The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA), in collaboration with The Cambridge Group, has identified a bakery “superconsumer,” who offers supermarkets an increased sales opportunity.
Bakery superconsumers are 10 percent of households who drive 24 percent of the total bakery spend. They spend 2.4 times more ($357 per year), purchase six subcategories and shop at six different stores.
Twenty percent of households are potential superconsumers; these are people who “often really like” bread and baked goods but spend less than a superconsumer (about $143 per year vs. $357). Potentials may need to be taught or given permission to use more of a product. For example, teaching potentials that it’s OK to serve their families quick sandwiches for dinner—if they’re on special bread from the in-store bakery. If teaching quick tricks to potentials can increase their spend index to 170, just halfway to a superconsumer’s spend index, the bakery industry could experience 14 percent growth, or $1.4 billion, in sales, according to IDDBA research.
One male superconsumer interviewed for the research spoke of utilizing the bakery department “to elevate a meal.”
As the research brief notes: “Recently, a meeting ran late, putting him behind schedule. He loves cooking for his family, but now he only has time for something quick—sandwiches. Since it’s dinnertime, he can’t serve any old sandwich. It has to feel just as lovingly made as a more involved meal. Adding a toasted croissant elevates the meal. This relatively simple ‘life hack’ or strategy keeps (his) family happy and his values intact. The meal feels homemade, he saves money because he has not purchased a more expensive QSR meal, and he has spent more money on in-store bakery.”
