Looking into 2025, the continued introduction and integration of international foods into Canadian culture is poised to reshape the landscape of baked goods in Canada. The fusion of cultural influences in baked goods stands as a vibrant area of innovation. As Canada continues to diversify, there is an emerging opportunity to explore and incorporate unique flavours and baking techniques from around the world, appealing to a broader audience and igniting the palates of adventurous eaters.
Beyond international inspiration, however, it is essential to continue to challenge old tropes around baked goods being unhealthy. Consumers feel guilty about baked goods and still hold to arbitrary attitudes such as ‘baked goods with too many carbs are unhealthy’ despite not actually prioritizing ‘low carb’ baked goods. Snack-sized options offer some relief, but there is still plenty of work to be done to change consumers’ perceptions.
And, while purchasing baked goods is certainly the easier option, 82% of consumers do bake in some form. Encouraging baking as a form of stress relief or as a way of connecting with one’s children are optimal ways to get Canadians baking.
This report looks at the following areas:
- How Canadians are baking (ie from scratch, using baking mixes)
- Sweet and savoury baked goods consumption
- Factors for choosing baking goods
- Sources of baking ideas
- Attitudes toward baking
- Attitudes toward baked goods
- Attitudes toward shopping for baked goods and the in-store experience
Focaccia and roti and sweet pastries, oh my! While sliced bread and cookies remain the most popular baked goods in Canada, the tides are shifting and paying attention to multicultural consumers' and newcomers to Canada's preferences is critical.
Candace Baldassarre, Research Analyst
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Executive summary
- What you need to know
- Consumer trends: key takeaways
- Market predictions
- Opportunities
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The Market
- Market context
- Diversity is defining
- Graph 1: distribution of foreign-born population, by region of birth, 1871 to 2036
- Impact of inflation
- Graph 2: issues Canadians report having been affected by over the past two months, 2023-24
- Food costs have steadily increased
- Graph 3: Consumer Price Index, 2021-24
- Market drivers
- 'Heatflation' and 'sogflation': more frequent extreme weather events elevate concern over price increases
- Ozempic and the like impact consumers' cravings
- Recalls plague the food industry
- Smuckers divests Voortman cookie brand
- While the bread price-fixing scandal may be over for some…
- …things continue to heat up between Maple Leaf Foods and Canada Bread Co…
- …and Bimbo Canada continues to consolidate its baking operations
- Shrinkflation is surely bothering consumers
- Value-centric retailers gain steam
- AI's transformational power on the food industry
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Consumer Insights
- Consumer fast facts
- Types of bakers
- There is not just one type of Canadian baker
- Older men and older women are polar opposites
- Graph 4: bakes only from scratch, by age and gender, 2024
- Graph 5: "I never bake", by age and gender, 2024
- Older men and older women are polar opposites
- Show consumers baking doesn't have to be expensive
- South Asian consumers are excited to use baking mixes
- Graph 6: types of bakers (select), overall vs South Asian, 2024
- Encouraging non-English and French speakers to get baking
- Graph 7: "I never bake", by language spoken at home, 2024
- Regional differences emerge across the nation
- Graph 8: types of bakers (select), by region, 2024
- Moms are most into baking
- Savoury baked goods consumption
- Sliced bread is still the greatest thing
- Graph 9: savoury baked goods eaten in past three months, 2024
- Women's interest in savoury is pronounced
- Graph 10: savoury baked goods eaten in past three months, by gender, 2024
- Younger Canadians look internationally when consuming savoury baked goods
- Graph 11: savoury baked goods eaten in past three months (select), by age, 2024
- Younger women love their tortillas
- Old men like buns and rolls
- The Gold Bun is a golden option for burgers
- South Asian consumers' behaviours stand out from the pack
- Graph 12: savoury baked goods eaten in past three months (select), overall vs South Asian, 2024
- Regional differences in savoury baked goods consumption runs rampant
- Graph 13: savoury baked goods eaten in past three months (select), by region, 2024
- Sweet baked goods consumption
- Making life sweeter
- Graph 14: sweet baked goods eaten in past three months, 2024
- Consumers' preferences for sweet treats shifts slightly over the years
- Graph 15: sweet baked goods eaten in past three months (select), 2019 vs 2022 vs 2024
- Age has everything to do with sweet baked goods consumption
- Graph 16: sweet baked goods eaten in past three months (select), by age, 2024
- Younger women love a good brownie
- Reese's brownie mix checks all the boxes
- Race's very real impact on sweet baked goods consumption
- Graph 17: sweet baked goods eaten in past three months (select), by race, 2024
- Expanding newcomers' palates
- Graph 18: sweet baked goods eaten in past three months (select), overall vs consumers living in Canada for less than five years, 2024
- While Quebecers are less likely to eat sweet baked goods, other regions show distinct interest
- Graph 19: sweet baked goods eaten in past three months (select), by region, 2024
- Parents like sweet baked goods, but moms outpace dads
- Factors for choosing baked goods
- Important factors for sweet and savoury baked goods are are nearly identical
- Graph 20: factors important when choosing baked goods, 2024
- Important factors for sweet and savoury baked goods are nearly identical
- Age factors in many (expected) ways
- Graph 21: factors important when choosing sweet baked goods (select), by age, 2024
- Graph 22: factors important when choosing savoury baked goods (select), by age, 2024
- Protein is king in consumers' eyes
- Younger men stand out
- Graph 23: factors important when choosing sweet baked goods (select), by age and gender, 2024
- Graph 24: factors important when choosing savoury baked goods (select), by age and gender, 2024
- Don't underestimate multicultural Canadians' preferences around savoury baked goods…
- Graph 25: factors important when choosing savoury baked goods (select), by race, 2024
- …or Multicultural Canadians' sweet baked goods preferences either!
