KANSAS CITY, MO — It’s an adage as old as time: “Do as I say, not as I do.”
Although this is direction parents typically reserve for their children, it also serves as a reminder that consumers’ intentions don’t always match their actions. That doesn’t mean intentions are meaningless; after all, they’ve paved some pretty important roads. It simply indicates that commercial bakers must look at the whole picture when considering shopper behavior.
Research that goes broad as well as deep can reveal specific idiosyncrasies about not only consumer preferences but also the behavior they can prompt. Understanding this relationship can be key to creating growth that can impact the industry in more ways than meets the eye. In the American Bakers Association (ABA)’s most recent research report — “2024 Bakery Playbook: Translating Consumer Expectations,” sponsored by Puratos — Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, dove into consumer behavior in a different way.
“Instead of only taking a wide, shallow look at all baked goods, we wanted to also take a deep dive into how consumers are engaging with specific categories,” said Christina Donnelly, senior director, industry relations and strategic initiatives for ABA. “The category-focused playbooks will provide more content and insight for ABA members who produce a variety of categories. To deliver on ABA’s new strategic goal of driving category growth, we need to provide our members with a strong understanding of what the consumer wants today and what we anticipate they’ll want tomorrow.”
