IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview - (Page 11)

IBIE PERSPECTIVE Challenges Amid Attractive Conditions At IBIE 2016, opportunities abound for bakers searching to get ahead in a rapidly changing market. by Josh Sosland, Milling & Baking News A As bakers prepare for the 2016 International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE), the industry landscape may be, by many measures, more attractive than at any time in the present century. Aggressive consolidations among the largest bakers are in the wind-down phase following wrenching industry upheavals in the past five years. Economic headwinds buffeting baking during much of the past eight years have abated, and commodity ingredient prices at mid-summer were highly attractive. Receding further into the rearview mirror are the effects of the great recession of 2007-08. Consumer confidence has haltingly improved. The index of consumer confidence, as determined by the University of Michigan, stood at 93.5 in June, down from recent peak levels in 2015, but far better than at the time of previous expos - 73.2 in October 2013, 67.7 in October 2010 and 80.9 in October 2007. The prolonged period of historically low interest rates has continued far longer than generally expected, and current forecasts suggest modest, if any, upward pressure on rates in the year ahead. For bakers looking to adapt to rapid marketplace changes, opportunities will abound at this year's IBIE. Even with what is an unprecedented array of positives, it would be wrong to characterize the baking market as nothing but green pastures. Even with the consolidation that largely has been completed, a lack of sales growth in many baked foods categories has exacerbated what already was an intensely competitive marketplace. Pressure on profit margins has curbed invest- ment in new product development, marketing and promotion, and capital spending. The nation's low unemployment rate amid consistently unimpressive annual economic growth rates in some respects represents the worst of possible worlds - disappointing consumer demand but a labor pool tight enough to create major headaches for baking companies seeking to rejuvenate aging workforces. Beyond the macro pluses and minuses of 2016, numerous consumption trends have matured in recent years, including the demand for simpler labels, the shunning of gluten and the lure of health and wellness. Surging to the forefront among such trends is the avoidance of bioengineered ingredients and the demands for transparency in labeling. For flour-based foods, the GMO labeling movement has been a twoedged sword. On the negative side, baked foods are carriers of numerous ingredients, many of which typically are derived from bioengineered sources, including bakery shortening and sweeteners. The second, positive, edge of the sword is, unfortunately, the duller side. It is questionable whether consumers are either aware of or appreciate the fact that the principal ingredient in baked foods - wheat flour - is not and has never been bioengineered. In any event, it is apparent that the absence of GMO flour has not translated into a boon for baked foods demand. Another trend that has persisted, even in the lack of solid rational grounding, has been the appeal of "local," the purchase of foods produced within reasonably close proximity to the final consumer. Within the consumer packaged For bakers looking to adapt to rapid marketplace changes, opportunities will abound at this year's IBIE. IBIE 2016 / PreShow Guide / 11

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview

IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview
Table of Contents
IBIE PERSPECTIVE - Challenges Amid Attractive Conditions
STATE OF THE INDUSTRY - Well Positioned for Growth
Fuel for the future
PARADE OF PROGRESS - Bakers and exhibitors say they go to IBIE because …It's About the Future
EQUIPMENT TRENDS SURVEY - Good Vibrations
IBIE TECH - Must-have Mobile
ENGINEERING ROUNDTABLE - Putting it on Automatic
ABA PERSPECTIVE - Election 2016: The Stretch Run
Getting the Message Out
‘Premiumization’ opportunities abound
B&CMA, ABA - Pathway to the Future
Cookie-cracker education at IBIE
FSMA & THE BAKERY - Proof of Validation
SANITATION & SAFETY - Signs of the Times
How to collaborate, a PMMI protocol
PACKAGING - One-stop Shop
COLD STORAGE LOGISTICS - Securing Smooth Sailing
INGREDIENT CHOICES - The Big Questions
Go ahead, eat, it’s safe
TAX RELIEF - Go Ahead, Spend
SOCIAL MEDIA - Plugged into Consumers
INGREDIENT TRENDS - Favorable Forecast
INGREDIENT TRENDS: FATS & OILS - Deadline: 2018
WORKFORCE GAP - A New Paradigm
BREAD TRENDS - I Love Bread
bake - Special Edition
Retail Perspective - Road to Recovery
Retail Perspective: Equipment - Innovations Abound
Retail Perspective: Cake - Standing out from the crowd
Retail Perspective: Education - School in session
A World of Opportunity
INTERNATIONAL INSIGHT: BAKED FOODS - Global Growth: It's Not Easy
ALL-AMERICAN TAILGATE - Kickoff IBIE 2016
VEGAS GUIDE - Something for everyone
Off the beaten path
Ad Index

IBIE - 2016 Special Edition & Show Preview