There for the baking!
With home baking undergoing a renaissance in recent years, it's vital to have the right materials in stock for the bakers among your customers, be they ambitious or experienced
Print16 November 2016
Home baking: At a glance
- Ireland’s home baking market is valued at almost €120m per year
- 3% of those surveyed bake once a week, 30% enjoy it monthly
- Four in five Irish bakers are female
- Just one in eight home bakers consider themselves to be highly competent
- Eight out of 10 bakers prepare their dishes from scratch, while the use of pre-mixed recipes is common in households with children
- 37% use the internet as inspiration, while 19% prefer to rely on cook books
- TV chefs remain popular, although bloggers and social media stars are increasingly popular among consumers
- Personalities and cookbooks with a focus on healthy eating are more popular than ever
(Source: 52 wks ending 22 May 2016, Bord Bia, Understanding the Home Baking Category in Republic of Ireland, June 2016)
Recent research by Bord Bia into home baking in Ireland revealed some interesting points on the sector in Ireland. While sales have reduced slightly in the past year, it is a strong Irish tradition which is closely tied to consumers’ sense of family, wholesomeness and quality food.
Similarly, while technology and society and the traditional family unit have all changed drastically over the generations, the definition of home baking has not changed over time. After all, at its core, home baking is simply the skilful combination of flour, eggs, butter, sugar and milk!
Bord Bia’s research revealed – as well as the statistics seen in our At a Glance section – that for many, home baking is about creating indulgent outcomes and happy memories. It also revealed that innovation is key for brands in order to regain the foothold they have lost to private label ingredients. Furthermore, brands need to understand the distinctive segments among bakers (skill levels, styles etc) in order to drive sales, and also – crucially – to remove barriers to baking for those open to giving it a try but who have concerns about logistics and their own skills.
Read on for our festive guide to some of those iconic baking brands that no household should be without this Christmas.
A sweet caramelised golden touch!
For more than 130 years, Tate & Lyle and Lyle’s Golden Syrup have been committed to sweetening the world. Striving for the finest quality products, Tate & Lyle have always worked with passion and the promise to deliver the best ingredients to families around the globe.
The Tate & Lyle range has grown over the years to satisfy the needs of all tastes. There now exists a range of white and brown sugars that excite the taste buds of adventurous foodies, cooking professionals and amateur bakers. Meanwhile, working closely with chefs and professional cooks, the company has built strong expertise in food and recipe development. Tate & Lyle sugar is used for more than just sweetening. It has innovated to create a wide range of brown sugars that provide rich flavours and textures for the best results at home.
On top of its extensive cane sugars, there is Lyle’s Golden Syrup, which has been a firm favourite in the family home since 1883, so much so that it holds the Guinness World Record title for the world’s oldest unchanged brand packaging. Lyle’s Golden Syrup has an authentic, unmistakable and unmissable taste, plus that famous stickiness! It can add a sweet caramelised golden touch to everything from breakfast porridge, pancakes, ice-cream, puddings and cakes to even savoury favourites, BBQ glazes and marinades. With such versatility, no wonder a pack of this great tasting sticky syrup lands in a baking cupboard every 2.2 seconds*. The delicious taste of Lyle’s will remind consumers of the value of its products for those golden baking and breakfast moments.
Grocery Brand Solutions offers the full range of Tate & Lyle Sugars and Lyle’s Golden Syrup to provide the best home baking ingredients in preparation for the Christmas baking season.
*(Source: Kantar Worldpanel Take Home, Total Lyle’s (all categories) 52 w/e 19/6/16)
Iconic baking
Ireland’s number one in home baking, Odlums, is continuing to grow the category with a new premium flour offering. Over 170 years of heritage and expertise has gone into crafting the range, all milled and packed at the Odlums mill in Portarlington, Co. Laois. Organic and Spelt plain and wholemeal flours, as well as the latest addition Rye Flour are available now in 1kg formats.
With healthier eating becoming increasingly popular, more and more consumers are conscious of ingredients and want to know exactly what is in their bakes. Recent research from Empathy states that a third of bakers claim they started because it’s healthier to bake their own food, and almost three in 10 wanted to try and make their own food instead of buying it.
