Focus On Bread: 9 May

Focus On: Bread by Rob Brown 

Publishing: 9 May

Download the synopsis here

Advertising deadline: 29 April

Submissions deadline: 12 April

The Story

Getting our daily bread isn’t as easy as it used to be. As coronavirus fears hit home in March, bread was one of the items that fell victim to stockpiling. Panic buying left many of the shelves bare as suppliers struggled to keep up with demand. Today, buying habits are calming down, but the bread industry remains in a heightened state of alert. After all, people aren’t going out for their sandwiches or wraps any more – they are buying these items through the retail channel. So how are bread companies gearing up for the increased demand in grocery? What are the most popular items at this time? Has there been a resurgence in standard wrapped bread sales, or are shoppers continuing to veer towards more added-value bakery items?

KEY THEMES

Supply: How are bread companies keeping up with the increased demand for bread in grocery? What changes are they making to their operations?

Buying limits: Most supermarkets are restricting sales of key items such as bread to a maximum of two or three items per consumer. How is that affecting promotional tactics?

Wrapped bread: It was looking set to be another year of decline for standard wrapped bread. To what extent have sales picked up in the wake of the crisis?

Bakery: How popular are bakery alternatives proving at this time, such as bagels and crumpets? Prior to this situation, Warburtons said bakery items had overtaken sales of its wrapped bread. Is this still the case?

Rationalisation: The retailers are stripping back their ranging to concentrate on best-sellers. How is this affecting the bread industry? Are companies needing to cut back on their bakery ranges in favour of higher wrapped bread volumes?

Bakery counters: Retailers were stripping back bakery counters alongside their meat and fish counterparts. How are these faring now?

Availability: To what extent is bread recovering from the availability issues seen at the outset of the coronavirus crisis?

Kantar data: Using Kantar commentary, we explain the reasons behind the rise and fall of the sub-categories.

Nielsen data: Using Nielsen commentary, we explain the reasons behind the rise and fall of the top 10 brands