- Beepa Bakery (BB)
Beepa Bakery (BB) is a for-profit social enterprise. BB makes pies, cupcakes and tarts which are sold in three shops it owns in a large city. BB’s vision is to impact lives with the “art form of cookery”.
BB offers two free annual workshops for school-aged children from low-income communities. The workshops offer instructions on nutritional development, teach basic cooking skills, and promote creativity in the kitchen. BB plans to increase the number of free annual workshops to four.
BB also contributes to a community food bank that provides food for low-income families while also preventing food waste.
(a) State two advantages of operating as a for-profit social enterprise. [2]
Table 2 shows information about the unit cost of producing 40 of BB’s pies per day.
Table 2: Information about the unit cost of producing 40 of BB’s pies per day
| Pie size | Unit cost of production ()) | Number of pies made per day |
|---|---|---|
| Small (S) | 20 | 4 |
| Medium (M) | 40 | 15 |
| Large (L) | 60 | 13 |
| Extra Large (XL) | 80 | 8 |
(b) Using Table 2:
(i) calculate the mean cost of production per day for the 40 pies made (show all your working); [2]
(ii) calculate the median cost of production per day for the 40 pies made (show all your working); [2]
(iii) calculate the modal/mode cost of production per day for the 40 pies made (no working required). [1]
(c) BB wants to launch a bigger pie, the extra extra large (XXL). BB plans to make 10 XXL pies per day and estimates a unit cost of production of (100.
Calculate the effect that this would have on your answer to part (b) (iii) (no working required). [1]
Figure 1 and Figure 2 present some information about BB’s revenue contribution.
(d) Comment on one of the two data sets (Figure 1 or Figure 2). [2]
According to statista.com, sales in the bakery industry will increase by 10% over the next five years. Thanks to e-commerce, bakeries have a promising future. Additionally, the gig economy provides the bakery industry with a cost-effective way to recruit additional employees during busy seasons or periods of the day.
BB is planning to open two more shops in the city between 2025 and 2028. BB will install automated* bakery equipment and will offer employees training to acquire new skills (reskill). As lower-skilled employees leave BB, the business will replace them with gig economy employees.
John Cook, BB’s managing director, has identified that growth is mainly due to an increase in online sales for in-store collection orders. John believes this “click-and-collect” strategy will result in a reduction in the number of employees needed to serve customers in all BB’s shops.
While some employees agree with John’s new plans, other employees feel threatened.
- automated: carried out by machines or computers without human control
(e) Using information in the stimulus, discuss strategies that BB’s human resource department could use to reduce the impact of change on employees. [10]