In any business, knowing the current consumer trends is crucial to building a successful company. A business cannot properly survive if the owner is oblivious to the consumers’ wants and needs. If the owner is in tune with his or her business’ consumer trends and understands what products to capitalize on, and marketing strategies to implement, the business can thrive.
Understanding consumer trends is incredibly crucial in the bakery business. No industry has quite the swings in consumer trends like the food industry. Significant trends for the bakery, pastry, and chocolate parts of businesses have been rising and there are a few trends that stand out as the most important ones of 2019.
In this blog, we will outline some of those trends, and show why they are important to the success of any bakery business.
Taste and the bakery business
One of the most important (and more obvious) constantly-changing trends is taste among consumers of bakery products. While there are other important factors – such as health and appearance – the taste of the product can make or break a company and should be kept at the forefront of all bakery owners’ priorities. It is up to the owner to try and figure out whether his or her customer base is more interested in traditional tastes, or if he or she has customers with more adventurous palates.
Going hand-in-hand with taste, texture, and appearance are just as important. People are oftentimes willing to spend more money on a product depending on the appearance of the treats. Additionally, a majority of customers like to experiment with the textures of the items they buy. This is especially important for certain types of baked goods that cater to dietary restrictions, such as gluten-free or vegan. That brings us to the next point, which relates to the health components of baked goods.
Health and the bakery business
The search for healthy foods has expanded past just taking out ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup or artificial dyes. These days, natural ingredients are at the forefront of consumers’ wants and needs. The balance a bakery owner must find is finding the “sweet spot” between healthy and tasty.
Healthy ingredients tend to taste slightly different than the more typical ingredients that are more fattening. Grains, fruits, nuts, cocoa, and natural sweeteners can provide the bakery owner the ability to walk that fine line.
For those items that are not filled with healthy ingredients, keeping the portion small can help a baker market the product better. Consumers are more willing to buy a product that is more indulgent if it is a smaller, more snack-sized treat. Consumers can be driven by nostalgia and offering small cakes and pastries can sway the consumer into buying a slightly less-healthy treat.
Freshness
Freshness is not necessarily a new trend, but it has been skyrocketing in popularity for the past few years. In fact, most consumers have been known to associate freshness with quality. This is especially realized by retail bakeries, grocery stores, or any outlet that sells baked goods. Oftentimes, if a consumer finds a product that does not use fresh ingredients, he or she is more likely to pass up the purchase for a different product. The consumer has begun thinking of the following questions before making any purchase:
- When was the product baked?
- What’s the expiration date?
- What is the texture, taste, or smell?
- How is the item packaged?
A bakery owner can give a product the best chance at success by using only the freshest ingredients to make sure he or she can maximize the freshness and flavors of each product.
As with any business owner, a baker must keep in tune with the latest trends in consumer habits and needs. If a baker wants to keep ahead of his or her competition, he or she needs to know how to properly take advantage of each new trend. Whether it is putting more work in the taste or texture, making the appearance top-notch, or following the latest health and freshness trends, the baker must experiment with his or her ingredients and cooking expertise to make sure he or she has the top bakery in the minds of all consumers. A bakery is only as good as its clientele and if it does not keep up with the ever-changing trends, its clientele will find another bakery that will.
Interested in learning more about Harvest Food Solutions and how we can help your bakery business? Give us a call to see a demo of our perishable foods software and how it can make an impact on your business
