B A K E RY F E AT U R E
Over the past year many
supermarkets have noticed
their sales of in-store baked
standard white and brown
bread slipping. At the same
time their sales of plant
bakery bread have been
steadily climbing. The instore bakery is being left
high and dry with the staff,
the equipment and the space
invested in it but no longer
earning its keep. What’s
happening? And, is there
anything that can be done
about it? Supermarket &
Retailer investigated and
found some useful answers.
The good news is that there
is hope for the in-store
bakery to get their bread
offering right and continue
to grow confectionery’s
share of sales.
By Stephen Maister and
Laura Durham
Part of a cycle
The recipe
for growing
standard bread
and
confectionery
sales
traditional position as a less healthy alter­
native. This has been attributed to product
innovations, such as Albany’s Best of Both
combination of the health of brown but
the look of white bread. Braithwaite notes
that the demand for brown bread has been
growing steadily from 2008, as a result of
the cheaper pricing and the health trend.
Consistent quality
Problems with in-store bread quality
include inconsistent, shape, size, weight and
appearance, taste, goes dry overnight and
does not keep.
Paul Sartorius, whose family is a major
KZN producer of frozen dough products for
in-store bakeries has had years of exposure
to them, says one of the first things to look
at are the ovens. Have they been serviced
recently? If one of the heating elements is
broken, the bread will not bake evenly and
will cause the bread to grow dry.
Next is the recipe. Many supermarkets
are using the same recipe they got when
their bakery was first commissioned.
Since then we have had major wheat
shortages that has resulted in varying
qualities of flour being delivered to
supermarkets.
The solution is to work closely with
your flour supplier. Changes in quality of
flour require adjustments in the recipe.
It is a good idea, says Sartorius, to get
the supplier’s master baker in every two
months to do a test bake to check that the
recipe, the equipment and the production
technique are all up to standard.
Another major reason for the short life
(and quality) of in-store bread is simply the
result of skimping on the fat content, note
some critics.
Plant bakeries have got some major
production advantages over supermarkets.
They have achieved consistent shape,
weight and appearance with a fine
crumb structure through automation and
advanced processing which most in-store
bakeries find hard to emulate.
▲
Shane McMeeking, managing director of
Macadams notes that it is cyclical with
plant then in-store bakery bread sales
taking the ascendency. Martin Schoeman,
senior retail operations manager at Spar
KZN agrees, suggesting that it may take up
to five years for in-store bakery bread to
reach the top again.
Plant bakeries have been clearly
doing a lot of things right of late. These,
according to the experts we spoke to
include consistent quality and appearance,
packaging, slicing, branding and freshness.
According to BMI research director, Dana
Braithwaite, bread continues to dominate
the baked products market with a share of
92.4%. The white/brown split sees white
bread continuing to dominate the market
with 47.8%, despite its higher price and
BAKERY
BATTLEGROUND
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SUPERMARKET & RETAILER, FEBRUARY 2011
▲
BAKERY FEATURE
To slice or not to slice?
There was a time when plant bread was
never sliced. This put it on par with in-store
bread. Now all plant bakeries deliver their
bread to supermarkets already pre-sliced.
Most supermarkets don’t pre-slice their
in-store bread. There is usually the option
for shoppers to slice it themselves with
a slicing machine is sometimes on hand
nearby at the bakery, but many stores less
conveniently place it outside the checkouts.
Shoppers to whom convenience and
speed is important and want their bread
sliced, plant bread has simply got to win.
The majority of middle and upper
income shoppers find the 13mm slice
thickness is just right. What about those
shoppers who want thicker slices? An
option for a 16mm cut (currently the
thickest, bread slicer slice available) could
appeal to them. And those who want even
thicker: ‘Doorstep slices’ – as so many
in the lower income groups do – will
obviously want the uncut loaves. In which
case the store loaf wins!
One slicer option stores can investigate
are machines that offer a choice of
two slice thicknesses. These extra wide
machines do one thickness on one side of
the machine and another thickness on the
other – typically 13mm and 16mm slices
but can be anywhere from 8mm to 16mm.
These slicers may well also be an option
for buyers of speciality breads, the harder
ryes for example where a thinner slice is
often desired.
