Rising to the occasion - Best in bread & pâtisserie perfection
In-store bakeries celebrate the best of both worlds. Quality, affordable basics and staples that meet consumers’ nutritional needs and budgetsare nestled alongside increasingly sophisticated bakes and pâtisserie. This delightful blend of the necessary and the luxurious is what makes thebakery a perfect point for impulse purchases and speciality buys. With bakery equipment seeing some impressive innovations over the past few years in terms of energy efficiency, multifunctionality, and automated processes, upgrading your in-store bakery to ensure that it is fit for purpose and as efficient as possible is now easier than ever. Flexible design that can be adapted to fit your specific footprint paired with multifunctional capabilities mean that even the smallest bakeries can produce a superior
range. In addition, “ready-to-bake products are improving and evolving, allowing for a wide variety of top-quality products that don’t need to be made from scratch on-site, resulting in fewer ingredients, smaller prep areas, and reduced resources. It’s an exciting time for the bakery category, but local producers, manufacturers, and managers know that there are still significant challenges facing the industry.
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Francisco Kalogerakis, Managing Director at Famasons Premium Ingredients, agrees. He says, “From the start of 2024, various social, economic and environmental challenges impacted the supply and pricing of many major commodities and raw materials used in the confectionery and baked goods manufacturing industries. Of all the products affected, seven play an important role in baking, confectionery, snack, and sweet manufacturing.
These are cocoa, sugar, glacé cherries and vine fruits, and margarine, baking fats, and oils". Cocoa product deficit leads to higher prices. A record deficit in the production of cocoa for the 2023/2024 season meant that supply was constricted while demand remained high, resulting in record high prices throughout 2024 and continuing into 2025. He adds, “A drop in the quality of the crop as well as a further drop in productionyield means we can expect to see prices continue to rise, negatively impacting all cocoa-derived products." Sugar price increase impacts finished baked goods.
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According to Kalogerakis, the yearly price increase for sugar came into effect in March 2024, which had an immediate impact on the pricing of finished baked goods for consumers. Raw materials price increase for margarines, oils and baking fats. Pricing increases in raw materials used to manufacture margarines, oils and baking fats also led to price increases of finished goods manufactured within the baking industry. Kalogerakis says, “The upward price adjustments have continued throughout the year and continue to do so unabated.” Cherries and raisins. Kalogerakis says the closure of an established South African sugar coating and glazing facility and the variance within the raisin crop had an adverse effect on product supply, driving prices upwards. “There is currently a deficit in the supply of bakers’ mix, which is a raisin mix widely used in the baking industry." It may not be the rosiest of outlooks, but local bakers and the industries they rely on remain upbeat and undeterred.
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Kalogerakis says, “There was a slight decrease in demand for coating, enrobing and moulding chocolate that contains a high cocoa content
(couverture chocolate), mainly because of substantially higher pricing and availability. Some of this demand shifted to compounds and non-tempering chocolate, but this is only temporary. Most customers usinghigh cocoa content chocolate continued to do so, so as not to affect their finished products of distinctive quality.” Significant price increases in cocoa based goods have become reality internationally as well as locally. What to expect in 2025 & how to deliver the best results … the bakery is a perfect point for impulse purchases & speciality buys.
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Speciality bakes and niche diets on the rise
A growing number of consumers are following speciality diets. Whether it’s keto, low-carb, sugar-free, gluten-free or dairy-free (to name a few), there’s a growing need for retailers and wholesalers to provide a wider variety of products to accommodate these lifestyle choices.
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