As sales of artisan bread rise, independent bakers are looking to broaden their reach to cash in on the growing appetite for tasty alternatives to the traditional white sliced loaf. Virginia Matthews weighs up their chances
The romantic might choose to picture artisan bakers as kitchen-table entrepreneurs; food faddists destined to pick over the tiniest crumbs left by a commoditised big-player market.
Well, the romantic might be in for a shock. For while recent Federation of Bakers statistics indicate that plant products account for a weighty 78% of the £3.4bn UK bakery market, with another 17% coming from in-store supermarket bakeries, artisanal bakers are confident they can boost their current 5% slice of the market to something much more substantial.
And they're putting their money where their mouths are. While Swiss giant Aryzta has been baking leading US artisan bread brand La Brea for Tesco in Dublin since 2008, now the indies are looking to muscle in by bringing their bread to the multiples and increasing their retail outlets.
French bakery Paul is in talks with Waitrose about rolling out its products to the chain's London stores this year and plans to grow its current portfolio of 25 London shops to at least 100 across the country by the end of 2014. It also hopes to open a new factory, possibly in the North, to facilitate distribution beyond the capital.
Meanwhile, Gail's recently opened its seventh store, at London's Exmouth Market. And Artisan Bread Company and De Gustibus continue to win supply deals with prestigious clients such as Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. But these ambitious independent bakers face a conundrum: how to grow their businesses while staying true to their artisanal roots.
Gail's, which has a turnover of £4m and an established distribution deal with Waitrose that extends the brand's reach as far as Scotland, believes it is only right and proper that bog-standard sliced white and hand-made sourdough should become neighbours on supermarket shelves.
"As one of biggest artisan bakers in Britain, it is clear to us that growing numbers of UK consumers are becoming aware that when it comes to taste and nutrition, there is no contest between a hand-made loaf and something factory-produced at speed," says Gail's MD Ran Avidan. "We are only a tiny part of the market and need to continue to educate people, but this is a quiet revolution that simply won't go away."
However, purists may argue that by teaming up with a supermarket, artisan bakers may cheapen their offer. Although Sylvain Gautier, director of food and quality at Paul, is convinced there will be demand for premium-priced, slow-baked, one-day shelf life 'pain ancien' among supermarket shoppers, he accepts there are risks.
"We are highly ambitious, very hungry and determined to make our presence felt in mass-market bread either with or without the help of the supermarkets," he says. "Our brand is growing stronger by the day and we are at the stage where the opportunity to sell our range through Waitrose would propel us to the next level.
"But while it is our dream to make quality bakery available to all UK consumers, not just people in Marylebone, but those in Manchester too, any suggestion of a compromise on quality or a stretching of shelf life will see us walk away from the table."
For Dan de Gustibus, working with a multiple, even Waitrose, would be a step too far. The founder of the De Gustibus bakery and supplier to clients such as Fortnum & Mason and Hilton hotels believes such collaboration is doomed to fail. "When we started to win awards in the 1970s, all the big supermarkets courted me," he says. "I told them that although I was willing to help them improve their bread, I could never supply my own products because to do so would affect the integrity of my brand. When you talk to French or German consumers, they know about things like traceability and provenance and care about living better, but I don't think British people do. Nothing proves my point better than this country's appetite for disgusting, factory-produced bread."
De Gustibus is only too aware that the term 'artisan' attracts all sorts of abuse by bandwagon-hoppers and the issue is partly clouded by the fact that even bakers can't agree on what it is (see boxout). "The debate over what constitutes an authentically artisan loaf will continue forever," says Paul Hollywood, whose Kent-based Artisan Bread Company makes upward of 1,000 loaves a day, supplying the likes of Harrods Food Hall.
