The second-largest
product group to be found in the freezer compartments of Finnish supermarkets,
bake-off products, continues to increase its popularity at a rate of nine per
cent per annum. The only frozen product group to beat it in terms of demand is
ice cream. Almost sixty per cent of Finnish households now use bake-off
products, as compared to forty per cent three years ago.
“There is no point in setting one hundred
per cent as a target, because there will always be families who prefer to bake
things from scratch. Still, studies show consumers considering home-baked
products and those baked from frozen to be equally good,” explains Product
Group Manager Tia Laurmaa-Berntzen of Vaasan & Vaasan Oy.
In addition to competing with other frozen goods, bake-off products
contend for consumers’ attention with each other: There are some 250 different
varieties to choose from on the market.
The public’s willingness to try different products is apparent in consumption
figures; baguettes, for instance, enjoyed a privileged position in the sector
for a while, but appear to have lost popularity somewhat. These days coffee
breads and savoury snacks are the favourite types of bake-off products, whereas
sales of bread and products for special diets have clearly fallen behind.
“Even I can bake now”
The use of bake-off products takes
some getting used to, although not in terms of technique, because they make
home baking very easy. It has more to do with a psychological barrier related
to the fact that homemade goods are always held in higher esteem. Baking from
bought frozen goods can seem “too easy”. “Comments from friends and family can
help consumers make decisions: if your mother, your mother-in-law and even your
colleagues use bake-off products, then you think ‘Why not give it a try?’”
comments CEO Pirjo Ekman of research company Inspirans Oy.
According to consumer studies, ease, speed and a guaranteed result are some of
the absolute advantages of bake-off products. “You can enjoy the pleasure of
making something yourself without any hassle,” Ekman quotes consumer comments.
The broad selection also makes it possible to prepare specialities which you
might not be able to bake yourself. Finally, the taste, the freshness and the
scent of baking at home are naturally also decisive factors.
“On an emotional level, consumers consider bake-off products to be half
baked at home. In fact, in technical terms, they are half-prepared goods bought
in the supermarket,” Pirjo Ekman says, emphasising the importance of the
concept of home baking. Ekman feels that the oven and the baking process
represent a kind of cleansing ritual: by passing through the home oven, the
goods become homemade rather than industrial.
Familiar flavours, few
novelties
As a product group, bake-off products are seldom ones to include novelties.
Tried and tested, traditional names and tastes are typical of the most popular
products. Cinnamon buns, Danishes, pasties and pies are at the top of the list.
“According to our studies, consumers also look for new savoury baked goods to
enjoy as snacks. In addition to traditional karjalanpiirakka (Karelian
pies), many have requested similar tasty products, which are healthy and suitable
to enjoy with coffee, for supper or as an after-school snack,” explains
Laurmaa-Berntzen of Vaasan & Vaasan Oy.
Laurmaa-Berntzen is in charge of the market-leading VAASAN KOTIUUNIN range of
bake-off products. Following these demands from consumers, the selection has
been expanded with snacks, such as filled bread dough. Laurmaa-Berntzen
believes that these types of healthy snacks will continue to increase in
popularity within the bake-off product group.
Families with children as
large-scale consumers
Families with children are especially keen users of bake-off
products, with three out of four filling their homes with their delicious
flavours and scents now and then. The other users of bake-off products,
however, are difficult to analyse or categorise, as sales statistics indicate
the goods being enjoyed equally well in cities as in the countryside, by
managers, workers and farmers and by people of all ages. Studies have reached
the same conclusions: “Bake-off products really are used in each of the groups
we studied, regardless of situation, age, employment, education and place of
residence,” Pirjo Ekman comments.
Further information
Vaasan & Vaasan Oy
Tia Laurmaa-Berntzen
Product Group Manager
Tel. +358 204 46 2071 or +358 40 736
8039
Vaasan &
Vaasan Group is the largest bakery business in Finland and the Baltic region,
one of the largest crisp bread producers in the world and a significant Nordic
producer of bake-off products.
Vaasan & Vaasan Group includes Vaasan & Vaasan Oy in Finland, AS Leibur
in Estonia, A/S Hanzas Maiznicas in Latvia, UAB Vilniaus Duona Plius in
Lithuania and Delice Scandinavica AB in Sweden. The Group's turnover for 2003
was EUR 275 million, generated by approximately 3,900 employees.
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