The development trend of China's baking industry is remarkable

Reporter Bao Xiaotie

Recently, at the forum hosted by the China Bakery and Confectionery Industry Association and Beijing Bekerui Exhibition Service Co.
, Ltd.
, Sullivan, an internationally renowned consulting company, and Anchor Professional Dairy jointly released the "Analysis of the Status Quo and Future Trend of China's Baking Market in the Post-epidemic Era" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"
).
Zhang Gejian, Partner and Managing Director of Sullivan Greater China, and Zhang Xiaojing, Executive Director of Greater China, interpreted the report at the forum
.

The report provides in-depth interpretation from four perspectives: bakery industry overview, baking enterprise operation performance, baking enterprise R&D analysis, and consumer insight, explores industry changes, channel potential, consumer concerns and market opportunities under the current situation, and provides professional data and ideas for
baking enterprises to innovate and upgrade, low-carbon transformation, expand the market, digital marketing, etc.

Zhang Gejian introduced that China's baking market has great growth potential in the future
.
In recent years, the continuous increase in urbanization rate, disposable income and purchasing power has promoted the continuous penetration of the bakery market, which in turn has promoted the per capita consumption expenditure of baked goods
.
On the one hand, with the upgrading of consumption and the increase of acceptance of Western food and food culture by many consumers, the consumption of baked goods has developed towards diversification and high-end, promoting the continuous innovation and improvement of the baking industry; On the other hand, with the popularity of digital marketing and takeaway on all platforms, the number of transaction users has increased significantly, reaching a wider range of consumer groups, and bringing both revenue and operational efficiency to bakery brands, boosting the further development
of the baking market.

Zhang Xiaojing said that the epidemic has brought many impacts
to baking companies.
From the perspective of enterprises, after the outbreak of the epidemic, bakery companies have paid more attention to digital innovation and upgrading in terms of products, channels and marketing, such as launching online limited products, self-built online ordering platforms, and live streaming goods
.
At the same time, the proportion of enterprise online channel revenue has increased
significantly.
From the consumer side, consumers pay significantly more attention to food quality and safety when purchasing baked goods
.

The report pointed out that China's baking industry presents five development trends: First, bakery products are diversified, healthy, snacked and interesting to meet the changing needs
of young consumers.
Second, baking enterprises are committed to developing and selecting better quality raw materials and functional and nutritious healthy ingredients, which are organically combined
with baked goods.
Third, multi-channel digital marketing + live broadcast and online consumption have become a new trend in marketing
.
Fourth, the baking channels are diversified and diversified, with the new Chinese style leading the growth of the industry and the continuous extension
of new forces in baking cross-border.
Fifth, under the "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality" plans, it is expected that China's baking industry is expected to gradually practice the concept
of low-carbon production from the upstream in the future.

According to the report, the R&D trends of Chinese bakery enterprises include youthfulness, product innovation, seasonal R&D, baking black technology, industrialization 2.
0, low-carbon environmental protection and other directions
.

Rejuvenation has become mainstream
.
In order to meet the needs of the main consumer group Generation Z, the interviewed bakery head brands pay attention to product appearance upgrade, trend and health, and are committed to making baked goods a "fashionable" carrier
in young people's consumption.

Product innovation is indispensable
.
Consumption upgrading has prompted the interviewed enterprises to improve the requirements for R&D iteration, product diversity, taste and functionality of food raw materials.
Chinese bakery categories are rich and diverse, and in recent years, new Chinese bakery brands and national trends have emerged, becoming one of the main growth points of the
baking industry.

Seasonal R&D comes to the forefront
.
The use of fresh seasonal ingredients to develop seasonal or festive products is the focus
of seasonal R&D for the surveyed bakeries.
Among them, mooncakes, as traditional Chinese seasonal baked goods, are a key category of baking seasonal research and development, the overall market scale has maintained a slight increase, the sales of head brands have increased, and room temperature mooncakes will remain mainstream
.

Baking black technology is on the agenda
.
With the increase of consumers' functional demand for bakery products, "black technology" raw materials such as lactic acid bacteria, probiotics, and collagen have become another possibility
for new product development.

Industrialization 2.
0 is maturing
.
In the future, the overall industrialization of the baking industry will continue to increase, and industrialization 2.
0, represented by industrialized semi-finished product production + store baking and decoration, is expected to become an optimal solution
to balance product production efficiency and quality.

Low-carbon environmental protection throughout
.
The baking industry actively responds to the "14th Five-Year Plan" and incorporates low-carbon environmental protection into the consideration standards of raw materials and processes
.
In the baking industry, the key link of low-carbon environmental protection is the upstream animal husbandry industry and production process, and leading companies in the industry have carried out relevant carbon neutrality research
on its carbon emissions.

The report also focuses on consumer insights, comprehensively analyzing the consumption psychology and consumption habits of baked goods consumers from the perspectives of consumer portrait, main consumption purpose of baked goods, main consumption
scenarios and time periods, shelf life preferences, purchase channels, single purchase price range and purchase frequency, as well as preferences for taste, texture, flavor and functionality of baked goods, and consumers' awareness of milk fat and vegetable milk fat.

From the perspective of consumers' age, gender, occupation and average monthly income, the main consumer groups of baked goods are post-90s and post-00s, female consumers, school students and white-collar workers, and the age structure has shown a younger trend
in recent years.

From the perspective of shelf life preference, consumers prefer fresh and short-term baked goods, and more than half of consumers choose same-day instant food and short-term warranty in the three types of baked goods of bread, cake and midpoint.

From the perspective of purchase channels, leading bakery companies have strengthened their online ordering systems, and the growth rate of online channels is significant, mainly reaching consumers through e-commerce platforms and takeaway platforms, and the overall online purchase of baked goods accounts for about 30%; At present, offline chain bakeries and bakeries are still the most important purchase channels
for baked goods.

From the perspective of preferences for the taste, texture, flavor and functionality of baked goods, consumers generally prefer baked goods with fruit flavor, soft texture and stronger milk flavor, while at the same time, in the current increasing focus on eating health, consumers prefer baked goods with lower sugar, and the use of functional raw materials such as high fiber, high protein, high calcium and trace elements has also received varying degrees of attention
.
All kinds of baked goods categories, superimposed on the product matrix of taste, texture, flavor and functionality, are conducive to empowering product innovation and fission
.

From the perspective of consumers' awareness of milk fat and vegetable milk fat, more than sixty percent of consumers are familiar with the difference between milk fat cream, vegetable cream, and mixed cream, as well as animal butter, margarine, and mixed butter, and the consumer awareness of milk fat has basically been popularized
.
More than seventy percent of consumers pay attention to and prioritize the purchase of baked goods using milk fat, and with the gradual deepening of consumers' awareness of milk fat, and the consumption upgrade superimposed on the concept of healthy eating, the use of milk fat will become the mainstream of the industry and the market norm in the future
.

China Food News(November 14, 2022, Version 05)