At the onset of the pandemic, baking was the self-care a lot of folks kneaded.
Aspiring bakers cleaned both brick-and-mortar and online stores out of supplies, while baking sales rose faster than your sourdough starter.
- King Arthur Baking Company sold 156m+ pounds of flour in 2020, +58% YoY
- Sales of baking mixes and ingredients jumped by ~25%, according to market research firm Mintel Group
- Hershey’s cocoa sales shot up 126% while its baking chips surged 75%
- Yeast sales increased 647%
But will home bakers keep baking when they’re not stuck at home?
The answer appears to be “yes.”
Calls to King Arthur’s baker’s hotline increased 43% during the pandemic. But in March, King Arthur co-CEO Karen Colberg told Yahoo Finance that they’re still seeing baking levels up 25%-30% over pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, consumer market research firm Hunter conducted a survey that found 71% of Americans plan to keep cooking more at home. Another Mintel Group survey from March found ~⅓ of Americans were baking more often and plan to keep at it.
To keep ovens warm…
… companies in the baking biz are now introducing a slew of new products and features, per The Wall Street Journal:
- For those who’ve mastered cookies and cakes, America’s Test Kitchen is dropping a new cookbook for “The Savory Baker.”
- King Arthur’s new “Extraordinary Breads” campaign features 12 recipes beyond sourdough. It also released keto flour.
- Betty Crocker is launching simple kits for families, including “cookie cups.”
Why, yes, that is a cupcake made with cookie dough.
