Kiosk rolls out baguettes
Version imprimableSelf-service solutions really do provide the general public with round-the-clock assistance and products – even extending to freshly cooked hot baguettes.
Using his loaf to stop hungry customers bashing on his shop door at all times of day and night even when closed, to buy bread, baker Jean-Louis Hecht has provided them with a 24-hour automated baguette dispenser.
See the kiosk in action here.
For just one Euro, the self-service machine heats a part-baked fresh baguette in just a few seconds, true to the original bakeshop recipe and a far cry from processed fast food chain offerings.
He is currently operating two machines – one in Paris, and the other in his home town of Hombourg-Haut in northeastern France, next to his own boulangeries. Many bakeries shut down at lunchtimes and even for parts of the summer holidays, and supermarkets do not usually offer the quality of bread expected by the French and provided for by independent baker shops. Hecht’s kiosks deliver the same bread as he would sell in his shops, but at the convenience of the customer, whether they be shift workers, insomniacs or just too busy to queue during shop hours.
The first kiosk in his home town sold 1,600 baguettes in June, with 4,500 dispensed in July. The euro50,000 machine should see a return on its investment within a year if sales continue to increase at this level. And the bread truly is fresh – any unsold baguettes (although unusual) are removed after 72 hours and replaced with new ones.
