The International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association™ (IDDBA) has released a new bakery benchmark study, Consumers in the Bakery: Attitudes, Buying Behavior, & Purchase Drivers.  The new report updates the last study published in 2004.

This benchmark study determines how much is actually a change in eating behavior or taste and how much is influenced by economic factors.  Additionally, to validate how the economy continues to affect consumer attitudes, a series of questions from last year’s New Value Shopper study was asked again. 

The study identified three clusters of bakery shoppers, each with different motivations and preferences.  They include a core group of “Happy Campers,” a vocal, opinionated “Health-Conscious” segment, and “Bakery Lites” off at the fringes.  By learning the differences between these three groups you can make the most of promotions and tailor your product mix to attract specific customers.  Here are just a few of the other areas covered:
How consumers seek out information on meal planning and saving money
Shifts in cooking at home versus eating out or eating at home
Nutritional issues that impact food purchases and eating behavior
Overall satisfaction with the bakery they shop most often and what improvements they'd like
Frequency of shopping for baked goods at various venues once a week or more
Baked sweet good consumption and purchase patterns by category
Bread purchase consumption and purchase patterns (frequency and category)
Satisfaction ratings for specific bakery services
Prevalence of negative experiences and how it affects customer loyalty
Consumer trends that are shaping the industry

The consumer survey assessed demographic and economic data for 4,000 respondents and specific bakery shopping behavior and preference information from 2,000 respondents.  The 2010 responses were compared with studies done five, ten, and fifteen years ago.  Purchase behavior data are broken out by eating occasion and purchase and consumption locations.  The Bakery report looks at 23 bakery products and includes 182 tables.

Consumers in the Bakery: Attitudes, Buying Behavior and other IDDBA research projects are available for purchase.  The cost is $395 each for members and $795 each for non-members, plus shipping and handling.  For more information, or to order, call the IDDBA Education Department at 608.310.5000 or visit the Web site, www.iddba.org