What must a bakery display?
In a bakery, labelling is not paperwork for its own sake: it is what lets a customer with a nut allergy buy a loaf safely, and what stops a queue forming while you check prices. It is also one of the first things a trading standards or environmental health officer looks at.
This guide covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at the level of the core rules. Your council’s trading standards and food teams can confirm the detail for your shop. For a bakery in France, read the French version: France imposes a specific “Prix du pain” poster with exact sizes.
Price marking: what the law asks
The Price Marking Order 2004 sets the general rule. A trader who indicates that a product is, or may be, for sale to a consumer must indicate its selling price. Article 7 adds how: the price must be unambiguous, easily identifiable and clearly legible, given in proximity to the product, and placed so that consumers can see it without having to ask for help.
The Order also deals with unit pricing (the price per kilogram) for products sold from bulk or made up in set quantities. Bread made in prescribed quantities sold in a small shop is among the exemptions listed in article 5, so check with trading standards if you are unsure which of your products need a price per kilo.
- A price on or right next to every loaf, cake and pastry in the window and on the counter
- A board for items sold by weight, with the price per kilo
- Prices for pre-orders (celebration cakes) given before the customer commits
- The same price on the label as at the till, always
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Pancake Day, Easter, Christmas: the year’s key dates to prepare products, labels and boards ahead of time.
Allergens on loose bakery items
Most of what a bakery sells is “non-prepacked”: loaves on the shelf, pastries on the counter, cakes by the slice. According to the Food Standards Agency guidance on GOV.UK, allergen information for these foods can be given by any means, including verbally, as long as there is a written notice in a clearly visible position explaining how customers can obtain it. The FSA adds that written information supported by a conversation works best for consumers.
The 14 allergens are: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (above 10 parts per million) and tree nuts.
Food allergies and intolerances: before you order, please ask our staff about the ingredients in our bread, cakes and pastries. We are happy to show you our allergen information.
A label for each loose product
Seeded sourdough — 500 g — £4.20
Contains: wheat (gluten), sesame
Walnut loaf — 400 g — £4.50
Contains: wheat (gluten), walnuts (tree nuts), milk
The prices above are layout examples only: use your own.
Items you pack yourself: full ingredient labels
Cookies in a bag you seal yourself, sandwiches made in the morning and put in the chiller, boxed slices of cake: these are “prepacked for direct sale” (PPDS), meaning packed on the premises before the customer orders. The FSA guidance asks for a label with the name of the food and a full ingredients list with the allergenic ingredients emphasised (for example in bold).
Chocolate chip cookies (4)
Ingredients: wheat flour, butter (milk), sugar, dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: soya lecithin), eggs, raising agent, salt.
- List ingredients in descending order of weight
- Include the ingredients of bought-in components (chocolate, fillings, glazes) by reading their labels
- Emphasise every allergen within the list
- Print labels from the same recipe file you use in production
The allergen matrix: one document for everything
The simplest system is a single allergen matrix: one row per product, one column per allergen, a cross when it is present. The FSA publishes a blank matrix you can print.
- Go through every recipe, including bought-in ingredients: read their labels.
- Fill the matrix and keep it at the till.
- Copy each row onto the product label.
- Update the matrix and the labels the same day a recipe or a supplier changes.
- Train every member of staff to use it, including Saturday staff.
Window displays, boards and the counter
Most pricing problems in bakeries come from the places that change every day: the window, the chalkboard and the counter. A few habits keep them right without extra work.
The window
Customers decide in front of the window. If they cannot see a price there, many walk on rather than come in to ask. Use small, printed price cards that stand in front of each tray, readable from the pavement. Avoid writing prices on the glass itself: they fade, and they are hard to change when the display changes at lunchtime.
The chalkboard
Boards are perfect for daily specials and for products sold by weight. Keep them for what genuinely changes, write the price next to each item (not a “from” price that hides the real one), and wipe yesterday’s specials before opening. A board that still shows Saturday’s special on Tuesday tells customers the information is not reliable.
The counter
Behind glass, cakes and pastries need the same treatment as loaves: name, price and allergens on a small card in front of each item. Use the same card format everywhere so staff can swap them quickly. Keep a box of blank cards and a pen at the till for the product that arrives late from the oven.
- Every tray in the window has a price card readable from outside
- Board updated before opening, prices next to each item
- One card format for loaves, pastries and cakes
- Allergen notice visible from where customers queue
Celebration cakes and pre-orders
Birthday cakes, tiered cakes and large orders for events follow a different path: the customer orders days in advance, often by phone or message. Two things protect both of you.
- Give the price before the customer commits, in writing: a short message or order slip with the description, size, date, price and deposit if you ask for one.
- Ask about allergies at the time of the order, not on the day of collection, and write the answer on the order slip. For a celebration cake, the customer is buying for guests they may not know well.
Order confirmation: [cake description], serves [number], for collection on [date] at [time]. Price: £[amount], deposit paid: £[amount]. Allergens in this cake: [list]. Any allergy among your guests we should know about? Reply to this message or call us on [number].
Keep a copy of every order slip until the cake has been collected. If a guest has a reaction, you will be glad you asked and wrote it down.
Training your staff in ten minutes
Labels only work if the person behind the counter knows how to use them. Saturday staff and seasonal help are where gaps appear. Run a ten-minute briefing on their first day:
- Where the allergen matrix is, and how to read it
- What to say when a customer asks: “Let me check our allergen chart for you”, never “I think it’s fine”
- What to do if they are not sure: do not sell, ask the baker
- Never change a price at the till without changing the label
- How to write a temporary card for a new product
Keep the matrix in a plastic sleeve by the till, with the date of the last update written at the top.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| No price on items in the window display | A small price card for each item, readable from the street |
| “Ask us about allergens” notice hidden behind the till | Put it where customers stand when they choose |
| Hand-written labels that differ from the till prices | Print labels from one price list and update both together |
| Sandwiches packed in the morning with no ingredients list | Full ingredients label with allergens emphasised |
| New seasonal product with no allergen entry | Add it to the matrix before it goes on sale |
Changing your prices
When flour, butter or energy costs go up, bakers often raise prices by a few pence at a time. To keep everything compliant and customers on side:
- Recalculate your costs (method in bakery pricing and cost calculation).
- Prepare new labels and boards before the day.
- Change the labels before the till, never the other way round.
- Tell your regulars simply.
To our customers: from [date], the price of some of our bread will change because of rising [flour / energy] costs. We still mix, shape and bake every loaf here, every morning. Thank you for your support!
More wording in how to announce a price increase.
The steps at a glance
The steps to make price and allergen information compliant in a UK bakery.
- Price every product. A clear, legible price close to each item, the same as at the till.
- Build the allergen matrix. One row per product, one column per allergen, checked against every recipe.
- Label loose items. Name, price and allergens, plus a visible notice inviting customers to ask.
- Label prepacked items. Name and full ingredients list with allergens emphasised.
- Keep it current. Update matrix, labels and boards the day a recipe, supplier or price changes.
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Sources
The rules quoted in this guide come from these official pages, checked on October 28, 2026.