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Covid 19
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused disruption to almost every area of life across the world. It is, therefore, no surprise that the bakery sector has also seen huge ripples. With increasing pressure on supermarkets to deliver the basics, just in greater quantities to meet demand, in-store bakery counters have been closed. The forced shutdown of restaurants, cafes and bars has also seen a shift in the way that food service companies deliver their products, with their focus now on supplying retailers. It’s important to acknowledge that, now more than ever, consumers are seeking comfort from the products that they know and love. So how is the bakery sector responding to its new normal and delivering affordable indulgence to a world that’s been turned on its head?
Synergy Flavours is a leading global innovator in flavourings, extracts and essences and has extensive experience across the food and beverage industry, developing high quality, innovative taste solutions which help customers to stay one step ahead of the competition. Whether manufacturers seek flavour profiles to mask off-notes in nutritional products, or flavour solutions that enable sugar or butter reduction without compromising taste, Synergy has the proven expertise, application knowledge, sensory science and passion to help.
Synergy’s flavour creation and application capabilities span the globe – with commercial, manufacturing and technical support facilities in Ireland, the UK, Italy, the US, Brazil and Thailand. As a result, it has assembled the market knowledge to work collaboratively with customers worldwide to develop flavour solutions for diverse food and beverage categories.
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The food service industry has been one of the worst hit food sectors during the crisis. On-premise consumption, which accounts for 60% to 80% of all foodservice revenues, was lost almost overnight in many countries with the forced closure of restaurants, cafes and bars. Those that can are quickly trying to change their product offering in a bid to supply to the retail market. This brings its own challenges as companies must adapt to retailer expectations – suitable product recipes, pack size and packaging are all hurdles to be overcome. Food service companies must also navigate the importance of building retailer relationships and trying to manage the reduced margins as a result of lowering their prices for retail. It all comes at a cost.
For bakers used to filling their stores with fresh products throughout the day, there is a shift to meet the significant uplift in demand for packaged items with a longer shelf life, and more core goods such as bread. Seasonal and small-line bakery products have been cut almost entirely and with social distancing measures in place worldwide, there is also a challenge of staffing and the health and safety of employees. However, grocery sales were at a record high in March 2020, with consumers spending £10.8 billion in that period alone so there are opportunities for bakers who are able to adapt and innovate with their product offering. According to consumer survey results, shoppers in Italy are buying 34% more bakery and cereal products, with the UK following closely behind at 23%.
Unprecedented demand for products like bread, yeast, eggs and flour has seen manufacturers working around the clock to keep a steady supply flowing to supermarkets.
According to figures from retail tracker IRI, the UK alone saw a 145% uplift in sales of flour year-on-year for the week ending 15 March. The shock of seeing empty shelves has created a nation of home bakers, who are dusting off the mixing bowls and getting creative in the kitchen. Social media sites are awash with requests for tips to make sourdough starters, and if Instagram is anything to go by, the world is being powered by homemade banana bread (currently topping over 1.2 million hashtags on the networking site)! But that’s not to say that bakers will miss out – there’s an opportunity to tap into this trend by offering pre-mixes or ready-made icing products, particularly as panic buying has placed great strain on the supply chain for those key ingredients. Restrictions on buying quantities have helped to ease pressure but suppliers are racing to get stock on the shelves.
After years of innovation to deliver more diverse and enticing products to meet consumers’ evolving taste buds, there’s a sudden and sharp cry for basic, affordable products that can be stored for longer. There have been significant job losses resulting from social distancing measures, with predictions that up to one million people could become unemployed in the UK alone during the coronavirus crisis, and a further proportion of employees are facing the uncertainty of being furloughed. Money is therefore of great concern to many consumers, who are having to tighten their purse strings and make more considered purchases.
The changes in buying behaviour have been reflected in the demand for cupboard staples and long-life packaged goods like pasta and rice, although there is still room for more indulgent treats such as cookies. The good news for bakers is that consumers are still seeking sweet treats for comfort and to compensate for the boredom of isolation and not being able to continue their usual habits of popping to the shop for fresh snacks. UK IGD Shopper Vista found that bakery has been the category that shoppers have stocked up on most, purchasing 15% more than they normally do, followed by sweet snacks (including biscuits and confectionery), which is up 12%.
The Federation of Bakers, which represents the UK’s £4 billion industry, has released an open letter explaining that its members are ‘working to maximum capacity and, in many cases, have made changes to their systems to meet demand, which is exceeding 50% above average. Aside from increasing productivity, some bakers have also made the decision to reduce the number of SKUs, in order to maximise production of core lines.
With manufacturers now placing their recipes and formulations under the microscope to deliver on customer demand for lower priced, longer life products, it’s important that there is no compromise on the taste of the baked goods on offer during this time. As well as contributing rich taste and influencing flavour perception, traditional dairy ingredients that form the foundations of many bakery products have important functional properties and replacements must be able to meet these requirements. For example, if you simply remove or reduce the amount of dairy in baked goods, there will be issues of flavour loss, textural/structure problems, mouthfeel and indulgence loss, and reduced visual appeal. This is where Synergy’s expertise in flavour science and dairy technical know-how can help.
Synergy’s new Dairy by Nature portfolio offers cost-conscious solutions for building indulgence and reducing dairy content in sweet and savoury baked goods (up to 100% butter replacement in biscuits and frostings, 80% cheese reduction in breads, crackers and fillings, and cream replacement in mixes and fillings). The dairy flavour systems are suitable for dairy-based and plant-based food and beverages and have been created to deliver high performing authentic flavour with enhanced indulgence, mouthfeel and masking capabilities.
Only time will tell what the long-lasting effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the bakery sector will be, but signs so far suggest that it will be able to weather this storm thanks to its adaptability and the enduring consumer demand for affordable indulgence while under enforced lockdowns. Manufacturers can lean on flavour companies to help deliver these important products that meet consumer expectation without a premium price tag.
With extensive experience in ingredient production for diverse bakery applications, Synergy’s expertise means it can help customers to improve performance and create products that stand out from the crowd. Synergy’s toolbox offers a range of appealing flavours including the latest trends such as botanicals and flavour fusion varieties which work in conjunction with the Dairy by Nature portfolio to help customers reach their formulation objectives for foods and beverages.
To learn more, follow this link to our Dariy by Nature page
Article originally posted: International Bakery
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