To Hollywood, who is looking to double his £350,000 turnover in the next couple of years, it isn't the middle-class, southern and urbanite image of the spelt-and-sunflower brigade that has impeded artisan market growth so far, nor even the complex logistics of getting supply of a largely South East-based, one-day perishable food to far-flung parts of the UK. No, he argues, it is simply the "artificially low cost" of a perennial supermarket loss leader. Despite steady increases in the price of plant manufactured (wrapped) loaves, Hollywood whose £20 1.5kg Roquefort and almond-stuffed Christmas Special loaf hit Harrods last month wants us to pay more.
"The price of wrapped bread was far too low for far too long and I am probably one of the only consumers in the country who applauds the fact that the cost of a factory loaf has started to rise fairly dramatically in recent months; making it on average only 20p or 30p less than one of my own standard loaves nowadays."
Hollywood still feels UK bread is too cheap, though. "I believe it's possible for artisan bread to double its market share to 10% fairly rapidly but beyond that I'd argue we need to encourage greater consumer experimentation by putting a premium on all bread."
While he admits to preferring a Chorleywood bread for his own bacon sandwiches, and understands the appeal of processed slices for children's lunchboxes, he does not see why hand-shaped focaccia, luxury spelt, exotic rye and toothsome walnut bread should remain the province of the well-heeled. "Many people living outside London and the M25 want to try something special for breakfast and given the reduced cost differential today, I see no reason why artisan bread shouldn't become at least a once-weekly staple for them. They simply need better access to something decent."
Avidan says the UK's retail coffee market highlights the potential. "If I'd told you a decade ago that consumers from all socio-economic groups would one day be buying a speciality coffee for £2.50 or £3 from a speciality cafe such as Costa, you'd have laughed. But good coffee has become a daily luxury for all walks of society there's no reason why this shouldn't happen to bread."
So our daily bread could be in for a makeover. Move over white sliced, here come the sourdough and pain aux céréales.
How thenumbersstack up
£2.1bn: value of UK bread market (61% of bakery sector)
67%: Market share of white bread (sales down 3.2% last year)
5.2%: Sales growth of 'healthier' white bread brands
5.1%: Sales growth of malted, grainy and seeded loaves
Source: Federation of Bakers[52 w/e 27 June]
The romantic might choose to picture artisan bakers as kitchen-table entrepreneurs; food faddists destined to pick over the tiniest crumbs left by a commoditised big-player market.
Well, the romantic might be in for a shock. For while recent Federation of Bakers statistics indicate that plant products account for a weighty 78% of the £3.4bn UK bakery market, with another 17% coming from in-store supermarket bakeries, artisanal bakers are confident they can boost their current 5% slice of the market to something much more substantial.
And they're putting their money where their mouths are. While Swiss giant Aryzta has been baking leading US artisan bread brand La Brea for Tesco in Dublin since 2008, now the indies are looking to muscle in by bringing their bread to the multiples and increasing their retail outlets.
French bakery Paul is in talks with Waitrose about rolling out its products to the chain's London stores this year and plans to grow its current portfolio of 25 London shops to at least 100 across the country by the end of 2014. It also hopes to open a new factory, possibly in the North, to facilitate distribution beyond the capital.
Meanwhile, Gail's recently opened its seventh store, at London's Exmouth Market. And Artisan Bread Company and De Gustibus continue to win supply deals with prestigious clients such as Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. But these ambitious independent bakers face a conundrum: how to grow their businesses while staying true to their artisanal roots.
Gail's, which has a turnover of £4m and an established distribution deal with Waitrose that extends the brand's reach as far as Scotland, believes it is only right and proper that bog-standard sliced white and hand-made sourdough should become neighbours on supermarket shelves.
"As one of biggest artisan bakers in Britain, it is clear to us that growing numbers of UK consumers are becoming aware that when it comes to taste and nutrition, there is no contest between a hand-made loaf and something factory-produced at speed," says Gail's MD Ran Avidan. "We are only a tiny part of the market and need to continue to educate people, but this is a quiet revolution that simply won't go away."
