In spite of international trends that shun carbs and especially bread, the French still value their heirloom recipes that gave us the baguette, the croissant and all the other pastries that make our days better.

　　According to Euromonitor International, bread remains a key staple in the French diet with the majority of consumers eating and buying unpackaged bread on a daily basis and eating it with most meals. This pattern has continued in 2022 despite the average unit price of bread rising due to the effects on inflation and Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has put a strain on the supply of wheat across Europe. Artisanal bread still dominates with this mostly being purchased from local bakeries across the country, although some consumers also purchase their bread from supermarkets and hypermarkets with in-store bakeries. While unpackaged bread dominates sales of bread in France, both for sales of flat bread and unleavened bread, packaged bread is seeing slightly stronger volume growth in 2022 as many consumers are attracted to its convenience and longer shelf life. Baking exhibition understands that the latter point is particularly appealing to smaller households where they might not use as much bread on a daily basis.

　　Both unpackaged and packaged bread are seeing innovation in terms of types of flour and cereals and grains used, with many consumers moving towards bread with a higher fiber content due to its perceived health benefits. Consumers perceive artisanal bread to be of a good quality and naturally healthy due to the quality of flour used in its baking. In contrast, they typically perceive industrially-produced bread, which is sold elsewhere, to be less healthy. Another driver for purchasing bread from artisanal bakeries is the consumer desire to preserve the French bakery tradition.

　　Whilst baguette remains the most popular type of bread sold in France, there has been strong growth seen in the sales of alternative types of bread such as those used for eating as a central part of a meal such as burger baps or bread for aperitifs. These products tend to predominantly fall into the packaged bread category as most local bakeries remain relatively traditional in the types of bread produced. Bread types such as wraps and flat bread also remain very popular amongst younger consumers as part of the trend towards ethnic cuisines such as Mexican and Moroccan.

　　Bakery China will continue to share more industry professional content with you, so please stay tuned!

　　Bakery China, organized by China Association of Bakery and Confectionery Industry (CABCI) and Bakery China Exhibitions Co., Ltd. was launched since 1997. Bakery China is the Asia Pacific's leading event serving the entire value chain for the bakery and confectionery market. The event presents all range of ingredient, equipment, packaging and services, and enables global leading professionals and buyer delegates to meet and share the latest innovations and thinking on manufacturing & distribution, R&D, applications and related services for bakery industry.It is the first choice trade fair to enter China's bakery market.

　　The 26th Bakery China will be held on May 21-24,2024 at National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC), Shanghai, covering 320,000 sqm show space. Over 2,200 exhibitors and 400,000 visits are expected.

　　(source: World Bakers)