Brownie Sales Continue Growth

MATTHEW ENIS

Sales of brownies and dessert bars averaged $125 per week per bakery during the 52 weeks ending March 28, 2009. The sales represented a 9.6% increase from the same period a year earlier, according to a recent report published in Modern Baking, a sister publication of SN.

The report, from The Perishables Group, West Dundee, Ill., noted that gourmet/large brownies generated the most significant gains among the brownie and dessert bar subcategories, “with average dollar sales up 54.4% vs. the previous year.” Regular brownies, message brownies and blondies also grew, while dollar sales of dessert bars and mini/two-bite brownies declined on average.

Spikes in sales occurred during the Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Valentine's Day holidays, but the greatest increase occurred during the Christmas holidays, when sales reached an average of $171 per store per week.

Regionally, the Eastern U.S. led category performance and growth, with average sales of $211 per store per week, up 10.7%. Western region sales were up 7.5%, to $140 per store per week; Central region sales were up 10.7%, to $136 per store per week. Category sales were lowest in the South, averaging $81 per store per week, but even there, sales of gourmet/large brownies rose 50.7% over the prior year.