Magazine: There is a way forward!

Dr Zoltán Tóth, managing director of Lipóti Bakery reckons that the Hungarian baking industry faces not problems but challenges: it has to improve in terms of technology used and professional knowledge as well. He believes that the level of trade education has to be raised and the baking industry needs to be popularised among young people.

János Galántai, managing director of Pek-Snack Kft. told our magazine that two important trends dominate the exhibition bakery category: 1. In-store baking started its conquest in discount stores, super- and hypermarkets. These products are usually of good quality and their prices are set in a fashion that every shopper can find the products that best suit their needs and budgets; 2. Lots of new, small floor space, quick-service exhibition bakeries opened and the market started to become fragmented. Ilona Ludászné Máté, director of Calypso Plus Bakery is of the opinion that changing economic and market conditions in the last few years put multinational retail chains in a favourable position. These are competing fiercely with each other and their suppliers are struggling in this situation. Klára Ludwig, managing director of Jókenyér Bakery talked to Trade magazin about how difficult it is to convince young people to become bakers – this is also one of the reasons why the level of trade education is lower than the level of baking technology used. In her view the product structure didn’t change much in the last couple of years. Still semi-brown and white bread, rolls (made with water) and crescent rolls (made with milk) are the dominant products. Mr Tóth opines that competition always brings innovation and he experiences a conquest of products made from rye flour in every segment. He mentioned the appearance of gluten-free baked goods and those with reduced carbohydrate content. Ilona Ludászné Máté shared the view that the majority of demand still concerns basic products, but she also sees that a layer of consumers want healthier products made from rye flour, with various seeds. Mr Galántai told us that the proportion of wholemeal products is still much lower than in Western Europe. Consumption habits are changing slowly in Hungary but from a technological perspective we can compete with any bakery west of Hungary. Mr Tóth added that in that part of the world baked goods’ prices are higher, too. Calypso Plus Bakery’s director differentiated three consumer groups: 1. those who stick with traditional baked goods, 2. those who want new products and 3. those who are forced to buy special products (gluten-free, reduced salt content, etc.). Recently the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) raided bakeries operated by a market player in way that didn’t comply with regulations in many respects. In the last few years the number of bakeries buying ingredients from dubious suppliers and using illegal work has grown. Price-sensitive consumers are easily deceived by nice looking but poor quality products. Fair players in the market have to keep innovating, offering quality products and implementing marketing campaigns to change consumer behaviour if they want to stop the expansion of the black economy in the baking industry.