A VERY SWEET DELIVERY
Houston – How sweet it is! Now Houstonians, as well as dessert lovers across the country, can eat their cake and send one too, thanks to a new consumer website recently launched by Dessert Gallery Bakery & Café. The website, part of the company’s new initiative to reach a national audience, will allow the bakery to deliver their best-selling Diner Cake, Pecan Pie and much more, overnight and nationwide, putting Dessert Gallery on the national map as a manufacturer and distributor of desserts. The site is being introduced to a national audience just in time for the holiday entertaining and gift-giving season, the company’s busiest time of the year.

“For years, our customers have asked if we could ship our desserts to friends or family outside of the Houston metro area,” said Dessert Gallery owner Sara Brook, who started the company in 1995. “Now we are thrilled to announce that we can deliver our buttery, rich, fattening, All-American desserts that we are famous for anywhere in the U.S.” Located at www.dessertgallery.com, the new website will allow consumers to purchase products direct from the bakery, as well as track shipments, review past online order history, select future ship dates and send shipments to multiple locations.

The desire to create a unique new website was particularly important to Brook because the site will serve as a formal introduction to the Dessert Gallery for consumers outside of the Houston area. “Although Dessert Gallery has been in business for over a decade, distribution has been primarily local. This will be the first time a national audience sees our logo and brand name,” she said. In that vein, the company has recently undergone a re-branding and repositioning effort for their website, menus, packaging and delivery truck which includes fun, fanciful illustrations of a dessert “wonderland.” “It was essential that we create an experience for our users in which they can really get a sense of who we are and what makes our products special,” said Brook.

Brook said one of the most important goals in creating the new site was to make it easy for customers to go online, rather than in line, to tackle their gift lists, not only during the holidays, but throughout the year as well – for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and other special occasions. Holiday best-sellers include adorable handmade gingerbread persons, amazing cookie platters, stunning gourmet graphics (homemade butter cookies or rich layer cakes personalized with favorite images or company logos) and fabulous three-layer cakes, among many other sweets. The bakery, also known for its beautiful packaging, can custom wrap orders to fit any budget.

To ramp up for distribution to a national audience, Dessert Gallery recently introduced a dozen new items to the menu, including Red Velvet Cake, a holiday favorite in the South, among other offerings. Products available online for national distribution include many of the bakery’s 9-inch cakes, pies and cheesecakes, as well as cookies, gourmet graphics and dessert gift tins and boxes. Ordering is easy and products are baked fresh. To insure that Dessert Gallery goodies shipped across the country arrive in good condition, Brook tested and retested various products, packages and carriers by sending desserts to friends and family outside of the Houston area until she found the packaging and carrier that would deliver the best results. All desserts are made at Dessert Gallery’s recently constructed 5000-square-foot commissary. The newly designed website and commissary will continue the tradition of providing high quality, made-from-scratch desserts.

To entice consumers to visit the site, Dessert Gallery is offering Houstonians a free slice of birthday cake when they register online. Visitors can also sign up to receive the Dessert Gallery’s “Short & Sweet” e-newsletter, which will provide customers with the latest Dessert Gallery news, new seasonal product introductions, recipes, baking tips, specials and more. In addition to desserts, online visitors from the Houston area can order all products available in Dessert Gallery stores for pick up or delivery, including box lunches and party trays.

Brook, who claims she was born “with chocolate running through her veins,” said she took a look at the company’s position and future growth avenues and decided that direct sales to consumers was the best route to follow for Dessert Gallery. For many gourmet retailers, their website is their largest store. “That is our goal,” said Brook.