Half of America's 9,219 Retail Bakeries Have Fewer Than 5 Employees. Their Custom Cake Orders Still Come In Through DMs.
The display case sells itself to whoever walks past. The high-value work (birthday cakes, wedding tiers, office catering boxes) starts with someone on Google who wants to see past work, flavors, lead times, and a way to place the order. A bakery with no website sends that customer to Instagram DMs or a voicemail, and that is where orders stall.
9,219
Up 2.7% from 8,979 in 2022, and 48% have fewer than 5 employees (NAICS 311811)
32,641
Businesses with no payroll in NAICS 3118 (2023), up 11.2% from 29,353 in 2022
50 + DC
Nearly 70 cottage food programs; 25 states cap annual sales at $3,000 to $250,000
How Many Bakeries Are There in the US?
The US has 9,219 retail bakeries with a payroll, according to the Census Bureau (2023), up 2.7% from 2022, and 48% of them have fewer than five employees. Another 32,641 owner-only businesses operated in bakeries and tortilla manufacturing, up 11.2%, many of them home bakers selling under state cottage food laws.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Retail bakeries with employees (2023) | 9,219 | US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS 311811 |
| Retail bakeries with fewer than 5 employees | 4,432 (48%) | US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS 311811 |
| Baked goods stores (2023) | 2,554 | US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS 445291 |
| Owner-only bakery and tortilla businesses (2023) | 32,641 (+11.2%) | US Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, NAICS 3118 |
| Bakery cafes (2025) | 9,112 | IBISWorld, Bakery Cafes in the US |
Why Bakeries with No Website Are a Goldmine
Look, I've been in this game for years. I've seen agencies waste time cold-calling businesses that don't need anything. But bakeries with no website? These are easy wins.
The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns counts 9,219 retail bakeries with a payroll in 2023, up 2.7% from 2022. 4,432 of them (48%) have fewer than five employees, which usually means the owner is also the person at the oven, with no time to answer the same pricing questions in DMs all day.
Behind the storefronts sits a second, faster-growing market: 32,641 owner-only businesses in NAICS 3118 (bakeries and tortilla manufacturing) in 2023, up 11.2% in one year and averaging about $28,800 in annual receipts. Many are home bakers selling under state cottage food laws, with no storefront at all.
The Institute for Justice found that all 50 states and DC authorize some form of homemade food sales, through nearly 70 different programs, but 25 states cap annual sales at anywhere from $3,000 to $250,000. A home baker cannot rely on foot traffic, so the order page effectively is the storefront.
BrightLocal's 2026 consumer survey found 54% of consumers visit a business's website after reading positive reviews. A bakery with a wall of five-star Google reviews and no site loses that visitor right at the moment they were ready to order.
The Real Impact
The US Census counts 9,219 retail bakeries with a payroll and another 32,641 owner-only bakery and tortilla businesses averaging about $28,800 in annual receipts (2023). At that scale, a handful of custom orders a month is the difference between a side income and a real business, and custom orders are exactly the sales that need a website to close.
Two Bakery Markets, One Missing Piece: A Place to Actually Place the Order
The storefront side is the one everyone pictures. County Business Patterns counts 9,219 retail bakeries with employees in 2023 (NAICS 311811, bakeries that bake on site and sell direct), plus 2,554 baked goods stores that sell without baking on the premises (NAICS 445291). IBISWorld separately tracks 9,112 bakery cafes in 2025, up 1.1% on the year. These shops get walk-in traffic, but walk-ins don't order a three-tier cake for a date six weeks out.
The home and cottage side is where the growth is. The Census Bureau's Nonemployer Statistics show 32,641 businesses with no payroll in bakeries and tortilla manufacturing in 2023, up from 29,353 a year earlier. Cottage food laws in every state make this possible, but the rules vary a lot, from what can be sold to annual revenue caps, according to the Institute for Justice. These bakers sell at farmers markets and through social media, and many have never had a website.
Custom order buyers need specific answers before they commit: photos of similar cakes, flavors, sizes and starting prices, how far ahead to order, pickup or delivery, allergen notes, and a way to request a date. Instagram covers the photos. It does not collect a date, a serving count, and a budget in one message, and a DM thread is where half the details go missing.
