Milling & Baking News - October 5, 2021 - 20

TUES | 10 05 2021
NextGenBaker speakers say shifts in
consumer buying habits here to stay
W
hile it was clear the coronavirus
pandemic had a major
impact on consumer habits in
2020, the big question looming concerns
the permanency of that impact.
Cyrille Filott, global strategist of
consumer food, and JP Frossard, vice
president and consumer foods analyst
of Rabobank, provided insights into that
question at the American Bakers Association's
(ABA) NextGenBaker virtual
leadership forum, held Sept. 14-16.
" The longer the virus lingers and we
are exposed to these new habits, the
more permanent these changes will be, "
Mr. Frossard said.
The pandemic's most significant
impacts on the food industry involve how
people shop and consume food as well as
what items they are choosing to purchase.
Changes in workplace norms remain a
year later, for example, and show few
signs of returning to 2019 norms.
Specifically, many consumers will continue
to work from home in some capacity,
even as office spaces open. Rabobank
estimated that people will work from
home at least one more day a week than
they did pre-pandemic.
" This is an important trend because
it changes consumption, " Mr. Filott
explained. " Twenty percent of the location
of lunch occasions will change, and the
location will shift from business areas to
closer to home. "
Purchase patterns also are changing.
Health and wellness was the biggest
trend before the pandemic, and it still
has its place. But during the first six
months of the pandemic last year, there
was a shift toward comfort foods and
premium products.
With a renewed interest in cooking, consumers
tended to trade up in product quality
and splurge on brands. That speaks to a
concern during 2020 that did not pan out:
the possibility of a long-lasting recession.
" Fortunately, the economic recovery
came much earlier than expected, " Mr.
Frossard said, pointing to how stimulus
checks helped consumers feel secure
enough to splurge on food-related purchases.
" Since the economic impact was
short-lived, the consumer was looking
and is still looking for comfort and paying
the extra buck for a superior product
to replicate that restaurant experience. "
Grain-based products had a strong
Kroger and
Instacart have
launched 'Kroger
Delivery Now'
nationwide to provide
30-minute
delivery enabled
by first-of-its-kind
virtual convenience
store.
20 MILLING & BAKING NEWS
showing in 2020, and that strength continues
today, though there is some nuance.
While purchases of pasta and flour
have returned to 2019 levels in terms of
volume, categories like bread, cookies,
crackers, muffins, bagels and donuts are
growing beyond 2020 levels.
Mr. Frossard said much of
the success for donuts and
muffins could be because they
simplify in-store bakery operations,
especially from a labor
perspective.
" We're in the age of low
complexity; that's a hot asset
now, " he said.
Strong sales for bakery
products also point to changing consumer
shopping habits. Before the
pandemic, most consumers shopped the
perimeter of supermarkets, but coronavirus
concerns sent shoppers back to the
center store and freezer aisles.
Mr. Frossard pointed out retailers
could benefit from reevaluating how
baked foods are merchandised in the
store to make shopping more inviting
and efficient.
" Despite new launches and investment
in R&D, the way products are displayed
in physical stores hasn't changed much, "
he said. " We had the introduction of the
in-store bakery, but we kept the center
aisle and even bread products in the
freezer aisle. We have bakery products
spread out in three areas of the store,
and that's very confusing. "
He pointed to the ABA's Power of
Bakery report in 2019 showing that only
11% of survey respondents like the way
supermarkets are laid out now. While
this challenge isn't new, the pandemic
has provided an opportunity to reevaluate
and reinvent.
" The momentum is supportive for
retailers to revisit this strategy, " he said.
" They are trying to save on labor, make
things more efficient and trying to get consumers
into the store more often because
traffic is still down, so it's up to the industry
to push for some change to improve the
visibility of the product in the store and
make them remember how important bakery
is to improving their traffic. "
The biggest shift in consumer shopping
behavior involves the explosion
of e-commerce. Mr. Filott noted that the
jump in online sales seen since 2020
remains above 2019 levels.
" We are seeing the first indications
bakingbusiness.com
CONSUMER trends
©ANAUMENKO - STOCK.ADOBE.COM AND KROGER CO.
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Milling & Baking News - October 5, 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - October 5, 2021
