A few days ago, Mintel Food and Beverage Research Manager Chris Brockman made an analysis of the Chinese baking market. In his view, the market will gradually integrate and consolidate in the next few years and present a strong development force. At the same time, people's attention to food safety continues to rise.

Baking market: integration and consolidation, speeding up food safety concerns

Today, China's baking market is highly fragmented, with the top 10 companies occupying less than 15% of the market share. Where should we go in the future?

According to data from Mintel, most bakery companies in China are regionally operated. The top three companies with market share are Taoli, Panpan, and Dali.

Chris Brockman, manager of Mintel’s food and beverage research department, said, “So far, the world’s largest bakery company is GrupoBimbo, which has a very small share in this market and only has one factory.”

Mr. Brockman believes that compared with the Western market and those more mature retail bakery markets, China’s bakery market is still at a young stage, full of vitality, and has more development opportunities.

He said, "This market will gradually integrate and consolidate in the next few years, and show a strong development force."

The biggest difference between the Western market and the Chinese market is the dominant position occupied by sweet baked products. In the Chinese dining model, bread is not the main food, so the value of sweet bakery products may be three times that of bread or bread products.

Focus on high-end

After adjusting to the tastes of the Chinese, Western-style baking has gradually become a fashionable thing and has become the focus of Chinese outdoor catering, such as ParisBaguette, 85°C roasted coffee, Hollyland, Bread Talk, etc.

According to this trend, the outdoor catering industry chain is very important.

"Mr. Brockman said, "The focus of attention is on the high-end sweet bakery products, which must have good taste, conform to people's desire to indulge, and have a good-looking appearance. This is also affecting the retail market, and it is greatly affected by the promotion of snacks, gifts, and seasonality. "

Focus on no additives

The Mintel report shows that Chinese consumers are very concerned about their own health. In addition, regional flavors and exotic flavors have a high degree of attention, indicating that the source of the product, whether it is local or foreign, is a very important component.

In the United States, health concerns and changes in dietary trends are affecting the consumption of bread and bakery products, including dietary trends in low-carbohydrate, gluten-free, and traditional grains.

Brockman said, “In the United States, gluten-free bakery products are very important. In 2016, 16% of new bakery products in the United States were gluten-free. But this is not the case in China.”

However, as people's attention to food safety continues to rise, Chinese people are also very concerned about the claims of no additives and preservatives.

In the past 5 years, the usage rate of the claims of no additives and anti-corrosion has almost doubled. Among the new bakery products made so far in 2016, products with this claim accounted for 8%.

In the future, China's bakery market will develop rapidly, and integration will exert greater strength.