Baking in Today's Times

The use of these modern industrial technologies is streamlining production processes to improve profits and innovation.

Food and Beverages Tech Review | Thursday, February 11, 2021

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The use of these modern industrial technologies is streamlining production processes to improve profits and innovation.

FREMONT, CA: Present-day consumers need it all. Flavor, consistency, and variety are given. But to be successful, bakers also have to offer items like convenience, hygiene, a clean label, and a dedication to social responsibility—to name a few. Adding a growing lack of labor and different product recalls makes the baker's work ever more difficult.

Following are trends that will be the critical forces of transition in the baking industry—trends that will impact the largest number of people, from bakers and food suppliers to supermarkets and customers. Bear these in mind as one formulates their plans for success in the coming year:

Growing Landscapes

As globalization progresses, one expects more of the world's population to be condensed into urban centers. This trend will challenge bakers, who will have to adapt rapidly to satisfy the evolving demands of an increasingly diverse consumer base. Finding opportunities to reach more consumers more efficiently would require them to find easy alternatives that will allow them to save time, monitor product quality, and strive to pursue product freshness.

Emerging Technologies

When information is more easily accessible to customers online, they can review pricing, product quality, and brand data more efficiently and even make transactions on the go. Bakers also need to ensure that their delivery processes are designed to move products quickly and effectively to reach optimum freshness on the shelves. Failing to do so can mean that items in the bakery category may not remain staples.

The declining skilled labor force is driving bakers into the use of more sophisticated equipment that has once been capable of completing the activities of general laborers. The use of these modern industrial technologies is streamlining production processes to improve profits and innovation. However, bakers still need to ensure that they retain a human link in the product creation process to continue formulating simpler and safer goods.

Food Safety and Regulation

The highly dynamic global supply chain network has made food safety oversight and compliance with regulations more difficult than ever before. As materials and components are concentrated among smaller manufacturers, the scope of product recalls will begin to expand. A variety of issues will be comprehensive on the agenda for many bakers, including ensuring the proper protection of their products, compliance with regulatory reforms, and complying with the labeling standards for safe packaging, organic certification, and non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) products.