Balancing the Bakery

Consumers are more apt to shop an in-store bakery that boasts a unique, eye-catching breadth of fresh goods. 

The art of baking is one craft that some consumers are not willing to try at home. After one too many Pinterest fails, many are turning to the grocery’s in-store bakeries to satisfy the need for both everyday items and custom sweets.

While some cite the decline in specialty and mom-and-pop bakeshops, and others point to the undeniable convenience of the in-store bakery, industry observers agree that grocery’s bakery sections are rich with opportunity.

Though healthy eating is a top concern for today’s consumers, they are not always willing to sacrifice sweet treats. Observers say that when it comes to the bakery section, everyday indulgences can land in even the most conscious of healthy-eaters’ shopping baskets.

“Even with all of the healthy trends and people watching what they eat, indulgence is still hot. People still want to indulge and have that sweet treat or dessert, so we continue to see the bakery business on the rise,” says Courtney Erickson, associate marketing manager, shopper marketing, for Rich Products based in Buffalo, N.Y.

Demand for small, single-serve delicacies has risen from this preference, and many manufacturers are catering to this consumer desire with new offerings set to tempt.

Bake’n Joy, based in North Andover, Mass., just expanded its FreshBakes Preportioned Cookie Dough line to include a 1-ounce cookie. The new product is available in seven flavors—each coming in at fewer than 150 calories.

Lantmännen Unibake recently introduced its Schulstad Mini Signature Selection, MiniMania, consisting of a Cherry Chocolate Coronet, Toasted Coconut Swirl, Salted Caramel Braid, Strawberry Shortcake Crown and Lemon Cheesecake Lattice, crafted in classic European tradition. With its new line, the company aims to allow consumers the chance to enjoy something sweet without the guilt.

Lantmännen’s latest selection incorporates another rising trend at the bakery—premium offerings. As with any section of the grocery store, there is a renewed emphasis on quality in the bakery and consumers are seeking out items that satisfy their gourmet tastes.

“Really the ‘premiumization’ of the bakery is the core driver that we are seeing right now,” says Scott Rosenberg, director of marketing and customer service for Lisle, Ill.-based Lantmännen Unibake. “Since we eat with our eyes first, visual appeal of items is also at an all-time high in this category.”

Visual appeal does not only apply to the product itself, but how a retailer chooses to display a baked good. Observers add that prominent signage—so that consumers can quickly understand what they are looking at—is helpful in the bakery, especially when trying to promote a product’s healthy attributes.

Gluten-free, clean label and nut-free are all key trends that seem to be overhauling the entire grocery store as of late, and the bakery section—though in some instances exempt from the healthy eating category—is not being left behind. Consumers are often looking for specific baked items to incorporate various trends that go along with healthy eating, especially when it comes to everyday items, like bread, or breakfast foods, like muffins.

For a bakery looking to expand its variety of gluten-free and free-from offerings, observers say that partnering with the right suppliers is the most important place to begin. “Food allergies can be so dangerous, it’s important that if a retailer says nut-free, the product must be completely nut-free and not prepared or manufactured in a facility that either produces products containing nuts, and/or or has a stringent allergen protection program in the back of the house to prevent cross-contamination,” says Tara O’Donovan, marketing manager for Bake’n Joy.

Officials for Bake’n Joy add that its entire product line is undergoing a transition to cleaner labels. The focus is similar at 5 Generation Bakers, where the current project is reformulating its cinnamon swirl breads to shorten the ingredient list, which includes the elimination of four enrichments and palm oil. The new label will be available for consumers in early 2016, says Scott Baker, president of the McKees Rocks, Pa.-based company. “The latest trends are all about clean labels and eating wholesome foods,” he adds.

Abby Ceule, director market management breads for Corbion Caravan, has noticed the clean label and natural movements infiltrating the bakery at a quicker pace than in past years. She adds that the non-GMO issue is starting to come up more as well. Customers that purchase Corbion’s mixes are looking for the artificial ingredients to be removed, in alignment with the shift that is happening in the rest of the store.

The Lenexa, Kan.-based company is also working on solutions to help customers achieve their clean label goals, like Pristine 2000, a clean label dough strengthener designed to enhance the quality of baked goods and satisfy consumer demands for simplified ingredient lists.

In addition to the clean label and free-from trends, observers add that the idea of “plus-some” is gaining momentum in the health world. “Additional beneficial ingredients can be used to create great-tasting baked goods that offer that little extra incentive to indulge. Some options here include whole grains, added fiber or protein, and real fruit,” says Becky Loveland, vice president, B2B marketing at Dawn Foods, based in Jackson, Mich.

Falling for Flavor

Observers suggest that the secret ingredient to a successful in-store bakery is a seasonal pull, especially when the opportunity arises to highlight popular seasonal flavors.

