Walking the show floor of the recent American Retail Bakery Exposition provided a cloudier picture about the retail baking industry’s future than expected. Here was a fantastic educational program, but not nearly enough people in attendance. There were great ideas all around, plus plenty of innovative products from exhibitors, but not nearly enough people at the booths for most exhibitors to feel jazzed about their investment of time and money in the show.
It was the most informative event for retail bakers I’ve ever attended, yet most of us missed it.
So what happened? It’s really nobody’s fault. Still, there’s a big lesson here: The retail bakery business is splintering off in all sorts of directions – faster than at any point in history. There are more baked goods being sold than ever, but the types of outlets and channels through which they are being sold to consumers are transforming rapidly.
Convenience stores. Gas stations. Movie theaters. Malls. Airports. Retail outlets in these locations are popping up everywhere people live, breathe and eat. And somebody is selling baked goods at all of these places.
On the other hand, the numbers of traditional retail bakeries are dwindling, and retailers, in some cases, are transforming into new and different types of operations. Many are reinventing themselves, based on local or regional demand.
Exhibit A is Deerfields Bakery, our 2009 Retail Bakery of the Year. This Chicagoland bakery with three locations is now part coffee bar, part bakery café, part pastry shop, and part gluten-free bakery. The Schmitt family (Deerfields’ owners, who came to America in 1911) is once again responding to changing times.
So, what’s next for the industry? Expect to see more change, more reinvention, and more response to evolving customer demand. It’s time for all to examine what you do best, what your customers expect from your bakery, and how you meet their needs. If you listen closely to what they want and respond to changing demand, you will prosper.
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