instore - November 2017 - 26

special report

We're just as, if not more, happy to get into a Pathmark as into a Whole
Foods in Union Square or a boutique store in Brooklyn."
Artisan bread's rise can be traced largely to consumers' increased
awareness of and desire to consume healthier foods and foods that
are produced more responsibly, Leader says. Bread Alone and other
organic bakeries, for instance, have benefited enormously from soaring
consumer demand for organic products. The biggest purchasers of
organic foods in 2017, he points out, are Walmart and other retail giants.
"That's a big shift from ten years ago."
Spikes in demand for whole grain breads and increased awareness of
the health benefits of sourdough and natural fermentation also have
helped drive sales, Leader says. As for the gluten-free craze, Bread
Alone is not overly worried. "The gluten-free conversation is becoming
more sophisticated," Leader says. Specifically, consumers are recognizing the benefits of fermentation and other qualities of bread, rather
than throwing all bread into the "bad" category.
And while the gluten-free movement has helped people who really do
have a serious allergy to gluten, Leader says, that's a small minority of
those who've jumped on the bandwagon. He says gluten-free's moment
in the sun won't last forever. "I feel very strongly that it's a diet trend
that will come and pass like so many before it."

The growth of

Numbers help tell the story of artisan's rise. When Bread Alone was
founded, Leader says, there were maybe two or three bakeries like it.
Now, he says, the number is closer to 25 to 35. Since opening its new
baking facility in Kingston, New York, in 2014, Bread Alone produces
about 15,000 loaves of bread every day. "We're growing, and we
strive to grow the business in a way that creates opportunities for our
employees but doesn't compromise quality. If you grow too quickly, it's
stressed. At the same time, we don' t like to stand still."
Growing your business while still maintaining the high standards that
made you want to be an artisan baker in the first place is a balancing
act that all bakers like Bread Alone must perform, Leader says. And
there's no one way to do it. "Every bakery has its own personality, every
bakery has its own opinions" on how to grow wisely, he says. "There's
no one way to set up a bakery. It's a highly individual pursuit."
On some topics there is widespread agreement. Mixing by hand, for
instance, is not realistic if you want to bake on the scale of a Bread
Alone, Leader says. Nor is baking in a wood-fired oven, as Daniel Leader
did in the company's early years. (Though some, Nels Leader says, still
would argue fiercely that wood is the only true way to bake artisan).
Other questions faced by artisan bakers as they scale up, however,
have a variety of answers. Bread Alone, for example, initially switched
from hand-cutting to machine-cutting 400 pounds of dough into
30-pound pieces. Hand-cutting,
Leader says, is "hard, backbreaking work." But cutting by
machine requires the use of oil,
which, Bread Alone discovered,
created its own problems - problems that outweighed the laborrelated challenges of cutting by
hand. The company went back to
hand-cutting.

artisan
*

Taste. While it can be challenging to get new
consumers to try artisan bread, once they do, they
can usually taste the difference.

Transparency. People want to know how and where
their food is made. With artisan - farmer to miller
to baker - that's usually a compelling story to tell.

Millennials. One trend, among many, that
stands out with today's younger consumers is
a preference to shop in smaller-footprint stores
with "curated" product - the stores where artisan
bread is most likely to be sold.

Health. More and more consumers are getting
smarter about eating better, and when it comes
to bread, the natural fermentation, use of whole

grains and organic ingredients associated with
artisan are big draws.

Bread Alone also still turns its
dough by hand, folding it over
during fermentation to build
strength. Other actions, like
shaping, are done through a
combination of machine and
by-hand, Leader says.
"We have our hands in the bread
at every point that's important to
quality," he says.
If Bread Alone decides to make
a switch from hand to machine,

26 * NOVEMBER 2017 * instore

BREAD ALONE

While the bread category has been flat in the U.S. for
years, certain corners of it, like artisan, are faring better.
The country's top artisan bakers trace that growth to a
number of factors:

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