Trying to slice hot bread leads to a crumbled mess and a destroyed loaf, which is a cost to the
retailer. That is the logic for positioning the slicer outside the checkout area to give the bread time
to cool and make it a more valuable item to the customer. However, this is inconvenient and a
hassle for the customer, who might then opt for pre-sliced plant bread instead.
plastic bags are printed in colour and
contain product and nutrient information
and reflect other marketing activity.
Supermarkets in contrast – by and
large – have just the same old cheap, thin,
plain plastic bags. This, together with all
the quality associations of plant bread has
to make a positive impact on consumer
choice. It all helps keep in-store bakery
bread looking, well, cheap.
There is a practical aspect to packaging.
Putting the bread in bags not only is a
hygiene and physical protection measure
but it also slows down moisture loss. Dry
bread is also one of the major detractions
of in-store standard loaves. And it is
something that supermarkets just have to
get their heads around and up their game
according to the experts we interviewed.
Fresh versus Hot Fresh
Plant bakeries have made huge strides in
this area over the past five years. Their
One area where plant bakeries have upped
their game is in the area of freshness. Both
Branches:
011-613-3993
(City Deep)
011-848-5000
(Midrand)
015-293-0526
013-752-2213
018-469-1162
051-433-1709
031-205-4220
041-461-1276
043-722-4228
044-873-0562
▲
Packaging and branding
their packaging of bread and increased
number of deliveries per day to stores have
upped their game in the freshness stakes.
One thing that in-store bakeries can do
that plant bakeries can’t is offer hot fresh
bread. Hot bread fresh out of the oven is
still a major winner – especially with lower
income shoppers.
Many stores fail to exploit this
opportunity by making and baking all their
bread for the day in one batch, early in the
morning. Plant bakeries often make more
than one delivery a day if necessary so inhouse bakeries need to be able to cater for
this demand. Adjusting baking schedules to
offer hot fresh bread just out of the oven at
peak demand times – breakfast, lunch and
on the way home time will go a long way
to restore the competitiveness of in-store
bakery.
Baking fresh bread throughout the day
also helps create an atmosphere in the
store, with delicious smells wafting from
Our shared passion for consistent quality and innovation has lead to
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of the Dutch company Zeelandia’s product range in South Africa.
Ask your Goosebumps representative
to demonstrate the taste sensation
of matching Goosebumps
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SUPERMARKET & RETAILER, FEBRUARY 2011
www.zeelandia.com
The interactive cake stand is a great way for staff to showcase their cake creativity, as
well as allow customers a taste of the offering!
BAKERY FEATURE: CASE STUDY
produce,” he says. 90% of everything in the
bakery is baked on the premises and the
offering reflects “all tastes and pockets”.
An interactive cake station provides a
platform for the confectioners to showcase
their cakes and treats for birthdays and
other special occasions. Karayiannides says
that although they do not sell too many
birthday cakes, the cake station gives
customers the opportunity to taste them
and enjoy the bakery experience in store.
The smalls counter sells a range of
delicious looking confectionery, up to 700
variants, he says. This means that there
is always something new on offer and
customers love the variety. “Our bakery
is an integral part of the food theatre
experience in the store and the freedom
of expression is key to its success,”
Karayiannides concludes.
A bakery to boast about
at President Hyper
Hot, fresh and creative is the
reason that the bakery has
become a destination department
in the Krugersdorp store. Nick
Karayiannides, executive food
services and marketing at
President Hyper, says that allowing
staff the freedom to get creative,
experiment and showcase their
new ideas is why the bakery is so
popular with their customers from
all income groups.
The store has found a way to satisfy those
shoppers who want their in-store bakery
bread hot and fresh and those who want it
fresh, sliced and packaged. They put out the
racks from the oven for the shoppers that
want hot fresh bread. Once the bread has
cooled they wrap it up leaving half unsliced
and slicing the rest for shoppers who want
their bread that way. And by this time, the
next batch of hot bread has arrived from
the ovens.
Interestingly, Karayiannides says there
is a marked trend away from slicing at all.
“The saying may be ‘the best thing since
sliced bread’ but we’re starting to say ‘the
best thing since unsliced bread!’” He says
that regular unsliced brown and white
bread, as well speciality breads like 100%
rye have become very popular. It seems
shoppers are moving back to a more ‘rustic’
way of eating, pulling off chunks of bread
to eat with stews, curries or dip in balsamic
vinegar and olive oil.
