According to a Baking Ingredients & Mixes market update issued by Mintel this month, Europe continues to be the largest market for these products, accounting for over one third of the global market.
Using statistics drawn from its Global New Products Database (GNPD), Mintel found that the three most popular claims on consumer baking mix products focused on convenience and naturalness. Some 17 per cent of new launches in Europe in the past six months claimed ‘ease of use’, while 13 per cent carried ‘organic’ labels and 10 per cent claimed to contain ‘no additives/preservatives’.
Easy baking
According to Mintel, home baking continues to be a traditional pastime for a large number of people, butt this must be coupled with convenience as . "[...] time-crunched consumers have little time to weigh, decipher, judge, inspect, compare and select what's best for them and their families."
This makes it crucial for home baking products to carry clear instructions and simple ingredients lists, as well as deliver ready-to serve formulations if they are to counter competitions from ready-made products such as cakes and bread.
‘Ease of use’ claims appeared on 17 per cent of all global launches in the category over the past six months, followed by ‘time/speed’ claims on 5 per cent. Other claims highlighted included a short preparation time (e.g. 10 minutes), or products that claimed to be instantly made or that contained ready-measured portions.
Convenient packaging was also important for the sector, accounting for 4 per cent of the market in the review period. Formats included resealable packs, packs with built-in levelling, easy opening packs and packs with internal trays for easy serving.
‘Purer’ products
Organic, natural and additive-free are also popular claims in the category, said Mintel.
“People are increasingly craving purer and simpler products that do or taste exactly as promised on the pack; i.e. no hidden extras or potentially harmful chemicals. Opting for as pure products as possible, is a way of controlling that we are not consuming ingredients that may have an adverse effect on us or our lives.”
“Despite the recession and the inevitable cut-back in budgets, organic lines have remained successful. Part of this success, at least in the UK, has been the growing availability of cheaper organic lines from supermarkets and private label ranges. This means that the lines have remained accessible to a large segment of society, regardless of wallet size.”
Over the past six months, organic products maintained a 7 per cent share of global launches but activity was very much focused on just Europe, said Mintel. Around 65 per cent of all organic lines were launched in Europe in the period.
All natural was also a popular claim, appearing on 5 per cent of all new products, but this time it was North America that led the way, accounting for 67 per cent of all ‘all natural’ lines.
The ‘no additives/preservatives’ claim was found on 12 per cent of products this review period. “Companies would do well to continue to limit the use of said additions and also better focus on the fresher/quality image of home baked products compared to more processed ready made lines,” said Mintel.
Germany leads Europe
Europe was the most active region for new launches of bakery mixes and ingredients, accounting for just over a third of the market in the last six months.
Germany led launches in Europe, accounting for almost one quarter of all new products, followed by Italy and France, each with 10 per cent launches.
Outside of Europe, North America was the second most active region, accounting for 24 per cent of launches, compared to about 20 per cent in the previous review period. Asia Pacific came next with 17 per cent, compared to 23 per cent in the last review. Latin America also saw a decline to 17 per cent from 19 per cent. The Middle East and Africa remained the least active region on 5 per cent, a 1 per cent increase on the previous period.