We opened our half bakery (I say half because we are sharing our location with an existing chocolate store) a few weeks ago.

Because preliminary sales are a bit on the slow side, I am trying to figure out what to do in order to not take such a loss on my products that have a very short shelf life.

Cupcakes: I have learned to only put two on a plate in the case, and only offer a few kinds . . . until people start catching on that there are baked goods now inside.

Cookies are even harder. We take two cookies and bag them up, and tie the bag tight with a ribbon. Unfortunately two things happen. First, being closed up in plastic immediately softens the cookie . . . not what I want. Second, by the end of the day, the cookies have gone stale feeling. Very dry on the bottoms . . . crumbly.

We are doing ok because most of our stuff is special orders . . but I want to find a way to have my product in the retail store and work on increasing business there . . without taking a huge loss and having to throw it all out at the end of each night.

Suggestions?