Baked in: Swedish buns bear stamp of freshness

Stockholm – Swedish convenience store chain Pressbyrån is promoting its seasonal saffron buns by baking a time stamp into their undersides.

Many consumers might not associate fresh pastries with the local corner shop. But with six trays stamping the regular baking times onto the pastries each day, Pressbyrån hopes to change that perception. The Hot Stamp trays are in use at locations in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö.

As digital time stamps proliferate, the idea of literally stamping the time onto baked goods feels both quaint and refreshing. The low-tech solution adds an element of hand-crafting to a relatively cheap, mass-market product.

Such strategies appeal to the Just Nots, whose tight budgets oblige them to shop at the low end of the market, but who nonetheless understand and demand high-quality products.