“Our staff enjoy the freedom of
expression but they also know that they
have to be accountable for whatever they
Customers can enjoy fresh, hot bread which is
put out on racks in the bakery. Once the bread
has cooled, it is sliced and packaged for those
customers that prefer it that way.
President Hyper’s bakery is a destination department in their store and the wide range of
confectionery and baked goods attracts all tastes and all pockets.
11
SUPERMARKET & RETAILER, FEBRUARY 2011
▲
BAKERY FEATURE
the bakery. But, as Schoeman points out,
“people aren’t staying in the store to
drink in the ambience – they are looking
for convenience and a quick shopping
experience generally”. Plus there are now
artificial ways to create the fresh bread
fragrance in the bakery.
One thing you can’t do is to slice fresh
hot bread – it breaks up. This is probably
one reason why many store operators have
moved their slicer to outside the checkout
the area – it puts the risk of destroying the
loaf onto the customer once they have
paid for it.
Slicers positioned outside the checkout
area are even more inconvenient for
shoppers than slicers to hand at the bakery.
When they’ve had the hassle of waiting
at the checkout and they’ve now paid
and ready to go they don’t want to stop
and mess with a bread slicer. However,
Schoeman shares the logic of the decision
to place the slicer outside the checkout
area: “Up to two loaves of bread purchased
per batch may be wasted because of
customers crushing the hot bread in the
slicer at the bakery. If it is at the checkout,
the bread has had time to cool and it has
been paid for, making it a more valuable
item for the customers.”
If you are going to slice and wrap the
bread yourself, you may want to investigate
semi-automatic slicers, which become
economical, say the experts, for quantities
of 3 000 loaves a day.
This store bakes 250 loaves of bread each day. Although a Rand cheaper than the cheapest plant
bread on sale in the store, customers still tend to go for the branded loaf – no doubt because of
the shelf-life, quality and consistency associated with the label.
Consider confectionery
For now, it is more lucrative for retailers to
concentrate on their confectionery offering
in the bakery. “Margins are so much better
and 40% of our bakery sales come from
confectionery at around 50% margin,”
notes Spar’s Schoeman. In fact, some of the
bigger urban stores have actually closed
down their bread making completely to
rather concentrate on confectionery and
accept the present boom of plant bread.
The three most important factors for a
successful confectionery offering, according
to Schoeman, are range, quality and fresh-
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SUPERMARKET & RETAILER, FEBRUARY 2011
ness. Staff training is obviously
important and allowing the bakery staff
a little freedom to get creative with the
confectionery could lead to some surprising
results!
According to BMI, the demand for baked
confectionery continues to be “significantly
lower than the demand for bread, with
confectionery accounting for a limited
7.6% of the total baked products market”.
However, the forecast – which is seconded
by retailers – is that baked confectionery is
set to keep growing. This is good news for
in-store bakeries that have switched
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from baking their own bread to focusing on
confectionery for the near future.
Lower income shoppers are big fans of
creamy and colourful confectionery, such
as school buns, cream buns and snowballs.
But by far the most popular item from the
bakery is the queen cakes (un-iced vanilla
cupcakes). Schoeman says that there has
been a “revolution” in queen cakes and
customers bulk buy them (100 in a bucket)
for funerals and other family gatherings. For
example, the Bridge City SuperSpar bakes
around 5 000 queen cakes each day – and
they always get sold out!
Displays and promotion
There are a number of display options
available to the in-house bakery. A well-lit
display cabinet showcases confectionery
effectively and the bright colours, creamy
textures and ‘eat me now’ appeal will draw
customers to the counter. Staff need to be
trained to know the difference between the
items and to always use tongs or gloved
hands when handling them. There are a
number of packaging options available as
well: the traditional ‘pie’ packet, cardboard
boxes or even window cartons. John Fox
from Natural Pack shares the benefits of
window cartons for retailers, customers
and the environment: “Providing the best
possible view of a product in a carton is
essential for customer appeal at pointof-purchase. With customers becoming
increasingly aware of the environmental
issues surrounding packaging, having a
green solution which enhances the environ­
mental credibility is also important.”
Creating a bakery display at the front
of the store is an effective way to promote
special occasion confectionery (for example,
hot cross buns for Easter) or as a ‘last of
the best sellers’ idea to get rid of products
that are not as fresh (but still way before
the sell-by date). Different size packs, such
as six muffins to a tray or the 100 queen
cake bucket is also helpful to customers.
