Secrets Of The Sam's Club Bakery You'll Wish You Knew Sooner
If you haven't heard of Sam's Club before, you may be wondering who Sam is and why he owns a club. Well, it was egotistically named after Sam Walton, who Britannica said founded the establishment in 1983. Sam Club's website stated that he originally launched their membership-only warehouse to help small businesses get the items that they required to get started. Since then, the store has started selling bulk goods, discounted products, and other merchandise to the general public.
Some of those goods and products include all the delicious finds you'll encounter at Sam's Club's bakery.
However, while it's amazing that Sam's Club sells a ton of baked goods, there are some products that you should avoid (and others you should definitely try). And by just looking at the packages of these products, you probably couldn't tell which one is which. There are also some miscellaneous tips and tricks that could potentially improve your bakery experience that you should definitely check out.
If learning about a plethora of underreported Sam's Club facts sounds like a good idea, then you've come to the right place. Because we're about to march into the nitty-gritty of this warehouse's bakery.
Sam's Club's bakery All Butter Sandwich Croissants are everything
A good croissant can transform a terrible morning into an incredible day. The grass can seem greener, the sky can seem bluer, and the world can seem just a bit brighter. Gee whiz, these buttery clouds have the power to reshape your existence.
If you're on the lookout for such a mythical bakery breakfast, then maybe give Sam's Club a whirl. More than 400 member accounts have reviewed them, and they have a pretty high rating. Additionally, over 300 of these users gave this product the full five-star appraisal. "I love these croissants. As a matter of fact, I try to buy some every time I come to Sam's. They go so fast at our house."
When you want to get your day off to a great start, these croissants may just be the way to go. Just make sure you buy enough to share!
Sam's Club's bakery sometimes messes up cake decorations
If you're spending your own money on a custom cake for someone else, you probably want it to feel personal and have a nice design. You most likely don't want it to be a slap-dash product that would look better if it didn't have icing.
In the past, Sam's Club has sold custom cakes that looked very shoddy, to say the least. A Twitter user even tweeted at them after they'd received a poorly iced dessert. Their cake had the phrase, "We will you" written on it, followed by a nearly illegible name. Clearly, the design is missing a word. The cake purchaser said, "Bought a going away cake for my manager on Thursday and they messed it up. I am so embarrassed."
A different Twitter user named Brittany was also upset when the Sam's Club bakery did a choppy job icing her kids' birthday cake. "Way to make a mom cry on her kids' birthday," she expressed. "I can't believe this disaster. Only turn one and two once."
Sam's Club did apologize to both of these accounts and asked the users to DM across their Membership IDs. Having said that, if you're thinking about getting a custom cake from this establishment, then you should know that these mishaps have happened in the past.
You shouldn't buy the Mini Brownie Bites at the Sam's Club bakery
Brownies are meant to be a toothsome treat with crunchy corners and a pillowy inside. They're meant to make to be a wholesome indulgence that melts on your tongue.
If you agree with this proclamation, then perhaps you should skip Upper Crust Bakery's Mini Brownie Bites. These treats are sold at Sam's Club and have less than a two-star rating. "These are the worst brownies," a reviewer declared. "We actually threw them away. Not only are they hard and dried out, but there's a very weird aftertaste that made us nervous." Several other members commented that this dessert replaced a product called Two-Bite Brownies, but this item isn't as tasty.
Ergo, beware of this brand. If you're in a Sam's Club and you're struck with a craving for brownies, then think about getting a Pillsbury's batch instead. More than 85 users gave it a five-star rating, and a stack of commenters claimed that they tasted homemade.
Sam's Club's bakery published a brilliant miniature pie hack
Do you treasure primo slices of pie? Are you the sort of human who thinks miniature bakery food looks absolutely adorable? Well then, the following Sam's Club trick may in fact blow your socks off.
Sam's Club posted a set of instructions to Pinterest that explained how you can turn a full-size pie into a mini dessert. All you need for this hack is a biscuit cutter, some whipped cream, and one of Sam's Club's Member's Mark Pumpkin Pies. Okay fine, any old pie will do, just don't tell Sam. Take your biscuit cutter, stamp it into the pie, remove this segment from the base, then spray your creation with whipped cream. And that's all you have to do! What a remarkably simple set of directions.