However, purists may argue that by teaming up with a supermarket, artisan bakers may cheapen their offer. Although Sylvain Gautier, director of food and quality at Paul, is convinced there will be demand for premium-priced, slow-baked, one-day shelf life 'pain ancien' among supermarket shoppers, he accepts there are risks.
"We are highly ambitious, very hungry and determined to make our presence felt in mass-market bread either with or without the help of the supermarkets," he says. "Our brand is growing stronger by the day and we are at the stage where the opportunity to sell our range through Waitrose would propel us to the next level.
"But while it is our dream to make quality bakery available to all UK consumers, not just people in Marylebone, but those in Manchester too, any suggestion of a compromise on quality or a stretching of shelf life will see us walk away from the table."
For Dan de Gustibus, working with a multiple, even Waitrose, would be a step too far. The founder of the De Gustibus bakery and supplier to clients such as Fortnum & Mason and Hilton hotels believes such collaboration is doomed to fail. "When we started to win awards in the 1970s, all the big supermarkets courted me," he says. "I told them that although I was willing to help them improve their bread, I could never supply my own products because to do so would affect the integrity of my brand. When you talk to French or German consumers, they know about things like traceability and provenance and care about living better, but I don't think British people do. Nothing proves my point better than this country's appetite for disgusting, factory-produced bread."
De Gustibus is only too aware that the term 'artisan' attracts all sorts of abuse by bandwagon-hoppers and the issue is partly clouded by the fact that even bakers can't agree on what it is (see boxout). "The debate over what constitutes an authentically artisan loaf will continue forever," says Paul Hollywood, whose Kent-based Artisan Bread Company makes upward of 1,000 loaves a day, supplying the likes of Harrods Food Hall.
To Hollywood, who is looking to double his £350,000 turnover in the next couple of years, it isn't the middle-class, southern and urbanite image of the spelt-and-sunflower brigade that has impeded artisan market growth so far, nor even the complex logistics of getting supply of a largely South East-based, one-day perishable food to far-flung parts of the UK. No, he argues, it is simply the "artificially low cost" of a perennial supermarket loss leader. Despite steady increases in the price of plant manufactured (wrapped) loaves, Hollywood whose £20 1.5kg Roquefort and almond-stuffed Christmas Special loaf hit Harrods last month wants us to pay more.
"The price of wrapped bread was far too low for far too long and I am probably one of the only consumers in the country who applauds the fact that the cost of a factory loaf has started to rise fairly dramatically in recent months; making it on average only 20p or 30p less than one of my own standard loaves nowadays."
Hollywood still feels UK bread is too cheap, though. "I believe it's possible for artisan bread to double its market share to 10% fairly rapidly but beyond that I'd argue we need to encourage greater consumer experimentation by putting a premium on all bread."
While he admits to preferring a Chorleywood bread for his own bacon sandwiches, and understands the appeal of processed slices for children's lunchboxes, he does not see why hand-shaped focaccia, luxury spelt, exotic rye and toothsome walnut bread should remain the province of the well-heeled. "Many people living outside London and the M25 want to try something special for breakfast and given the reduced cost differential today, I see no reason why artisan bread shouldn't become at least a once-weekly staple for them. They simply need better access to something decent."
Avidan says the UK's retail coffee market highlights the potential. "If I'd told you a decade ago that consumers from all socio-economic groups would one day be buying a speciality coffee for £2.50 or £3 from a speciality cafe such as Costa, you'd have laughed. But good coffee has become a daily luxury for all walks of society there's no reason why this shouldn't happen to bread."
So our daily bread could be in for a makeover. Move over white sliced, here come the sourdough and pain aux céréales.
How thenumbersstack up
£2.1bn: value of UK bread market (61% of bakery sector)
67%: Market share of white bread (sales down 3.2% last year)
5.2%: Sales growth of 'healthier' white bread brands
5.1%: Sales growth of malted, grainy and seeded loaves
Source: Federation of Bakers[52 w/e 27 June]
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