It is no secret that consumer frenzy over pumpkin as soon as September hits has steadily been on the rise over the past couple of seasons. Over the summer, s’mores was a hit with consumers and the flavor was tied into many varieties of baked goods, from cookies to cakes and beyond.

Observers cannot sing the praises of seasonality enough, as it is one of the simplest and most effective ways to differentiate an aisle, or give consumers a new reason to visit a section. “Seasonal items contribute to incremental sales with the added reinforcement of being considered fresh,” says Sandra Zanette, director of marketing and business development for Woodbridge, Ont., Canada-based Backerhaus Veit. “It captures the attention of consumers both new and loyal to your in-store bakery.”

To meet consumer demand, the James Skinner Baking Co. recently expanded upon its most popular product, the Cinnamon Craver’s Roll, by adding new flavors of the item—including seasonal favorites like pumpkin and strawberry. Regional flavors can also provide incentive to purchase, says David Skinner, marketing manager of the Omaha-based company, like black and white cookie flavors in the Northeast or guava in the Southeast.

The Case for Cake

More and more, consumers are turning to in-store bakeries when it comes to picking out a treat to celebrate one of life’s special moments. Manufacturers argue that maintaining an attractive, well-stocked cake case, and the capability to create custom options, may sway a consumer’s choice of where to shop.

Though it may be easy to overlook cakes as an infrequently purchased item, they can often lead to coveted incremental sales. When the retailer wins a consumer over for a cake purchase, more often than not, observers add, they will try to stock up on everything they need for the party at that location.

Even if a retailer does not employ a specialized cake decorator, there are many ways to create beautiful, custom cakes without much training or high cost involved. DecoPac, for example, has a Photocake program that includes a multitude of images, including licensed, that are easy to print and place on cakes. The company also has offers strips, cake lace and ready-to-place fondant pieces that are simple, yet sophisticated ways to dress up a basic cake.

“Our products are perfect for really creating a more upscale look that is eye-catching in the bakery case, but at the same time making it easy for workers to create these in-store,” says Barb Hiller, associate marketing manager of Anoka, Minn.-based DecoPac.

This past summer, DecoPac acquired West Chester, Ohio-based Bakery Crafts—a company with a complementary product line to its own. Now that DecoPac and Bakery Crafts are one, retailers that have either company’s Photocake program will now have combined access to all of the images in each library, an added bonus of the acquisition.

Dawn Foods, another company known for its eye-catching cakes, recently announced its latest innovation—the Waterfall Cake, which features two layers of rich cake topped with a decadent truffle waterfall in either chocolate or vanilla bean. Waterfall Cakes feature a simple design, easy for decorators to customize.

The company’s seasonal Vortex Cakes combine a rich cake layer, brownie layer and chocolate truffle swirl for a truly indulgent treat, say company officials. Dawn is now offering several new flavor combinations to help consumers celebrate various holidays throughout the year, including Neapolitan for spring occasions, made from strawberry buttercream icing and chocolate brownie; Patriotic for summer, made from vanilla buttercream icing and red velvet brownie; Harvest for the fall, made from vanilla cake and chocolate brownie; and Polar for the winter, made from peppermint buttercream icing and chocolate chip blondie brownie. 

License to Thrill

Many classic film franchises will make a return to the big screen this fall, and the bakery aisle is prepared to celebrate in style. In anticipation of the latest Star Wars film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, DecoPac is creating licensed Star Wars cakes. Classic Star Wars cakes are getting into the market now, with designs more tailored to the new film to come out closer to the release. DecoPac, based in Anoka, Minn., expects these products to be a hit with consumers, as The Force Awakens is predicted to be one of the biggest movie releases of all time.

Rich Products, based in Buffalo, N.Y., recently launched Peanuts ice cream cakes in Everyday and Harvest varieties, in advance of the new movie hitting theaters in November. Rich is aiming to tap into nostalgia for older consumers, and give kids a new option of characters to celebrate with at parties. The company also released frosted cookies, called Snoopy, to go with the cakes. These are peanut- and tree-nut free to accommodate kids with food allergies, and to make the product safe for celebrations in a classroom or to pack in school lunchboxes.

The NFL is another popular license, especially during playoffs and the Super Bowl, and with DecoPac’s recent acquisition of Bakery Crafts, the company will now be able to turn around product for football season much more quickly.

“Being a licensee of the NFL is a frenzy in the playoffs—it can be tough to have the right product on hand, especially if the product is made in China, as some of our plastic-based products are,” says Mike McGlynn, CEO of DecoPac. “Bakery Crafts has a terrific vendor in the US that can rapidly react to printing on plastic, so once we know the final two teams in the Super Bowl, we’ll be in a much better in-stock position to serve our customer and ultimately consumers.”