Bakery industry looking at producing better quality & quantity quickly
With the demand for bakery products growing
exponentially across the country over the past few years, the bakery
industry has been experiencing an upward spiral with changes in product
pattern as per emerging trends.
In fact change is the key word right now in the bakery industry when it comes to ingredient variants, machines & equipment and marketing services.
The Indian bakery industry is the largest of the food processing industries, estimated to be over Rs 7,000 crore accounting for a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15%. The industry has traditionally been and largely continues to be in the unorganised sector contributing over 75% of the total production.
Line production
In almost all south Asian countries, particularly in India and China, the line production of baked products is increasing, with the number of traditional craft bakeries churning or kneading out products like biscuits, cakes, rusk or commercial breads and also home bakeries on the rise providing their neighbourhood with personalised products and adding personalised creative value. The bakery industry, valued at Rs 69 billion, has achieved the third position in generating revenue among the processed food sector in the country. Bread and biscuits hold about 82 per cent of the total share of the bakery industry.
Beginning with ingredients, we see a major shift from the use of plain flour (maida) to whole wheat, multigrain or fortified flours. Although Indians have learnt baking from the Europeans and the Europeans did use all purpose or plain flour for baking, the time has come where Indians should bake with whole wheat flour which is healthy and rich in nutrients for consumption; the Indian consumer needs to customise their mind and taste buds and adapt it to a healthier alternative. This means by altering the basic ingredient, processes, techniques and equipment the service and marketing strategies will witness change.
Today many leading retail chains have food courts with bakeries and cake shops alongside. The consumers seek more luxury products with low fat, better appeal, better taste, with more natural or organic ingredients like multigrain, fresh fruits, chocolate or milk. There is rapid change in food preferences from end-consumers to gear up with the pace of changing demand - definitely a challenge the industry faces.
Market share
The market share of organised line production is about 20-25%, which is growing. This offers a plethora of opportunities for the technology providers in the country. Bakery units are unevenly spread in all major states of India. The bakery units are mainly concentrated in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.
Industrially advanced states like Maharashtra and West Bengal have large number of bakery units. In the organised bakery sector, more and more ingredients and finished products are processed using large machines with computer-controlled systems giving uniformity in product quality and resulting in lesser wastage.
An increasing number of bread improvers are already offered as oil-based and water-based ingredients, so that they can be processed automatically. This is one reason why over the last two-three years, developed bakeries have replaced margarine (solid fat) with liquid oils for certain products (in the production of toasted breads, for example).
The shift
Till the last decade, bakery industry’s development was slow due to the lack of skilled manpower & technology, poor quality ingredients, outdated baking technology, and deprived competition, whereas the early 21st century has proved to be a landmark for the industry. Throughout this decade we have seen a colossal shift from manual production to the use of automation. Setting up a bakery business might look costlier but in the long-term it benefits not only financially, but also in providing job opportunities to many and develops the consumption habits of the vicinity. The bakery sector offers returns of 300 times if one can run their business tactfully.
The trend in traditional equipment is witnessing a deep decline as compared to new kinds of equipment with high speed production capacity are being used today in modern baking units. This equipment produces better quality and quantity within a shorter duration of time; for example, deck and reel ovens are being replaced with rotary rack ovens, which are economical in fuel consumption and easy to operate thereby making it convenient for them to be operated by semi-skilled workforce.
Similarly traditional mixer-blenders are being replaced with spiral or high-speed mixers giving better emulsification quality and thereby saving time. Equipment is available easily at an affordable price with usage of lesser power or fuel thereby making it cost-effective. Various types of tabletop mixers with state-of-the-art technology are being used for production of cakes and biscuits.
New technology, superior equipment and better quality of ingredients require specially trained skilled labour well-versed with the latest technology. Specialised manpower training should be a mandate and available at the workplace. IBCA provides 13 different short-term and long-term courses in baking and baking technology.
Further, new methods of continuous kneading are logical for line production. Continuous kneading is mostly applied in production lines with a high output of a restricted number of products (deep-frozen products, for example). The traditional tunnel oven also remains the standard for industrial line production whereas multi-level ovens based on thermo-oil are winning market share in medium-sized bakeries with restricted space and a large range of products.
Baking used to be done by bakers using individual raw materials like flour, water, sugar, eggs, fat, salt and other minor ingredients to enhance products. Although baked products stay much longer than most of the other cooked foods, there are problems one faces time and again. Today as a commercial baker, one needs to develop more variants of products, consistently at the least possible time and achieve profit. The problem is solved by large commercial companies offering pre-blended mixes like bread, cakes, cupcakes, doughnut, creams, frosting, filling, and toppings. These premixes cover a variety of products, help in reducing labour time, result in lower storage, lower inventory, more variants, easy working, consistent quality and reduction of specialised manpower.