You could even offer some tasters of a
new recipe on a Saturday morning – it will
certainly do a lot to persuade them to buy
an entire cake because no one says no to a
free taste offer!
Where do you stand
with your bread?
As with every department, the bakery is a great place to cross-merchandise. Place ‘luxury’ drinks
next to the cakes to complete a customer’s afternoon indulgence; or provide pretty plates and
cake lifters to help the entertainers.
compare with its plant bread competitor?
How long does your bread last before it is
dried out and stale? Write a comparative
profile of yours versus the plant bread
competitor.
How do they compete with the main
customer demographics shopping your
store? Look across price, weight, size and
appearance, texture, taste, fresh hot versus
fresh, shelf life in the home, slicing and
wrapping, slice thickness, packaging and
branding and nutritional information.
Put together an action plan. Get in your
flour supplier’s master bakers to do test
bakes. Act. Despite the great strides in
freshness, quality, packaging and branding
made by plant bakeries in recent years,
in-store bakeries still have a lot going for
them in the standard white and brown loaf
business. To turn the cycle, you have to add
to the in-store bakery price advantage. Not
only will you sell more but you will create
a compelling reason for consumers to shop
your store.
▲
The first thing to do is to look at you bread.
Does it vary in weight, size, shape and
appearance? Break open a loaf – what is
the texture and crumb size. How does this
By far the most popular item from the bakery is the queen cakes (un-iced vanilla cupcakes).
Customers bulk buy them (100 in a bucket) for funerals and other family gatherings. For example,
the Bridge City SuperSpar bakes around 5 000 queen cakes each day!
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SUPERMARKET & RETAILER, FEBRUARY 2011
▲
BAKERY FEATURE
Improving
bakery
product
shelf-life
with
cryogenics
In working with various commercial
bakeries, Air Products has discovered that
it is not only the flour that needs to be
chilled for top quality baking, but often
the secondary ingredients as well. They
have developed a number of customised
solutions, using liquid nitrogen, to assist
with ingredient chilling throughout the
baking process. For example, flour needs to
be chilled either during storage, transport­
ation to the mixer or within the mixer
‘Stale’, ‘soggy’ and ‘tasteless’
are not words that a bakery
wants to hear but for some
stores, it is the reality due to
inconsistent ingredient quality
in their in-house bakeries and
an inefficient supply chain from
commercial bakeries. However,
cryogenics (using liquid
nitrogen to chill the ingredients
and/or finished product) offers
solutions to commercial bakery
operations.
itself. Liquid nitrogen – which turns into
gas when it comes into contact with warm
ingredients, can be injected into the flour
transfer system or at the dough mixing
stage successfully ‘removing’ the heat from
them, explains Trevor Cain, global food
commercial technology manager at Air
Products.
Cryogenics has been used in food
processing for over 40 years, particularly in
the fresh food sector, for products
such as beef patties, poultry, seafood and
bakery products. The advantage of using
cryogenics, as opposed to using mechanical
freezers, is that the cooling period is
significantly reduced. This fast freezing
reduces the size of the ice crystals which
form within the food product, resulting in
better texture, flavour, reduced dehydration
and lower drip loss when the product is
defrosted. Flour and dough chilling are the
most recent innovative additions to the
many applications already available.
“Baking ingredients are very sensitive,
particularly those that use yeast, and
this process ensures that the texture,
consistency, quality and taste are not
compromised,” explains Cain.
There is, of course, the issue of food
safety, but liquid nitrogen is absolutely
pure and is completely safe for consumers
who enjoy the finished product. As
an ‘ingredient’, it is fully accepted by
regulators world-wide, assures Cain.
These commercial operations have a lot
on their side, he notes, “consistent quality
product, longer shelf life, economies of
scale and the power of distribution – so
long as there is a working cold chain in
place!” For these commercial enterprises
that deliver across the country, cryogenic
freezing of unbaked, par-baked or fully
baked products can ensure peace of mind
that their products can be delivered in
perfect condition to the point of sale at
any time.
Many in-store bakeries are choosing to focus
on their confectionery offering rather than
try compete with plant bread. A well-lit
display cabinet enables you to showcase
the confectionery effectively and the bright
colours, creamy textures and ‘eat me now’
appeal will draw customers to the counter.
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SUPERMARKET & RETAILER, FEBRUARY 2011