If you're ever on the hunt for an easy-to-make party snack, then keep this idea in the back of your mind.
Sam's Club's bakery's Member's Mark Cupcakes are a standout
Cupcakes are so superb that they deserve a whole trilogy to be written about that their greatness. That's right, someone needs to type up 120,000 words touting the strengths of this product.
Don't worry, this article isn't going to go off the deep end and become three novels dedicated to these scrumptious desserts. Instead, let's all "ooh" and "ahh" at these Member's Mark White and Chocolate Cupcakes. They come in packs of 30, are covered in sprinkles, and sound truly amazing. Over 120 Sam Club's users gave them a five-star rating. "These cupcakes were so moist," wrote one account. "And the icing was just right with its sweetness. Even though we had a lot, they didn't last long at all!"
Another Sam's Club user said, "These cupcakes seem to stay fresh forever and they taste amazing. Whenever I need cupcakes in a hurry or a lot of them, these are my go to! And I drive about 40 minutes just to pick them up."
If you'd rather eat a lot of tasty cupcakes instead of taking on the monumental task of penning multiple bakery-based epics about their greatness, then there's a strong chance that Sam's has got you all sorted.
Sam's Club's bakery bread is cheaper than Costco's
According to RetailWire, one of Sam's bakery's biggest rivals is the membership warehouse Costco. According too Investopedia, these companies have similar business models and were even founded in the same year. These two stores are perceived to be such adversaries that Crossword Clue Solver even mentioned their matchup. Yup, the word "Costco" is the answer to the crossword clue "Sam's Club rival."
Because these places are so alike, you may be wondering which one stocks the cheapest bread. After all, it's a classic staple that can cradle melted cheese, peanut butter, or an entire sandwich. Thankfully, in 2019, Cheapism compared Sam's Klosterman White Bread to Costco's Sunbeam White Bread and broke down the math. The Klosterman cost $2.98 overall and was $1.49 per loaf. The Sunbeam cost $3.29 overall and was $1.65 per loaf. Cheapism concluded that Sam's bread was 9.4 percent cheaper than Costco's.
However, it's worth noting that some other items are less expensive at Costco. Cheapism didn't just compare bread rates, they analyzed the price differences between several household goods. This website asserted that nine out of the 30 products are cheaper at Costco than at Sam's Club.
This fact isn't here to dissuade you from purchasing Sam's bread. Klosterman's white loaves are incredibly cheap, and a member gave them a five-star rating.
Sam's Club bakery's Bake Shop's Mini Cream Cheese Croissants are abysmal
We've already touted the ways in which a decent croissant can improve one's existence. But there's a flip side to this equation. A bad croissant — a terrible, tasteless, bad croissant — can suck the joy right out from under your skin. They can make your world seem grayer. They can make a workday feel like it drags on forever. They can even make you wonder why you want baked goods in the first place.
For this reason, it could be best to skip Bake Shop's Mini Cream Cheese Croissants. This item compelled ten Sam's Club accounts to give this product a one-star review. "The croissants were tough and dried out," remarked a user. "There was almost no cream cheese inside. I threw out the majority of them. Waste of money. They were an impulse buy. I should have checked the reviews first."
Another reviewer claimed that Sam's used to sell better mini cream cheese croissants. "I used to buy those all the time," they said. "But these new ones are dry, taste stale and the filling is disgusting. I would not recommend these to anyone."
Look, Sam's Club's bakery stocks a well-respected croissant that a lot of people seem to like. Sure, they're not mini, but it's pretty safe to say that they'd taste luscious with cream cheese.
Sam's Club's bakery's staff members may refuse to customize patrons' cakes
In July of 2020, a Twitter user named Brandon reported that Sam's Club's bakery refused to include a "Black Lives Matter" quote on a custom cake that they'd ordered. "Wait wait wait. So I paid full price for a cake, just to be told that @SamsClub refuses to put 'Black Families Matter' on a cake," they wrote. "Y'all's fake support is showing. These corporations quick to put up a BLM graphic and then do stuff like this."
Brandon included two pictures alongside this tweet. The first picture was of a cake that has no text written on it. In the second picture, you can see that, allegedly, a Sam's Club employee crossed out "Black Lives Matter" on the order form. In another tweet, Brandon said, "And honestly the crossing out of the statement is really what sent me .... My grandma worked soooo hard to make sure everyone felt loved after all the trauma we've seen lately. This is really the slap in the face that we really didn't need today."
