The challenges
Demand for certified organic bakery goods has tripled in the past few years, growing more than nearly every other processed organic food sector – including baby food. In contrast, the general bakery industry grew quite modestly at an average 1.4% per annum for the five years to 2017, due mainly to increasing competition. While the organic baked goods sector is booming, bakery overall is still facing several industry challenges, including:
- Coeliac and gluten-sensitivity: more people are being diagnosed with this autoimmune disease and must medically avoid gluten
- Lifestyle-driven gluten avoidance: an increasing number of people are choosing to be gluten free, following the belief it will help with weight loss and general overall health improvement; these consumers are typically younger females with a tertiary degree, in high-income households
- Transitioning to the new labelling laws: the Australian Government has reformed country-of-origin labelling for food products, including bakery
- Skills training: to encourage higher proficiency levels and address apprenticeship dropouts (new techniques and methods of training are critical to reduce the high number of those withdrawing from their apprenticeship employment)
- Paleo diet: grain breads are not allowed on this increasingly popular way of eating
- Trade Measure Law: understanding and meeting obligations
What’s at foodpro to help your business?
In Australia and globally, baked goods are entrenched in people’s daily lives — sometimes with a celebratory or religious significance. So while bakery-industry revenue is influenced by changeable consumer demand and fluctuating disposable-income levels, which both affect buying behaviour, consumers will always want the basics. The key for business sustainability and growth is to develop new products and use on-trend ingredients.
At foodpro, bakers will find:
- baking and bread-making equipment, commercial ovens
- fillings, toppings, and a wide range of ingredients (such as flavours, extracts, flours, grains and seeds, malts, spices, seasoning, stabilisers and so on)
- hygiene and sanitation
- food packaging
- labelling technologies
- testing, weighing and inspection equipment
- education providers and association representatives
See here for a full list of exhibitors.
Seeing dietary challenges such as gluten avoidance as an opportunity, and creating new products using non-grain flours to is important for business sustainability. While the rising interest in artisan and organic products provides bakers with many opportunities.
Supply Chain Integrity
Traceability is also important — particularly in the organics sector — so a new zone on the show floor will be launched – “Supply Chain Integrity Zone”. This will showcase traceability solutions, especially for smaller manufacturers. zone will feature 11 exhibitorsThe showcasing solutions and technology to assist with supply chain integrity.
A series of Supply Chain Integrity Seminars will also be held exploring the future of food manufacturing, what’s next in retail supply chain technology, future personalised nutrition, the sustainable value chain of the future and more. Find out more.
Bread is the “staff of life”; make sure your bakery business remains the staff of your customers’ lives by seeing all the latest inputs, equipment and knowledge at foodpro.