The Bakery segment has successfully navigated the pandemic, but challenges remain in terms of repositioning the sector. Stephen Wynne-Jones reports. This article first appeared in ESM July/August 2021.
The Bakery and Pastry Products segment has rolled – no pun intended – with the punches over the past year, as the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with changing consumer tastes, led to a reappraisal of how bread-based items are produced, marketed and consumed.
The pandemic led to an immediate shift in what types of products were consumed – the imposition of lockdown measures led to the near-overnight decimation of the impulse and food-to-go segments, while loaves and other packaged bread products were stocked up in bulk. It was a swift, sharp shock to the sector, which required agility and flexible thinking.
