Supermarket Perimeter - February 2021 - 23

Dedicating a portion of your case for baked
goods that make people feel good about their
food choices is a smart decision for 2021.
As for creating menus speciﬁc to events for customers to peruse
online, Donovan added, " It is so easy to navigate. Everything is right
there for our customers to navigate. "
Heather Kirchner, vice president of US sales for FoodStorm in St.
Louis, said that FoodStorm is more highly integrated than traditional
ecommerce, including customer ordering, order management, and
payment and fulﬁllment. That's why it works so well.
" No matter your shape or size, FoodStorm can be catered to your
needs, " she said.

Health in style
The Dawn Foods trend " Enlightened Eating " tells us that consumers
are willing to pay more for food that is free of additives and artiﬁcial
ingredients and that fuels their bodies while supporting a healthy
lifestyle. This trend took on new meaning in 2020, with health and
immunity being top of mind for most consumers.
In fact, 29% of consumers surveyed indicated that the changes they
made in their purchasing behaviors to focus more on healthy products
would last for six months or more. And 43% plan to continue to
purchase health and wellness products after the pandemic is over.
What does this mean for your bakery? According to Dawn, it is
important to invest in better-for-you products like fresh bakery muffins
that are free from additives, artiﬁcial ﬂavors and colors. You can also
tout healthier ingredients like alternative or gluten-free ﬂours, ﬁllings
made from fruit, additives like super foods, seeds or healthy nuts.
Dedicating a portion of your case for baked goods that make people
feel good about their food choices is a smart decision for 2021.

Jen VanDewater, vice president, health, authenticity and strategic
insights at Rich Products, shared her thoughts about this consumer
demand trend for increased food safety, and offers tips for how retailers
and operators can prepare and respond.
" The pandemic has accelerated consumers' focus on health and
safety. We have been tracking consumer sentiment and gathering
consumer preferences around food safety - 55% of consumers are
looking for fresh bakery to be packaged, " she said. " This tells us safety
remains a part of consumers' considerations when making choices in
the bakery. "
The pandemic has ampliﬁed the need to look at packaging solutions,
VanDewater said. Packaging is now an area of investment and strong
involvement.
Looking at the surging demand for impactful solutions, research
from Rich Products reveals that 66% of consumers want purposeful
packaging - where you can see the product.
" Being able to see the product is very important, " VanDewater said.
" In addition, functional, modiﬁed atmosphere packaging (MAP) is
increasing in demand in bakery because consumers are concerned
about waste. And ﬁnally, keeping a full bakery case is a signal of
freshness. "
Transparency means clean and prominent signage in the bakery
- explaining bakery practices and on-package messages like " fresh
baked today. "
And there is a vitally important online component to this movement.

Packaged product
For decades, consumers strolled the aisles of the fresh bakery
department, savoring the ability to make their own choices from
bountiful displays of loose, unpackaged product. As Americans sought
more convenience, the need for packaging tipped the scales in a
different direction. Now the COVID-19 crisis has rapidly accelerated
consumer demand for fresh packaged bakery.
In 2020, operators and retailers reached new heights to protect
shoppers during the pandemic - from meticulously wiping down
surfaces and placing tables six feet apart to making hand sanitizers
easily accessible, encouraging electronic payments, and utilizing
disposable utensils and menus. But even those measures might not be
enough for consumers in 2021.
In December, Rich Products asked consumers about their preferences
for products in self-service bakery cases. More than half (55%) of
consumers said they prefer to see all fresh-baked goods and donuts
packaged.
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Supermarket Perimeter - February 2021

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