Recent years have borne witness to consumers demanding healthier baked goods. Demands for sugar-free, high fibre, gluten-free, whole wheat, millet-based foods are seeing rising demands. The organised sector as well as the unorganised sector has been paying heed to consumer demands and innovating with healthier alternatives to the satiate consumer demands. Let’s get to the bottom of this ’forever growing’ sector.
The Indian bakery industry is one of the largest segments of the food processing industry offering huge opportunities for growth, market diversification, employment and innovation. India is one of the largest consumers of biscuits and cookies globally with the highest market penetration in urban and rural areas as compared to other FMCG goods.
According to a report by Expert Market research, the biscuits and cookies industry in India accounts for nearly 72 per cent of sales in the Indian bakery market. The country enjoys a comparative advantage in manufacturing, with an abundant supply of primary ingredients, which supports the growth of the industry in the region.
The Indian bakery market stood at a value of nearly Rs 57,000 crore in 2020. The market is further estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.5 per cent between 2021 and 2026 to reach a value of Rs 92,000 crore by 2026. The Indian bakery market is being supported by the thriving biscuits and cookies industry, with more than 2,000 organised or semi-organised bakeries, and 10,00,000 unorganised bakeries.
East and North India are the regions with the highest consumption rate of biscuits and cookies in the country. Maharashtra and West Bengal, being the most industrially developed states, hold the highest rate of biscuit consumption. The top four players in the biscuits and cookies market are Parle Products, Britannia, ITC, and Surya Food and Agros, where Britannia and Parle together account for 61 per cent of the total market share.
As demands for biscuits and cookies have been growing which have been further fuelled by advancements in technology, rise in population and increasing consumer demands for healthier alternatives, rising foreign influence, fluctuating eating habits and the emergence of the female working population.
The bakery industry is an established sector across the nation and has been gaining further popularity due to its high nutrient value and affordability. The Indian bakery industry is further experiencing fortification of bakery goods to cater to the needs of health-conscious people.
The recent months have seen a number of innovative varieties of biscuits, cakes, breads etc. being launched by established and new players in the market. For instance, Britannia Industries has revamped its largest selling biscuit brand Good Day and as part of that revealed its new identity. Besides, Britannia is also expanding the product portfolio of its most-penetrated brand Good Day by adding three more variants in the premium segment.
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