Baking & Snack - October 2004 - 106

WORLD BAKING

Canadian Dough!
Strength in sales and volume keep Canadian bakers smiling.

"B

aked foods show strong growth this year driven
by consumer choice of fresh artisan products."
"Consumers are willing to pay higher prices
for quality." "Consumer preference for fresh
baked foods and healthier varieties helps sales of artisan
bread, cakes and pastries." "Good-for-you cereals support
value and volume rise of highly mature breakfast cereals."
"Cookies benefit from rise in snacking trend." "Private
label continues to gain share of sales through creation of
premium segments within private label category."
With newsbytes such as these, it is no wonder Canadian
bakers continue to smile all the way to the bank. Canadian
consumers are not as concerned with carbs as Americans
tend to be, and the numbers prove the point.
According to Euromonitor International, Chicago,
IL, most trends that created growth in Canada's
bakery products over the past five years
continue to drive sales, today. In 2004,
the market for bakery products in
Canada is expected to grow 13.6% in
value terms and is anticipated to reach
C$6,455 million (US$4,967 million).
This is significant growth, considering that Canadian retail bakery products
are highly mature and face strong competition from the
rapid growth in food service establishments, especially
quick-service restaurants such as Tim Hortons, Oakville,
ON, and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Winston-Salem, NC.
The US-based donut king opened its first store in Canada
in December 2001, registering record-breaking sales.
These establishments offer a large variety of baked foods
including donuts and pastries. Under the circumstances,
the expected retail value growth should be seen as good.
ARTISAN PRODUCTS DOMINATE. The baked foods
segment (bread, cake and pastry) - by far the largest
sector of the Canadian bakery market - is expected to
lead both value and volume growth this year, rising an
estimated 14% and 1.8%, respectively. Value sales are
largely driven by freshly baked artisan products, a
trend spurred by the rapid proliferation of in-store

110 / BAKING & SNACK / October 2004

bakeries. These products offer better quality and taste
as well as a large variety of specialty products, including
ethnic flavors. According to consumer surveys, Canadians are willing to pay up to 20% more for high-quality
fresh bread sold through in-store bakeries. As a result,
unpackaged artisan bread and cakes are expected to see
strong value rise of 6.8% and 3.9%, respectively, by the
end of 2004. They should reach estimated sales of C$881
million (US$678 million) for bread and C$409 million
(US$315 million) for cakes by the end of the year.
The slower estimated rate of volume growth for baked
foods of 1.8% in 2004 reflects the ability of the market to
absorb price increases aided by baked foods sold through
specialty stores and the development
of in-store bakeries offering
fresh specialty breads
and a variety of
freshly baked
Baking & Snack - October 2004

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking & Snack - October 2004