For a web designer, the pitch is not "a website." It is an order form that captures everything the baker needs to quote in one pass, a gallery organized by occasion, and a lead-time policy that stops last-minute requests. It's the same small, owner-operated buyer that already responds to direct-ordering pitches in restaurants and coffee shops, with an even clearer path from page to paid order.
Example Website Packages for a Bakery Prospect
These are example scopes and prices for an agency offer, not a survey of United States web-design rates. Set your quote from the deliverables, local competition, and the client’s requirements.
Typical Project Pricing for No Website
Low End
$500
Basic solution, template-based
Mid Range
$1,400
Custom design, professional quality
High End
$3,000
Full-service, ongoing support
What's included: Example packages, not a market-rate survey. Basic: one-page site with the menu, hours, a gallery, and a custom order request form with a pickup date. Mid-range: a flavor and size menu with starting prices, a wedding and events page, allergen notes, and a Google Business Profile cleanup. Premium: online ordering with deposits for custom cakes, pre-orders for weekly bakes, and local SEO for "custom cakes [city]" searches.
Best Ways to Reach Bakeries
Not all outreach methods work the same for every industry. Here's what actually works for bakeries:
Google Maps Search
Search "bakery [city]", "custom cakes [city]", and "cake shop [city]" on Google Maps. Flag every listing with solid reviews and no website link, or a link that only opens Instagram or Facebook. Custom cake searches are the most valuable: those are the shops losing the highest-ticket orders.
Instagram and Facebook
Home and cottage bakers live on hashtags like #[city]cakes and #[city]bakery. DM with something concrete: "Your cakes are beautiful. Right now someone has to message you three times to get a price. I build simple order pages that collect date, servings, and flavor in one go. Want to see a mockup with your photos?"
Walk-In After the Morning Rush
Bakeries are busiest early. Come by mid-afternoon, buy something, and ask the owner how custom orders come in today. If the answer is "DMs and phone calls," show your phone with their Google listing next to a competitor that has an order form.
Farmers Markets
Cottage bakers who cannot run a storefront often sell at weekend markets. Talk to them during a quiet stretch, not at opening. Bring a one-page example of an order form, since these sellers have the most to gain from taking orders between market days.
Objections You'll Hear (And How to Handle Them)
Look, bakeries will push back. They always do. But if you're prepared, these objections are easy to overcome:
"People just DM us on Instagram"
Your response: Keep Instagram for the photos. The problem with DMs is that the date, serving count, flavor, and budget come in over five messages, and you still have to chase a deposit. A form collects all of it at once and can take the deposit, so you quote faster and stop losing orders in the thread.
"We are already too busy"
Your response: That is the case for a form, not against it. Set a lead time and a minimum order right on the page, and the requests that come in are the ones you actually want, with every detail you need to quote. Less back-and-forth, fewer last-minute asks.
"I'm a home baker, a website isn't worth it for me"
Your response: For a home baker the website is the storefront, since there is no window for people to walk past. The page can show exactly what your state cottage food rules allow, including pickup-only details and any required disclosures, so it works with the law instead of around it.
"A website is too expensive"
Your response: A basic order page is a one-time cost in the hundreds. With owner-only bakery businesses averaging about $28,800 a year in receipts (Census, 2023), a few extra custom orders a month covers it quickly.
Composite Example: A Cottage Bakery Moves Custom Orders Off Instagram DMs
SITUATION
A composite of a typical home-based cake business operating under a state cottage food law: a steady Instagram following, a weekend farmers market stall, strong reviews on its Google listing, and no website. Custom cake requests arrive as DMs missing the date, the servings, or the flavor, and each one takes several messages to price.
ACTION
Build a small site: a gallery organized by occasion, flavors with starting prices, lead time and minimum order, pickup details, and a request form that captures date, servings, flavor, and budget. Link it from the Instagram bio and the Google Business Profile.
RESULT
This is a model, not a measured result. If the form converts four extra custom orders a month at a $150 average, that is $7,200 a year, about a quarter of the roughly $28,800 in average annual receipts the Census reports for owner-only bakery and tortilla businesses. That is the number to show the owner.
