The following is an excerpt from a recent report developed by Rabobank.
Covid-19 has affected bakery players in different ways. With foodservice representing as much as 70% of their sales, frozen bakery players have seen reduced orders as food consumption changes from restaurants to home kitchens. Meanwhile, retail players – mostly in the fresh bread segment – rushed to feed a population that from one day to the next was told to stay at home.
The above symbolizes a major, albeit potentially temporary, reversal on previous trends. In February, we reported stagnated bread consumption in retail, with foodservice as a pocket of growth. Our “The Greatest Thing Since Sliced (Organic) Bread: Innovation in the Bread Aisle” report urged fresh bread companies to focus on innovation to keep the category’s relevance and resume top-line growth.
Two months later, we look at how bakeries and consumers have navigated through the first month of stay-at-home orders, and evaluate if our previous strategy of innovation in the retail portfolio is still up-to-date.
