Leveraging bread’s potential by tapping into nutrition

BACK TO ALL NEWS

Leveraging bread’s potential by tapping into nutrition

20 May 2025

Maddie Lambert

Maddie Lambert is a copywriter and editor from Joplin, MO. She graduated from Missouri Southern State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English – literary studies. When she’s not poring over the magazine or lost in the pages of a new novel, you can find Maddie exploring her local bookstores, spending time with her husband, or sharing her latest literary discoveries with fellow book enthusiasts.

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY — In 2024, Lesaffre conducted an international consumer and prospective study spanning five continents and 11 countries, with a sample size of 1,000 people per country. Conducted with the help of market research companies GfK and BrainValue, the study aimed to better understand the evolving role of bread in the shifting food landscape, where meals and snacks are increasingly shaped by health and nutrition.

During an iba 2025 panel, three members of Lesaffre’s international team took a deeper dive into these findings, showcasing how bread remains a powerful symbol of comfort and pleasure among consumers. From adapting to new eating occasions to fulfilling personalized wellness goals, bread is on a clear path for growth and innovation.

An essential food

Bread is the most frequently consumed product globally, with half the world eating it daily. The universal staple blends daily sustenance, nutritional value and tradition.

“Worldwide, consumers say they eat bread at least once a day, if not several times a day,” said Sandrine Cuisenier, marketing expert at Lesaffre International. “It’s an unmatched figure when it’s compared to other basic food categories. Of course, there are some nuances depending on the country. For instance, in Turkey, more than 84 percent of consumers say they eat bread at least once a day, while it drops to 21 percent in the US.”

The study results also found that bread is a major contributor to energy all over the world. In the US, bread contributes to 8% of total energy intake, while in Poland, the number more than doubles, totaling 22%.

“Bread is a national contributor to diets; quantitatively in terms of energy, but also qualitatively in terms of fiber and protein. We can even declare there are benefits regarding chronic disease and heart health.” — Etienne Maillard | director, baking external relations | Lesaffre International

“All around the world, bread is a pillar of diets and a significant contributor of energy,” said Léa Ribet, scientific affairs research associate at Lesaffre International. “One specific study was conducted in Nigeria on the children’s population, and we saw that bread is a top food source of energy and the second largest contributor of protein.”

Consumer perception

There are three primary reasons that one out of seven consumers has eliminated bread from their diet: 34% said bread became too expensive, 25% said it led to weight gain and 25% said it didn’t fit with their current diet.

But, according to Ribet, bread is a part of a healthy diet and should remain a central component.

“We studied four types of bread from two databases and, on average, we saw that bread provides twice as much fiber and Vitamin D than it does calories and contributes at least 8 percent of the recommended protein values,” she said.

The study provided a lens to analyze how worldwide consumers perceive bread in terms of health consequences vs. benefits. According to the results, Etienne Maillard, director of baking external relations at Lesaffre International, is confident in the boost it will give bread manufacturers.

“It really is good news for our business,” he said. “Bread is a national contributor to diets; quantitatively in terms of energy, but also qualitatively in terms of fiber and protein. We can even declare there are benefits regarding chronic disease and heart health.”

Commercial bakers can leverage bread’s potential as a health and growth vector by integrating the study results with current consumer perception to find common ground. The axis for future bread development relies on salt reduction, fortifying bread with nutrients and prioritizing whole meal flours.

Advertisement

BACK TO ALL NEWS