Russian Frozen Bakery Products Sector to Grow Dynamic

The market for frozen bread in Russia, which is currently estimated at USD 600 million, has the potential to grow 25-30% per year.

 The market is fast-growing, indeed, for
the past decade traditional bread and bakery products production has
decreased in Russian factories. Bread consumption in the country has
dropped from 80kg per capita in 1997-1998 to 60 kg. However, it does
not mean that Russians consume less bread. Instead, the market has
evolved as consumers seek a more balanced as well as a wide range if
quality bread products. Frozen bakery growth is also connected with
the population’s income growth.

The Russian market for frozen bakery
products, however, is much younger than in Europe, which peaked in
the 1970s and thus has more possibilities to grow. In western
countries frozen bakery products amount to 80–90% of the whole
bread market, while in Russia, the share is only 10–15%, but it is
constantly growing.

Frozen buns, baguettes, croissants and
pastry appeared in Russia only in the 1990s. Lantmannen Unibake
(formerly Cerealia Unibake) entered the Russian market in 1992 and
became one of the first companies to sell frozen bakery products and
launched its own production in Russia in 2006 after the opening of
its factory in Yegorievsk, near Moscow in 2004. The facility has two
production lines for baguette bread and frozen buns.