After Brandon told a Sam's Club manager about what had happened, they gave them a corrected cake, a $100 gift card, and covered their membership costs for two years. "Turns out it wasn't a store policy, it was a [rogue] employee who let her bias ruin my family function," Brandon stated. Nevertheless, this awful situation should have never transpired.
Sam's Club's bakery was struggling in the '90s
From the outside, it appears as if Sam's Bakery is doing well and is able to successfully compete with Costco's section. But this apparently wasn't always the case. In 1994, Supermarket News communicated that Costco had a better bakery reputation. Some folks felt as if Costco ran this section of their business more successfully than Sam's.
This article said that Sam's Club was believed to have spent two and a half times more money than Costco had setting up their bakeries. And this wasn't the only comparison that people were making at this time. Someone who understood club bakery operations commented, "Sam's doesn't have the expertise that Costco does when it comes to running the bakery program like a stand-alone business." A different person, who was a trade observer, was less polite. "Sam's is the only retailer in the world that can run a $40,000-a-week bakery and lose money."
It seems as if Sam's bakery has escaped this cloud and isn't living in the shadow of these comments. But it's not surprising that this little piece of history isn't posted on their corporate website.
Sam's Club bakery's exclusive pecan pie is divine
If Sam's Club's bakery's mini pie hack doesn't sate your sweet tooth, that's fair enough. Sometimes you don't want a tiny taste — you want a whole slice. Heck, you may even be in the mood to eat an entire pastry. If this sentiment has your head nodding a like bobble-head on a car dashboard, then Sam's pecan pie may be what you're imagining this coming weekend.
The Member's Mark Pecan Pies that Sam's stocks in the fall have an incredibly impressive reputation. More than 180 accounts gave this sweet a five-star rating. "Beautiful extra large pie!" Exclaimed one reviewer. "Excellent presentation. Looks and tastes homemade." Another wrote, "Almost as good as my Aunt Louise's but a lot, lot less work!"
So there you have it. If you're a fan of pecans, pies, and pecan pies, then Sam's could possibly become a dessert destination during autumn. If you're a pie fiend, think about picking up one for yourself this fall.
There's a code for the discounted baked goods at Sam's Club's bakery
Who doesn't love a good bakery bargain? Incredibly rich children who have butlers and access to their parent's credit cards, that's who. But for the rest of us, finding a fantastic discount can literally make standing inside of a supermarket a lot more manageable.
Therefore, it would be rather pleasant to look at the price tag on a baked Sam's Club item and know if it had been marked down or not. Luckily, an employee from this chain told CBS DFW how to spot a reduced price. They said, "Anything with a one-cent in the building means it's been discontinued. If you see a one-cent on the end, that means we're selling it far below the price we paid for it."
This article also noted that some of Sam's products have a different letter next to their item numbers. CBS DFW was told "A" means that the item is active, "C" means that the item has been discontinued, and "N" means that the item will never cease being stocked. While it's unclear if these letter codes aren't applied to Sam's baked items, it doesn't hurt to know this information. Plus who knows? If your local Sam's does label its croissants with a C, it'll mean that you can grab some before they've all disappeared.
You can ask the Sam's Club bakery to stock a tasty snack
Imagine this: You're doing your weekly Sam's Club bakery run, and you've found just about everything you wanted. You have your baguettes, cupcakes, and poorly reviewed brownies. All you need is a freshly made bostock. According to The Guardian, bostock is brioche that's been soaked in an orangey syrup and topped with frangipane before it's baked. That's right, in this scenario, you treasure this obscure French dessert. However, you cannot find your bostock, and you've been scouring the shelves for half an hour. You then pull out your phone to discover this place doesn't stock them at all.
In this moment, you feel compelled to give up on shopping and go live in the mountains. But before you take such drastic measures, it's important to remember that customers can ask Sam's Club to stock specific items. All you have to do is go their Contact Us page, type in your details, and request a product be added to the warehouse. Your inquiry will then be passed along to the appropriate buying team. The form also allows you to request baked goods that aren't bostocks.
However, at the end of Sam's Request an Item article, the company stated, "Submission does not guarantee Sam's Club will carry a product." This fact could be disappointing for some, but at least there's a chance that they'll listen.