personnel. “It is difficult to find people who want to work in this profession. The salaries are not high and the work involves getting up early, holidays and weekends,” he laments. Regarding the salary, he says that “it ranges between the minimum professional salary, 1,100 and 1,300 euros for the person who starts and after here, when you reach a higher level you exceed 2,000 euros.”
Currently, his business employs 47 people, of which 10 are direct family members. The fifth generation is now part of the business, which guarantees continuity. “The secret is to enjoy what you do. If your children see you happy, they end up wanting to follow in your footsteps,” explains Pomar, who claims to get up every day at 4:30 in the morning.
Despite the early mornings, the worker defends the value of artisanal pastries. “To compete with large industries, you are lost if you do not offer quality. You have to work with top-quality raw materials, with love and freshness.”
Although the average margin of a pastry shop is tight, there are products that offer greater profitability, especially in specific campaigns. “Nougat is a product that can leave a lot of margin, around 40%, depending on the variety and the raw material,” he explains.
In their workshop they use 100% Mallorcan almonds, which makes a difference in flavor and texture. Every Christmas, they make between 7,000 and 8,000 nougat bars, all sold through their stores or their online portal, without intermediaries.
Pomar also recognizes the importance of innovating without losing the essence: “The classic never goes out of style. The new can attract attention, but it has a very short shelf life.”
Pastelerías Pomar was founded in 1902 and today combines the fourth and fifth generations working side by side. “We lived above the oven, and as a child I would come home from school and start making cookies,” Matías recalls. That closeness to the trade, he assures, is what has allowed him to maintain passion and quality for more than a century. His advice for new entrepreneurs in the sector is clear: “Starting from scratch is very difficult, but if you work with quality and perseverance, there is a future.”