The UK bread market is expected to rise by 3.6 per cent year-on-year to reach £3.5 billion this year, and in terms of volume the market may register an annual growth rate of 5 per cent, according to estimate of Mintel.
Associate Director Emma Clifford said that 38 per cent of consumers surveyed by Mintel wish to have longer shelf lives for bread while 20 per cent wish bread can strengthen their immune system.
Longer-shelf life and enhanced immunity are needed from bread, say consumers, according to the Mintel survey.
The wish for a longer shelf life is underlined by the fact that many people want to make fewer shopping trips. This is timely exploited by many bakeries.
St Pierre Groupe’s Baker Street brand specialises in long-life bread and its sales grew 35 per cent for the year ending September 2020. This is the fourth consecutive year in growth. Its Paul Hollywood, a brand that specialises in frozen baked goods, fared even better than Baker Street, with its year-on-year growth rate registering a jump of some ten percentage points.
Over 16 years of its existence, St Pierre Groupe distributes baked goods to the retail, wholesale, hotel and catering channels. Its sales rose to £90 million in 2019 from a mere 16 million pounds in 2010, and it aims to reach £150 million in 2021.
The longer-shelf life bread is also embraced by retailers with fervour. M&S, which owns some 200 outlets, processes baguettes and boules nearing their shelf lives into garlic bread and then freeze them, thus giving them an extra 30 days in shelf life. One garlic bread sells for £1 while a pack of two sells for £1.8. A signage is also hung on the shelves of garlic bread, stating it is made of baguettes and boules that would have to go to waste if not sold or used someway.
Marks & Spencer (M&S) is extending the roll out of its frozen garlic bread, made from surplus baguettes, to 200 stores as part of its 2030 goal to halve food waste.
Along with long-life bread and frozen products getting popular, online sales also boomed during the lockdown. By early November, Warrens Bakery saw its pasty sales rise by 300 per cent over a year ago. Last year, the 40-outlet bakery chain sold 2.1 million pasties, including 1.1 million Cornish pasties, a traditional specialty to Cornwall and Devon.
Warren Bakery's pasties-by-post schemeis proving incredibly popular during lockdown.
The epidemic has also forced some businesses to thin down their operations. Greggs, which was established in 1939 and now owns more than 2,000 outlets, announced to lay off 820 workers to save cost. During the four weeks ending 26 September, its sales from its managed shops was only 76.1 per cent of their 2019 levels.
In 2019, the bakery chain reported its sales being up by 13.5 per cent to £1.168 billion whilst pre-tax profits rose to £108.3 million from £82.6 million in 2018.
Greggs' launch bespoke sandwiches and an app to consumers.
Again, frozen baked goods, which have longer shelf lives, performed better than expected. Greggs’ frozen baked goods, which are sold exclusively in the supermarket chain of Iceland, rose in value by an impressive £11.6m over last year, latest data reveals. Sales grew 32.5 per cent to £47.6m in value, on volumes up 25.8 per cent, according to Nielsen’s data for 52 weeks ending 5 September 2020.
Early this month Greggs announced to make bespoke sandwiches for consumers, encouraging consumers to pre-determine what food ingredients to be added into the buns. An app will also be introduced to consumers to nurture their loyalty and study their purchase behaviours.
"Digital channels will enable that, and because we have kitchens in every shop, we’re going to start offering bespoke sandwiches,” said Roger Whiteside, Greggs’ CEO, while stressing that right at the heart of that is customer loyalty.
Chief Executive Roger Whiteside (pictured in 2016) warned that the bakery chain 'will not be profitable as a business' if sales continue at the rates they have been in lockdown
"The winners in retail in the future will be those who know the names of the customers they’re dealing with,” he said.
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