Supermarket Perimeter - September 2024 - 32

Bakery: Cakes
grocery, fast casual and QSRs. These trends can take years to progress
to a level of maturity but platforms such as Instagram and TikTok now
shorten the time it takes to move to a national or global audience,
according to Wisloski. This speed also offers instore bakeries an
opportunity to participate in these trend cycles to engage shoppers.
Wisloski considers the customer journey in two phases: trial and
INSIDER
repeat. The first purchase may be driven by vibrant or innovative flavors,
social media recommendations or an impulse purchase. These are
purchases that can create visibility, press and excitement for a bakery.
" After a first trial, it's important that repeat purchases generate
ongoing revenue for a bakery, " she continued. " These are the cakes
that consumers want to eat, can afford and will regularly put into
their basket. While an Instagrammable cake plays an important role in
establishing a bakery's brand, it is critical to identify the cake flavors
and formats that drive the most repeat business and feature a blend of
the two. "
Right-sized celebrations
Thankfully, the craving for cake is easily satisfied and smaller cakes
are meeting consumers' needs in 2024 (Nielsen). The standard 8 " size
is migrating down to a smaller 6 " cake. Smaller sizes offer a way to
showcase innovative cake flavors such as matcha, olive oil, rose or
hummingbird and/or to be a canvas for trending cake frostings and
fillings such as mango, lemon and meringue. Possibilities also arise by
stacking cakes to sculpt new and innovative designs.
" Minis play a lot of different roles, " Beery said. " They are convenient,
portable and sharable, and they provide built-in portion control and
another approach to permissible indulgence. "
Smaller sizes also encourage flavor exploration, satisfy personal
cravings and are an option for smaller gatherings. Cupcakes provide a
more traditional offering. The highly portable treat is perfect for graband-go
that lends itself well to children's parties, team celebrations and
larger gatherings.
Expanded selections
Circana finds Americans snacking more than ever, and proprietary
research from Dawn shows consumers like to snack on cake. Dawn
Anchor Packaging's new cupcake containers are
perfect for commissaries and other applications
where product needs to be moved from one
site to another without being damaged.
Thanks to an innovative design, the 12-count
containers " keep cupcakes in place, even upsidedown, "
according to Anchor. " No more lost sales
from ruined icing. Built-in shock absorption adds
resilience for freezer to fresh durability. "
Anchor introduced the product to customers at IDDBA
and other spring and summer shows this year.
is seeing retailers offering single servings of cake as slices, cake layers
in a cup, cake pops and cake balls, merchandising them with graband-go
items in the prepared foods section. Grab-and-go desserts are
outpacing all other dessert categories with dollar sales up 7.5% and units
up 5.1% for the latest 52 weeks (through July 13, 2024). This offers an
opportunity to expand on cake's already-strong contribution of nearly
one-third of sweet bakery dollar sales (Nielsen).
Convenience also comes in the ability of consumers to purchase
using their phone instead of using cash or credit and offering the
convenience of online ordering and instore pickup.
" Retailers continue to dedicate talented decorators to these
categories because if you win the cake, you will win the celebration and
the other party-related purchases that come with it, such as soft drinks,
bagged snacks, fresh produce, and specialty deli and meat products, "
Heiler concluded.
32 - SEPTEMBER 2024
supermarketperimeter.com
Cargill , Anchor Packaging
http://www.supermarketperimeter.com
Supermarket Perimeter - September 2024

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