IDDBA 2023: Health, Indulgence, Convenience All Part of 'Power of Bakery'
At the IDDBA 2023 trade show, the deli, dairy and bakery worlds united to network and showcase new and existing products, including items available for retailers’ private label collections.
In the opening session at the show, Rick Stein, VP of Fresh Foods at FMI- The Food Industry Organization, previewed FMI’s The Power of Bakery report and shared insights into what customers are looking for in baked goods. Unsurprisingly, healthy options were at the top of the list.
“We start asking customers about eating approaches, and most customers said they don’t like using the term ‘diet,’” he said. “65% of customers are trying to follow some kind of eating behavior, and health mindedness is very much on their mind.”
Stein said that almost 70% of customers say they are looking for health callouts and information on baked good packaging. The most popular product attribute that shoppers are looking for, according to FMI’s data, was whole grains at 31%. Of those surveyed by the group, 41% said they look for real ingredients, and 30% say they look for the use of real fruits and/or vegetables in baked goods.
“How does FMI say ‘lean in?’ We’re telling our retailers ‘you’ve got to be speaking about health and well-being in the bakery,’” said Stein. “I remember going back to the mid-2000s when everybody was on low-carb diets and the bakery was suffering sales because of that. Now is actually a time when you can lean-in on health and well-being."
Stein noted convenience and indulgence as two important consumer trends as well. He said that bakery assortments can offer a balance for health-focused consumers with indulgent sweet products in controlled portions, citing the sales of half-pies and cakes.
When it comes to value, FMI determines four categories that influence how consumers view a product: quality, relevance, experience and convenience. These categories determine how shoppers make decisions, rationally or irrationally.
“They’re [consumers] are really money-conscious. They’re trying to make sure their money goes as far as it can,” Stein said. “But they made decisions sometimes that are contrary to that. When we look at the value in bakery and start talking to them about impulse purchases, clearly the eyes decide. A lot of customers go in and buy products that they had no intention of buying. Bakery is clearly a big impulse area, and you need to play into that."