Odlums Rye Wholemeal Flour is stoneground and high in fibre, it’s perfect for baking rye bread or can be substituted into recipes for healthier versions of classic favourites.
Catherine Leyden, Odlums’ brand ambassador and TV chef, says that home baking has undergone a revival in recent times. “People look to baking as a means to control exactly what they are eating,” she says, “and they gain a sense of achievement from creating delicious bakes that are wholesome, tasty and above all, naturally healthy!
“Home baking is also a fine way of sharing time-honoured skills and create memories that last a lifetime,” she adds.
With winter well and truly here, a survey by Empathy Research reveals seven in 10 home bakers can see themselves doing more baking, with six in 10 claiming baking is a great way to unwind. Christmas baking will be high on the agenda for many, with Shamrock’s range of seasonal favourites ready to be mixed into puddings, cakes, biscuits and more. Top sellers Raisins and Sultanas have had a recent design tweak to increase shelf stand-out. Also perfect for festive bakes and snacks are Shamrock’s ever popular nut selection including Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts and Cashews.
For a range of tasty recipes and inspiration, visit Ireland’s leading online baking resource, www.odlums.ie.
Sprinkle some magic
Christmas is a time synonymous with home baking, and Siúcra is a key ingredient for festive favourites, so it’s vital to stock up on everything customers may need for the festive season.
Siúcra Royal Icing Sugar, 350g is ideal for pipe decorating, frosting and adding a traditional hard set finish to cakes. Quick and easy to prepare, it can be used to create a hard white icing, or also it acts as an adhesive for gingerbread houses.
Professional results can be achieved every time with Siúcra Roll-out Icing Sugar, which comes in a 454g foil pack. This easy-to-use, time-saving cake covering gives a satin smooth and elegant finish to fruit cakes, sponge cakes and fairy cakes. It can also be coloured and moulded for a variety of finishing touches.
Brown sugar can be used in a vast array of dishes, desserts or otherwise, and Siúcra offers a range depending on the chef’s needs: Siúcra Rich Dark Brown Sugar, Light Golden Brown Sugar and Demerara Sugar. They are available in 400g and 500g packs, and are innovatively packaged in re-sealable pouches that defend against moisture and spillages. As well as adding sweetness in richly flavoured cakes, Siúcra’s range of brown sugars can also be used for savoury recipes such as ham glazes, marinades and chutneys.
Christmas is the perfect time to get creative in the kitchen and Siúcra has all the products one needs for easy entertaining. Be sure to stock up shelves with staples such as Siúcra Caster Sugar, Granulated Sugar and Icing Sugar so consumers will be ready to rustle up their festive favourites and create edible gifts over the holiday season.
Nordzucker (Ireland) Ltd is one of the leading sugar distributors in Ireland, providing retailers and consumers across the country with an extensive range of sugar products under the Siúcra brand. For more information on Siúcra products and some inspirations recipes, videos, tips and ideas visit: www.facebook.com/siucraireland, Instagram.com/SiucraIreland and www.siucra.ie.
Make it mean more
Avonmore Butter has a range of uses for home bakers
With Christmas just around the corner, this is the perfect time of year for home bakers to practice their favourite recipes as well as new ideas. Avonmore Butter is a must-have fridge essential, so be sure to stock up ahead of the Christmas rush.
Coming from the number one Irish dairy supplier, Avonmore Butter is full of natural goodness and free from all additives. Made with milk from Irish grass-fed cows, Avonmore Butter is guaranteed to result in the most flavoursome breads, buns, cakes and crumbly pastries!
Avonmore Butter has just launched a heart-warming above-the-line (ATL) campaign, ‘Make it Mean More’, illustrating how Avonmore Butter can make family mealtimes and everyday interactions mean more. This comprehensive campaign features a brand new sting for Avonmore’s sponsorship of RTÉ Weather, as well as outdoor, shopper and digital support.
Available in both salted and unsalted varieties, Avonmore Butter offers the perfect solution for all baking recipes – be sure to stock up today.
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