Find the Sweet Spot

While consumers will always have a love for baking mixes and baking ingredients, the health and wellness trend is taking its toll on the category. Concerns about the health impact of eating too many baked goods are negatively influencing sales of baking and dessert mixes, says Amy Kraushaar, U.S. category manager, food and drink for global market researcher Mintel. Sales of these products were flat in 2013 and 2014, and they are forecast to remain flat in 2015 and decline $0.2 billion by 2019.

Retailers, therefore, might need to take a harder look at the store brand baking mixes and ingredients they offer, as they can no longer easily get away with high sugar, fat and calorie content.

Make it healthful

Among U.S. consumers who use baking/dessert mixes, 44 percent say it is important that such mixes offer reduced-sugar and reduced-fat options, according to Mintel’s February “Category Insight: Baking Ingredients & Mixes” publication. Additionally, 26 percent of U.S. consumers who do not buy baking/dessert mixes perceive such mixes to be unhealthful.

Consumers are realizing that their treats need to be more healthful, which is leading them to look for baking mixes and ingredients that are “grown up” and offer more beneficial alternatives, says Kim Holman, director of marketing, Wixon Inc., St. Francis, Wis.

Emphasizing health and wellness in baking mixes is a big change from the past, says Said Merhi, sales director at FlavourTech, Izmir, Turkey. Twenty or 30 years ago, consumers didn’t care so much about the health benefits of any particular product, but now they want to know everything about a product and its benefits. And with baking mixes, offering a high level of transparency could be a challenge.

But “healthful” does not necessarily refer to only items with fewer calories and less sugar and fat. For some consumers, “healthful” refers to a cleaner ingredient list. In fact, Mintel reports that 67 and 57 percent of U.S. consumers, respectively, say dessert and baking mixes made with premium ingredients and natural ingredients are important to them.

But a number of national brands, while aspiring to look more premium and be more innovative, still sport “unclean” ingredient statements, states Fern Bennett Phillips, CEO, Little Big Farm Foods, Portsmouth, N.H., turning off customers who read ingredient labels. If retailers offered mixes with a cleaner ingredient statement, they could take dollar share away from the national brands. Additionally, retailers might want to consider adding labeling on the package that clearly states “free from artificial flavors, colors and preservatives” as another way of drawing consumers to their products.

And when it comes to ingredients, functional ingredients also have their place within the baking mix arena. For example, protein-rich pancake or muffin mixes could be what consumers are looking for next, Holman says.

“Consumers are looking for functional benefits, and bakery mixes are just the products to meet this need,” she adds.

Therefore, retailers might want to consider the use of wholesome ancient grains, whole grains and other energizing or protein-rich ingredients such as quinoa, chia and flax, Mintel states. The room for growth is quite staggering. In 2014, only 4 percent of all baking mixes and ingredients were marketed as being whole grain, and only 1 percent were marketed as being rich in protein.

Specialty mixes are also important to consumers. For example, an increasing number of consumers are looking for products that meet their lifestyle needs, including gluten-free, organic and non-GMO options, Phillips adds.

Make it novel

Besides better-for-you options, consumers are looking for novelty, indulgence and choice, Mintel says. Unusual flavors and ethnic-style baked goods are two things with which retailers could experiment to appeal to consumers.

“Mass production can make mixes seem processed, impersonal and low-quality,” Holman states.

To enhance novelty, a retailer could, for example, offer consumers an apple cake mix using and advertising Granny Smith apples on the box. By being specific and personalizing the mix, the retailer makes the mix more appealing to consumers and communicates the quality of the product. Additionally, retailers could consider other ways to get the consumer involved, whether it’s with recipes on the box or recommendations of extra or different ingredients that could go in the baking mix.

And although seasonal flavors might not seem very novel, in the United States, 46 percent of consumers who buy baking and dessert mixes say seasonal flavors such as gingerbread and pumpkin are important to them, Mintel adds. Therefore, retailers could find fun ways to experiment with these more traditional flavors. Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co., for instance, offered store brand gingerbread men decorating kits containing ninja-shaped cookie cutters during the Christmas season, and Minneapolis-based Target Corp. offered private label sugar cookie baking kits with zombie-shaped cookie cutters during the Halloween season.

Keep packaging current

To communicate the healthfulness or novelty of a baking or dessert mix, the packaging needs to catch the shopper’s eye. Here, retailers might want to keep in mind a few small trends. For example, Jenna Baker, marketing manager for Fort Collins, Colo.-based Rodelle Inc., says her company is seeing an increased level of interest in reducing packaging materials by making the same amount of product available in a smaller package.

European retailers could also provide a positive packaging model for North American retailers to follow, Merhi says. While most North American baking mixes come in a plastic pouch packaged in a cardboard box, Europeans skip the box altogether, opting for flexible pouches instead. Not only are the pouches more environmentally friendly, but they also reduce cost to the consumers.

Regardless of how store brand baking mixes and ingredients are packaged, Tom Barbella, president, Bektrom Foods Inc., Colgate, N.D., recommends that retailers keep the packaging current by refreshing it at least every three years.

Offer convenient displays

Of course, for the customer to see and notice these store brand products, retailers must get them in front of the customer’s eyes. Creating displays with all items necessary to make a baked good could be very effective, Barbella says. In the case of a cobbler baking mix, create a display with the dry mix, canned fruit, cooking spray and any other essentials.

“By putting all the ingredients together for the customer, the retailer is saving her a step,” he adds. “Keep it simple for the shoppers, and you’ll see sales grow.”

Do reformulate baking mixes to be more healthful for consumers.

Don’t forget to refresh packaging regularly.

Do offer premium ingredients and novel flavors.

Don’t limit placement of mixes to the shelf; use them in displays.