Composite scenario built from typical job values and timelines in this trade. It does not describe a specific business or a MapsLeadExtractor customer, and the figures are illustrative, not measured results.
How to Find These Leads Automatically
Find bakeries and cake shops in any US city whose Google listing has no website, then pitch the order page with the numbers above:
Enter Your Search
Type "Bakeries" and select "United States" as your target location.
Auto-Detect Defects
Our scanner automatically identifies businesses with no website.
Export & Start Pitching
Download a CSV with business name, phone, address, and defect details.
Choose a plan to unlock these leads
Frequently Asked Questions
How many bakeries are there in the US?
The US Census Bureau counts 9,219 retail bakeries with a payroll (NAICS 311811) and 2,554 baked goods stores (NAICS 445291) in 2023. On top of that, 32,641 owner-only businesses with no payroll operated in bakeries and tortilla manufacturing (NAICS 3118). IBISWorld separately counts 9,112 bakery cafes in 2025.
Do bakeries need a website if they have Instagram?
Instagram is great for showing the work. It is weak at taking custom orders: date, servings, flavor, budget, and deposit end up scattered across a DM thread. BrightLocal's 2026 survey found 54% of consumers visit a business's website after reading positive reviews, so a bakery without one loses buyers at the point they were ready to order.
How do I find bakeries without websites near me?
On Google Maps, search "bakery [city]" or "custom cakes [city]" and look for listings with reviews but no website link, or a link that only opens a social profile. Home bakers are easier to find through local hashtags and farmers market vendor lists. To pull every bakery in a metro with the website check already done, MapsLeadExtractor exports the full list.
What should a bakery website include?
The menu and hours, a gallery organized by occasion (birthday, wedding, corporate), flavors and sizes with starting prices, lead time and minimum order, pickup or delivery details, allergen notes, and a custom order form that asks for the date, servings, flavor, and budget. For custom cakes, taking a deposit online also cuts down on no-shows.
Can home bakers sell and take orders online?
Selling homemade food is authorized in some form in all 50 states and DC, according to the Institute for Justice, but the rules differ a lot: which foods qualify, where they can be sold, and whether there is an annual revenue cap (25 states have one, from $3,000 to $250,000). Whether online orders or shipping are allowed depends on the state program, so check it before promising features.
How much can I charge a bakery for a website?
Example ranges: $500 to $1,400 for a one-page site with a menu, gallery, and order form, and around $1,400 to $3,000 for online ordering with deposits and local SEO. Anchor the price to a few custom orders a month rather than design hours, since that is how a small bakery owner thinks about it.
The Numbers Don't Lie
9,219 retail bakeries with a payroll operated in the US in 2023, up from 8,979 in 2022; 4,432 of them had fewer than five employees
Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (NAICS 311811)
32,641 businesses with no payroll operated in bakeries and tortilla manufacturing in 2023, up from 29,353 in 2022, with about $941 million in combined receipts
Source: US Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2023 (NAICS 3118)
Homemade food sales are authorized through nearly 70 programs across all 50 states and DC; in 25 states, sellers face annual revenue caps from $3,000 to $250,000
There are 9,112 bakery cafes in the US as of 2025, an increase of 1.1% from 2024
Source: IBISWorld, Bakery Cafes in the US - Number of Businesses
54% of consumers visit a business's website after reading positive reviews, up from 32% in 2019
Only 40% of small and midsize businesses report having a dedicated website
Other Industries with No Website
Food Trucks
Food Trucks in United States
Coffee Shops
Coffee Shops in USA
Restaurants
Local restaurants and food service businesses
Barbershops
Barbershops in United States
Hair Salons & Barbers
Hair salons, barbershops, and beauty services
Restaurants
Restaurants in New York
9,219 Storefront Bakeries, 32,641 Owner-Only Bakery and Tortilla Businesses, and Custom Orders Still Lost in the DMs
The baking is already good enough to sell out the case. What most small bakeries are missing is the page that turns "do you do custom cakes?" into a quoted, deposited order. Find the bakeries in your city with no website and pitch the order form.
Get Started with ProUpgrade to Pro for AI insights, more contacts, and deeper audits.