Speaking exclusively to BakeryandSnacks.com, Peter Becker said that the German bakery market remained very strong given the economic difficulties in Europe, but identified clear areas for future growth.
“Products produced in the region and sold in the region promise big benefit for bakers,” Becker said.
“Consumers like the regional products. But bakery manufacturers will have to produce special regional products at a high quality and market them in a special way.”
The president said there is a clear shift away from traditional grains like wheat and rye, towards ancient grains like amaranth and spelt.
Small bakeries to profit big
There are clear opportunities for the small and medium bakeries, Becker said.
“These small bakeries are the companies that are producing specialty baked goods, so they have a good chance to continue into the future.”
“When consumers buy bread and products from a smaller bakery, there is a sense of better value – it’s about trust.”
A soaring ‘out of home eating’ trend, driven by the rise in single living in Germany is also benefitting the sector, he said.
Just over half (55%) of households in the country are single occupancy, Becker said. “Especially in big cities, there are more and more single households where consumers are mostly eating outside. This out of home market provides huge opportunities for bakers.”
The challenge: Offsetting energy and raw material prices
The president said that industry continues to battle high energy and raw material prices, and manufacturers are working hard to innovate while keeping costs down.
“We have a lot of problems about the cost of energy and increase in material prices – this is a very strong issue for the industry. I think eventually the price of bread and baked good products will go up.”
He said that these price shifts may happen at different times depending on the company, and that they would likely be fairly small, not severe.