But what guests hear can also shape how long they stay, how comfortable they feel and whether they want to return.
For Josh Pickens, president of Ole & Steen US, music is part of creating a consistent hospitality experience across the Danish bakery’s five New York City locations.
During a conversation with Shawn Walchef on Digital Hospitality, Pickens explained how Ole & Steen uses Soundtrack to manage its music, protect the atmosphere of the brand and give both guests and employees a better experience.
Bringing a Danish Bakery to New York
Ole & Steen began when two bakers joined forces in Denmark. The brand expanded to London in 2016, where it now has roughly 30 locations, before opening its first New York City bakery in 2018.
The company currently operates five New York locations, with the long-term goal of growing its U.S. presence to approximately 30 stores.
Pickens first discovered Ole & Steen as a customer.
While walking past the Union Square location, he noticed the pastries displayed in the window and decided to try a raspberry slice. At the time, Pickens and his wife owned a bakery in Queens, so he was accustomed to evaluating both the appearance and quality of baked goods.
What stood out was that the pastry did not appear to be designed only for a photograph. The flavor came first.
“I felt like this wasn’t trying too hard to be this beautiful product,” Pickens said. “It was just trying to be a really tasteful and enjoyable product.”
After Pickens and his wife sold their bakery, he joined Ole & Steen to lead its production facility in Queens. His original responsibility was to improve a workplace culture that had made it difficult to retain employees.
Pickens spent time working alongside people in every department, learning what made their jobs difficult and identifying changes that could demonstrate that leadership was listening.
He eventually moved into his current role overseeing the entire U.S. business.
“As we’ve grown the business here in New York City without adding new locations, we’ve really just focused on getting the most we can out of every asset,” Pickens said.
That includes protecting the quality of the food, developing employees and creating an environment that feels distinctly like Ole & Steen.
Creating the Right Atmosphere
Ole & Steen’s bakery cafés are designed to feel elevated without becoming unwelcoming.
Dark marble, leather seating, Danish furniture and warm lighting help create spaces that can accommodate a business meeting, a family visit or someone looking for a quiet place to work.
The pastry display leads customers through the ordering experience, while the smell of cinnamon, sugar, marzipan and coffee adds another layer to the environment.
Music completes that experience.
Pickens and his head of marketing regularly exchange songs and discuss how different artists could fit the brand. They look for music that feels creative and current while helping guests settle into the space.
“I want people to come in here and have their best ideas while having our pastry and a coffee, having great music and just finding the space of enjoyment,” Pickens said.
The best outcome is not necessarily having customers notice every song. Pickens wants the music to feel so natural that guests become comfortable without having to think about why.
“You’ve just walked in and you’ve just naturally settled into a place,” Pickens said. “You forgot about all those things because you just feel kind of at peace and at rest.”
Protecting the Brand Across Locations
Before Ole & Steen began using Soundtrack, individual stores had more control over what they played.
That sometimes meant employees selected music based on their personal preferences rather than what matched the experience Ole & Steen wanted to create for its customers.
Pickens remembers entering a location and hearing punk rock playing through the speakers.
“I’m glad you like that music, but that’s not us,” Pickens said. “That’s not who we are.”
Soundtrack gives the Ole & Steen team the ability to manage playlists and volume remotely. Its marketing team can add new music when it discovers an artist or song that fits the brand while keeping the experience consistent across all five New York locations.
“We can make sure that all of our locations are playing the same music, and it gives us a ton of variety,” Pickens said.
That variety also matters to employees.
A limited playlist can force team members to hear the same songs at the same times every day. Giving the soundtrack enough variety helps maintain the desired atmosphere without making the music repetitive for the people working inside the bakery.
The platform operates in the background and does not require the team to constantly manage it. Pickens can hear a song while running, send it to the head of marketing and have it added to the appropriate playlist.
“It’s so intuitive, so easy to use, so easy to set up that it kind of just operates in the background,” Pickens said.
Sound as Hospitality
Music can influence a restaurant even when operators are not actively paying attention to it.
Pickens has walked into underperforming locations and immediately understood why customers might not want to spend time there. The food and service may not have changed, but the music made the environment feel wrong.
“You walk in and you’re like, because nobody wants to be here,” Pickens said. “Nobody wants to be in this space with this music.”
Soundtrack helps Ole & Steen treat music as an intentional part of hospitality instead of background noise.
The company can protect the overall identity of the brand while continuing to adjust the experience for its New York audience. Ole & Steen’s locations in London and Denmark may create different environments based on their markets, but the central feeling of the bakery remains consistent.
For Pickens, every detail should support the same goal: giving people a place where they can enjoy the food, feel comfortable and connect with the brand.
Music is only one part of that experience, but it can change how every other part feels.
The right soundtrack does not compete for a guest’s attention.
It helps create a place where they want to stay.