- Graph 26: factors important when choosing sweet baked goods (select), by race 2024
- Clearly communicate 'reduced sugar' in languages beyond English and French
- Graph 27: 'reduced sugar' is important factor when purchasing baked goods, by language spoken, 2024
- Organic makes sense…in urban areas
- Graph 28: 'organic' is important factor when purchasing baked goods, by area lived, 2024
- Sources of baking ideas
- Traditional routes of baking inspiration (continue to) take the cake
- Graph 29: typical sources of baking ideas, 2024
- The differences in younger and older consumers' inspiration is staggering
- Graph 30: typical sources of baking ideas, by age, 2024
- Women and men seek inspiration in different places
- Graph 31: typical sources of baking ideas (select), by gender, 2024
- Online options are opportunities to connect with multicultural consumers
- Graph 32: typical sources of baking ideas (select), by race, 2024
- Quebec looks at things differently
- Parents are going online and in-store for inspo
- Graph 33: typical sources of baking ideas (select), overall vs parents of children under 18 in the household, 2024
- Focusing in-store marketing efforts in urban areas simply makes sense
- Attitudes toward baking
- Reminding consumers not to sleep on frozen ingredients to simplify the process
- Jus-Rol puff pastry makes gourmet cooking a breeze
- Parents love to bake with their children
- Half of Canadians hate the clean up
- Krustaez makes homemade easier than ever
- Consumers' motivations for baking are diverse
- Graph 34: attitudes toward baking (% agree), 2024
- Baking fulfills a different set of needs for younger Canadians
- Graph 35: attitudes toward baking (% agree), by age, 2024
- Filipino and South Asian consumers more likely to look to baking to relieve stress
- Graph 36: baking is a stress reliever (% agree), overall vs Filipino vs South Asian, 2024
- Multicultural bakers are excited to show their creations online
- Graph 37: "I like posting pictures of things I bake for others to see online" (% agree), by race, 2024
- Guilt around baked goods
- Canadians are feeling guilty around baked goods
- Multicultural consumers need more convincing
- Graph 38: "I would eat more baked goods if they were better for me" (% agree), by race, 2024
- Carbs are still perceived to be an enemy…
- …but snack-sized options save the day
- Lean into multicultural Canadians' preferences when designing snack-sized options
- Graph 39: "I feel less guilty when eating snack-sized baked goods versus full-size" (% agree), by race, 2024
- Checking ingredients and avoiding preservatives
- Canadians are informed and opinionated baked goods consumers
- Age and income impact how consumers prioritize
- Graph 40: attitudes toward baked goods (% agree), by age, 2024
- Multicultural Canadians seek transparency
- Graph 41: attitudes toward baked goods (% agree), by race, 2024
- Attitudes toward baked goods
- Who doesn't like a homemade baked good?
- Canadians are willing to shell out for quality
- Chinese consumers' desire for higher quality baked goods is above average
- Graph 42: "I'm willing to pay more for higher quality baked goods" (% agree), overall vs Chinese, 2024
- Two-thirds of sweet baked goods consumers prefer their sweet treats with a coffee or tea
- Multicultural consumers' proclivity for pairing sweet baked goods with their cuppa is pronounced
- Graph 43: "I typically prefer to have my sweet baked goods with coffee or tea" (% agree), by race, 2024
- Consumers are feeling sweet
- Shopping for baked goods and the in-store experience
- Bring on the international options
- Multicultural Canadians and newcomers to Canada seek internationally-inspired options
- Graph 44: "I would like to see more international baked goods offered at grocery stores " (% agree), overall vs consumers living in Canada for less than five years, 2024
- Graph 45: "I would like to see more international baked goods offered at grocery stores" (% agree), by race, 2024
- Entice with in-store offerings
- Urbanites eke out different in-store experiences
- Graph 46: attitudes toward baked goods (% agree), by area lived, 2024
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Competitive strategies
- Launch activity and innovation
- 'Protein cookie' doesn't need to be an oxymoron
- High-protein, low carb alternatives pose a challenge for traditional baked goods
- Limited edition Star Wars Oreos
- Mixes help take the hassle out of baking
- Better-for-you options scratch an itch for health-conscious Canadians
- Looking to India for inspiration
- Novelty makes indulging permissible
- Inspired by French and Belgian gourmands
- Baking equipment, but make it cute
- Marketing and advertising
- Cookies and milk are a natural partnership
- Inspiring gameday snacks with King's Hawaiian
- Food waste diversion gains steam
- Look to cross-category synergies
- Loblaws helps teach roti making
- Getting consumers excited with recipes over social media
- Save-On-Foods makes gifting baked goods a breeze
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Appendix
- Consumer research methodology
- Consumer research questions
- Abbreviations and terms
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