Bread and beyond: traditional baking and diversification
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Update time : 2018-01-05 15:17:33
Once upon a time we used to pop out to our local baker’s when we needed bread. The choice was limited but nobody really expected more. Now that has all changed. In recent years bread shops in Italy have evolved to keep up with new consumer expectations, which include an insistence on quality and nutritional correctness. “In recent years, the worker bread shop has found itself up against fierce competition from the large-scale retail sector and other sales channels. As a result it has been forced to increase the range of products it sells, adding various confectionery items, pizzas, focaccias and so on to entice customers, who then also buy bread while they are in the shop,” says Cristian Restivo, partner and foreign sales manager at Real Forni. He explains that the ovens most in demand today are the rotary type – traditional and electrical – which are medium-sized in each case, and also modular ovens. Another requirement that is emerging these days regards energy saving. “There is a demand for ovens that use alternative fuel types, such as pellets, and when it comes to electric ovens, the demand now is for accurate monitoring of consumption and of the power used by the whole bakery. Everyone wants to save money and to diversify the kind of fuel they use.”
Massimiliano Baroni, of Tagliavini’s marketing department, is convinced that the market can still create a loyal customer base “probably by focusing more closely on ‘special’ products that use high-quality products and offer a visually attractive form, and, to a lesser extent, also on ‘wellbeing’ items.” As for the shop itself, the trend is towards production and sales solutions with a welcoming atmosphere and distinctive décor for traditional bread shops. Now there is a clear demand for mixed solutions that combine bread shop and pastry shop formats, selling a range of sweet and savoury products. Quality remains a number one priority. “When it comes to quality, there is a clear desire to offer first-rate products, which is gratifying for us because our firm has always invested in resources that ensure the excellence of our output, which ranges from ovens to brand-new cold storage equipment, with particular attention to retarder-proofers.” Demand is shifting increasingly to electrical ovens that offer savings on energy. “We have always invested in research and technology that enables operators to optimise production. We are adapting systems and processes to make possible a more diversified production and continuous programming, thus enabling our customers to bake perfectly. We have also been working on the design of our products, and that has resulted in an extremely elegant range. The new trend now is towards letting consumers see how products are made, with working areas visible to the public that can create a sense of bakery activities being carried out in the good old-fashioned way.”
The wellness wave has also hit the flour sector, as explained by Andrea Ottolina, Sole Director of Molino Colombo. “Today also the pastry world is going towards the use of less refined flours, even if to a lesser extent than in the bakery sector. In the last period there has been an increase in the use of flours rich in fibres of Types 1 and 2 and of integral flours. In general terms, the rheological characteristics of these products are the same of refined flours, and the pastry chef appreciates the ductility of these new flour types”.
Specific mention should also be made of gluten-free products, and whether thay are the fashion fad of the moment or something that is here to stay. Francesco Pugliese, CEO of Conad, is more convinced that the former is the case. At the end-of-year conference there was the usual wide-ranging discussion of food trends. “Gluten-free products are lower quality and don’t taste as good, so anyone who has tried them just to follow a fashion rather than address a medical issue, as celiac disease sufferers need to do, will eventually abandon them.”
