Great Harvest Bread Co. Launches Mobile App and Online Ordering

DILLON, Mont. (July 16, 2019) – Great Harvest Bread Co., the only national brand of independently owned and operated whole grain bread bakeries and a leader in the bakery cafe space, has officially launched its mobile app and introduced online ordering in select locations. Additionally, a few locations will be testing home bread delivery services.

Moving away from the traditional bread card and “baker’s dozen” special, where the 13th loaf is free, 30 Great Harvest bakery cafes are leading the change by ensuring their locations are rewarding and communicating with loyal, repeat customers via email and mobile notifications. The brand expects at least 70 more locations to adopt the mobile rewards program within the next few months.

Great Harvest Bread Co. has drastically evolved over the last two years, going from a bread-centric establishment to a breakfast, lunch and dinner bakery cafe offering cold and off-the-grill sandwiches, breakfast specialties, grain bowls, salads, coffee and more. The mobile app will reward the frequent lunch and breakfast eaters, specialty bread enthusiasts, the sweet-treat lovers and everyone else in between.

The robust mobile app will also allow guests to view their updated reward points with each purchase and can even refer a friend to earn additional points. It will also include a birthday reward offering via the app. Additionally, select locations will offer online ordering and easy-to-order catering through the app.

“From our initial testing prior to launch, we already saw a high redemption rate and the average ticket price increase. We’re encouraged and believe our franchisees who know their customers best will continue to embrace the mobile app for the multiple and mutual benefits,” said Great Harvest Bread Co. CEO Mike Ferretti. “The app allows franchisees to more accurately market and communicate to their repeat customers and gives the fan base what they deserve: easier access to what they love and rewards them for their loyalty.”

Great Harvest does not have a mandated design outside of the high-baking standards and requirement of freshly-milled wheat sourced from trusted Golden Montana Triangle farmers. Each location is a version of Great Harvest that reflects the owner and the local community they serve. Known for being a freedom franchise, each location still has complete control on using the app to localize their marketing efforts with customizable templates. For instance, each location can create its own offering or use the pre-made templates to offer double-point Tuesdays, free cookies and more based on their individual communities’ wants and preferences. The Great Harvest franchise opportunity offers the security of a proven business model while still leaving room for franchisees to make their business their own.

All of this follows the brand’s most recent transformation and introduction to the hub-and-spoke model, designed for major expansion and multi-unit ownership. Existing franchisees and those joining the system can expand strategically and serve as their own supply chain with a central bakery cafe suppling fresh bread through the day to the cafe-only locations in surrounding communities. This approach allows franchisees to physically fit on “Main Street” by opening in high-traffic areas with as little as 1,500 square feet—unlike Panera and other bakery cafe chains that require a large square footage.

Great Harvest bakery cafes may operate as standalone units in a market, or as “hubs,” in conjunction with additional cafes operating as “spokes.” Hubs are full bakery cafes with seating for 40-45 people and have all the handmade bread production on-site. Spokes operate as cafes; they have fresh bread supplied by the hub daily and should be located within 40 minutes of said hub. Their menu is the same as their hub while baking items on-site—like cookies, biscuits, scones, etc.—to maintain the aroma of a bakery.

About Great Harvest Bread Company

Great Harvest Bread has spent the past 40 years perfecting the combination of ingredients to make the freshest and authentic breads and pastries, as well as the newer sandwiches, grain bowls and soups. The nearly 200 location franchise mills their own Golden Triangle wheat every morning from scratch in each location. Providing local communities with authentic breads and pastries made fresh daily, the brand is now growing through franchising with a new bakery-cafe model ideal for multi-unit ownership. Open during three parts of the day—breakfast, lunch and dinner—the menu has grown beyond a wide variety of soft, delicious breads to include soups, sandwiches and grain bowls.

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