In fact change is the key word right now in the bakery industry when it comes to ingredient variants, machines & equipment and marketing services.
The Indian bakery industry is the largest of the food processing industries, estimated to be over Rs 7,000 crore accounting for a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15%. The industry has traditionally been and largely continues to be in the unorganised sector contributing over 75% of the total production.
Line production
In almost all south Asian countries, particularly in India and China, the line production of baked products is increasing, with the number of traditional craft bakeries churning or kneading out products like biscuits, cakes, rusk or commercial breads and also home bakeries on the rise providing their neighbourhood with personalised products and adding personalised creative value. The bakery industry, valued at Rs 69 billion, has achieved the third position in generating revenue among the processed food sector in the country. Bread and biscuits hold about 82 per cent of the total share of the bakery industry.
Beginning with ingredients, we see a major shift from the use of plain flour (maida) to whole wheat, multigrain or fortified flours. Although Indians have learnt baking from the Europeans and the Europeans did use all purpose or plain flour for baking, the time has come where Indians should bake with whole wheat flour which is healthy and rich in nutrients for consumption; the Indian consumer needs to customise their mind and taste buds and adapt it to a healthier alternative. This means by altering the basic ingredient, processes, techniques and equipment the service and marketing strategies will witness change.
Today many leading retail chains have food courts with bakeries and cake shops alongside. The consumers seek more luxury products with low fat, better appeal, better taste, with more natural or organic ingredients like multigrain, fresh fruits, chocolate or milk. There is rapid change in food preferences from end-consumers to gear up with the pace of changing demand - definitely a challenge the industry faces.
Market share
The market share of organised line production is about 20-25%, which is growing. This offers a plethora of opportunities for the technology providers in the country. Bakery units are unevenly spread in all major states of India. The bakery units are mainly concentrated in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.
Industrially advanced states like Maharashtra and West Bengal have large number of bakery units. In the organised bakery sector, more and more ingredients and finished products are processed using large machines with computer-controlled systems giving uniformity in product quality and resulting in lesser wastage.
An increasing number of bread improvers are already offered as oil-based and water-based ingredients, so that they can be processed automatically. This is one reason why over the last two-three years, developed bakeries have replaced margarine (solid fat) with liquid oils for certain products (in the production of toasted breads, for example).
The shift
Till the last decade, bakery industry’s development was slow due to the lack of skilled manpower & technology, poor quality ingredients, outdated baking technology, and deprived competition, whereas the early 21st century has proved to be a landmark for the industry. Throughout this decade we have seen a colossal shift from manual production to the use of automation. Setting up a bakery business might look costlier but in the long-term it benefits not only financially, but also in providing job opportunities to many and develops the consumption habits of the vicinity. The bakery sector offers returns of 300 times if one can run their business tactfully.
The trend in traditional equipment is witnessing a deep decline as compared to new kinds of equipment with high speed production capacity are being used today in modern baking units. This equipment produces better quality and quantity within a shorter duration of time; for example, deck and reel ovens are being replaced with rotary rack ovens, which are economical in fuel consumption and easy to operate thereby making it convenient for them to be operated by semi-skilled workforce.
Similarly traditional mixer-blenders are being replaced with spiral or high-speed mixers giving better emulsification quality and thereby saving time. Equipment is available easily at an affordable price with usage of lesser power or fuel thereby making it cost-effective. Various types of tabletop mixers with state-of-the-art technology are being used for production of cakes and biscuits.
New technology, superior equipment and better quality of ingredients require specially trained skilled labour well-versed with the latest technology. Specialised manpower training should be a mandate and available at the workplace. IBCA provides 13 different short-term and long-term courses in baking and baking technology.
Further, new methods of continuous kneading are logical for line production. Continuous kneading is mostly applied in production lines with a high output of a restricted number of products (deep-frozen products, for example). The traditional tunnel oven also remains the standard for industrial line production whereas multi-level ovens based on thermo-oil are winning market share in medium-sized bakeries with restricted space and a large range of products.
Baking used to be done by bakers using individual raw materials like flour, water, sugar, eggs, fat, salt and other minor ingredients to enhance products. Although baked products stay much longer than most of the other cooked foods, there are problems one faces time and again. Today as a commercial baker, one needs to develop more variants of products, consistently at the least possible time and achieve profit. The problem is solved by large commercial companies offering pre-blended mixes like bread, cakes, cupcakes, doughnut, creams, frosting, filling, and toppings. These premixes cover a variety of products, help in reducing labour time, result in lower storage, lower inventory, more variants, easy working, consistent quality and reduction of specialised manpower.
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