Supermarket Perimeter - April 2020 - 22

Bakery: Branded products

Bottom line enemy
Consumer guilt can manifest in many ways, such as the use and consumption of packaging. Recognizing the environmental issues of using
plastics to package its products, Skinner Baking set out to analyze its
packaging from a complete lifecycle point of view. The first step was
logistics, as the company sought out a supplier in closer proximity. The
change relocated packaging from about 1,500 miles away to within one
mile of its facility, essentially eliminating C02 emissions derived from
in-bound transportation.
The company also avoids the use of virgin plastics for its packaging,
using 100% post-consumer recycled PET plastics made from water
bottles.
To continuously recycle these clear plastics, Skinner Baking is
onboarding with How2Recycle, the creator of a standardized labeling
system that communicates to the public which pieces can be recycled
and the best way to recycle them.
Greater understanding of the how and the what of recycling became
more important when China decided to no longer accept recyclable
materials from the international community a little over a year ago, in
January 2018.
Prior to this, China took in 70% of the world's recyclables. Looking
to make their own recycling efforts more efficient, Skinner Baking
partnered with D6, Inc., a supplier addressing this issue using new
technologies.
"Manufacturing waste is not only an enemy of the bottom line,
but also the environment," Skinner said. "As we look to improve our
processes, we ensure the partners that are helping us automate
certain functions work together closely with our packaging suppliers.
The groups bounce ideas and improvements off each other to minimize waste."
22 - APRIL 2020

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Making Assumptions
Although consumers continually rank freshness as their most desirable
attribute when it comes to food, home kitchens are one of the largest
sources of food waste. While unpackaged bakery has an advantage
when it comes to freshness perception, unpackaged bakery can be a
difficult tactic to pull off when considering the overhead required by the
retailer, according to Skinner. Even if the unpackaged bakery products
were made in the store or arrived frozen in a bulk tray, the display methods imply the product was baked in the back.
"Consumers probably assume unpackaged products are fresher, but
that's not always the case," Baker said. "All of our products are freshly
made and immediately frozen to ensure freshness and longer shelf life.
They ship frozen to retailers, so they remain very fresh when they hit
the shelves."
Overcoming perceptions of freshness coupled with what appears to
be a more sustainable (a.k.a. sans packaging) option will be an ongoing
challenge for manufacturers within the instore bakery. In such a fastpaced environment, brands must find new ways to connect with consumers through samplings and tastings, promoting brand awareness
and applying technology to determine who is buying the products.
"It's going to be tough, but certainly not insurmountable, for brands
in the instore bakery. For brands to succeed, it's going to be crucial to
market directly to the consumer using the latest in marketing technology," Skinner concluded. "The current universe of marketing tech
and its respective capabilities are unprecedented, so I suggest taking
advantage of this."

St. Pierre and other
baked good companies
are working on new
ways to present their
products outside the
traditional daypart.

ST. PIEERE

staple rather than just an occasional treat. Its products strive to be
as clean label as possible, avoiding soy, HFCS, trans fats and GMO
ingredients. The company also offers authentic French croissants and
crepes and traditional Liege-style Belgian waffles.
"We're seeing more creativity around flavor and ingredients being
used in traditional baked goods," Baker said. "It's an exciting time to be a
manufacturer. Americans are much more open to trying new things and
are seeking out innovative new approaches to familiar formats."
Both Skinner Baking and St. Pierre Group are working on new ways
to present their products outside the traditional daypart. This includes
developing new flavors to bridge the gap between dayparts and
introducing convenient, on-the-go formats with individually wrapped
products in larger packs. St Pierre Groupe's On the Go range features
individually wrapped crepes and waffles - perfect for snacking, packed
lunches and on-the-go eating. Its brioche waffles and full-sized croissants are individually wrapped but sold in a multi-pack.
When it comes to sizes, Skinner Baking looks to cater to its highest indexing demographics. Yet the company knows it will need to
reassess count and product sizes to target new customers. One bonus
is that smaller pack sizes with individual portions can encourage sales
of indulgent products. Smaller sized individual portions reduce the
amount of guilt that a consumer experiences when purchasing an
indulgent product.

supermarketperimeter.com

4/1/2020 4:55:47 PM

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Supermarket Perimeter - April 2020

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