Our categorywatching Bakery 2024 report is now live on the hub! And as ever, it's full of flaky, buttery, laminated, sweet and savoury goodness. Indeed, pastry chefs are pushing the envelope this year when it comes to innovation in the bakery category, as they experiment with flavour, format, global twists and more.
Bakeries have been the very nucleus of civilisation for thousands of years, with our 'daily bread' becoming a necessity and a symbol of food security. Today, despite economic hardships persisting, the bakery has become much more than obtaining the basics - it's where gastronomy thrives, too. Our daily bread has become less about survival and more a moment of indulgence.
We've collated three key takeouts from the full Bakery 2024 report to give you some insight for what to expect. In no particular order:
1. Croissant Craze – The flaky pastry craze continues, with croissants inspiring innovation across bakeries around the world. There are hybrids aplenty, of course… chocolate chip 'crookie', or sweet 'croffle' anyone? And look out too for the viral 'flattened' croissant which sacrifices the billowy air pockets for one condensed, buttery bite. Despite these new ways, love for the old school remains too… So pastry chefs look for ways to elevate the perfect, classic croissant – e.g. with geometric patterns, or beautiful bows.
2. Say Cheese – A subject always oozing with appeal, cheese brings extra decadence to bakery treats. A 'fromage à trois' of triple cheese stacks flavours and textures in pastries, whilst the classic pairing of alliums sees the likes of cheesy leek brioches trending. Meanwhile blobs of mascarpone get scooped on to tarte tatins and piped into choux buns. Things get a little blue, too, with a Basque cheesecake makeover; and feta gets a new lease on life in everything from savoury Danish to cookies.
3. Ancient Gains – As concerns surrounding environmental impact of over reliance on traditional crops (e.g. wheat) grows, consumers are ever more curious about alternative grains… Cue, a rebirth of ancient grains. Buckwheat bucks the trend of conventional processed flour as does a (comparatively) new discovery that's not only man-made, but swerves a GMO classification altogether. Spent grain trends, too, as we look to close the loop on food waste, with spent beer grains leading the charge. Cheers to that!
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trendhub subscribers can access the full 146-page Bakery 2024 categorywatching report on the hub here. If you're not yet subscribed but are interested to find out more, please get in touch.