MARKET
Capitalizing on the at-home baking movement for center-store growth 2020 was the year of baking bread. When COVID-19 put the world on lockdown, panicked consumers stocked up on flour and yeast and started kneading. As a result, baking staples saw exponential growth, with sales of baking yeast up 457%, baking powder up 178% and flour up 155%, over the previous year ending March 28, 2019, according to Nielsen data.
+
Print sales for bread cookbooks in the United States also grew 145% for the 9 months ending September 2020. And according to Kristen McLean, NPD book industry analyst, the at-home bread baking movement could have staying power. “Baking offered a comforting escape and yeast suddenly became more difficult to find than toilet paper. Sales of bread cookbooks are still well above 2019 levels, and given that the pandemic is still with us, the trend could be sticking around for a while.” Even if the popularity of at-home baking bread continues in a post-COVID world, signs indicate the increased interest in the bread category – particularly artisan and craft-style – could provide opportunities on grocery store shelves as well.
The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association’s What’s in Store 2020 supported that, indicating 75% of shoppers are more likely to switch to a brand that provides in-depth product information, while 59% believe transparency means a ‘plain English’ description of ingredients. In a September 2020 study commissioned by Ingredient Communications, most respondents expressed a preference for natural ingredients as well as a distaste for artificial additives. 81% said they find a label that states it is ‘made with natural ingredients’ very appealing or quite appealing, while 78% said they find a label that states it is ‘free from artificial ingredients’ very appealing or quite appealing.
In a December 2020 episode of the American Bakers Association’s ‘Bake to the Future’ podcast, Robb MacKie, ABA president and CEO, interviewed Fred Penny, president, Bimbo Bakeries USA. The discussion recapped 2020 and looked forward to 2021, and the conversation suggested that this is the year to build on consumers’ renewed appreciation for baked goods. Penny pointed to the change in consumer behavior as one reason for the lift in a category that was previously struggling to grow. “The big shift to food consumed at home – as opposed to away from home – clearly has driven the category significantly. And one of the big questions we’re asking ourselves is, ‘How much of that shift is going to be sustainable?’” But the growth in the bread category as a whole – coupled with other trends like the demand for clean labels and greater ethical and environmental transparency in foods and ingredients – indicate that consumer interest for artisan products in the grocery store could be an area for growth and innovation. “Transparency throughout the supply chain will dominate in 2021, with consumers searching for brands that can build trust, provide authentic and credible products and create shopper confidence in the current and post-COVID climate,” said Lu Ann Williams, director of insights and innovation at Innova Market Insights.
www.bakingbiscuit.com 01/2021
© La Brea Bakery, Los Angeles, CA
40
