The home baking category fell into one of Innova Market Insights’ top ten food and beverage trends – ‘simpler pleasures’ and was “one of the most interesting categories within bakery”, according to Lu Ann Williams.
It was a category she said had been fueled by recessionary times as consumers turned to luxury and sophistication at home and celebrity chefs endorsed home baking products.
Speaking to BakeryandSnacks.com at IFT 2014, Williams said there was huge scope for global growth with products that targeted children.
“There’s a whole new world of new young chefs that want to do things at home,” she said.
Home baking with a healthy twist
She said while traditional pies and syrups would continue to be popular with children, there was scope to develop fruit-based fillings and mousses or dried fruits for toppings.
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity to make it indulgent, but maybe a little bit more healthy indulgence.”
Williams warned, however, that shelf-life had to be considered if manufacturers introduced fruit into baking kits.
Not just for girls…
She said the scope for children-targeted home baking stretched beyond girls. “The other thing that’s interesting is boys like home it as much as girls do, so I think it’s a big opportunity to do marketing to all kids.”
Manufacturers should develop engaging marketing campaigns that were interactive, she said – perhaps a YouTube channel where kids could upload videos of them baking and showing others what they created. Lego, for example, had an interactive site that had proved extremely successful.
Go global!
Williams said the opportunities to push home baking were global, because baking was a concept that had stretched across the globe.
“I’ve been to Chile and seen cupcake stores; Granada in Spain and seen red velvet flavor; Churros are now seen in Europe. Baking trends are moving across the world.”