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India's bakery industry is thriving
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Monday, 06 December, 2010, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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The concept of baking food or bakery as an industry is as old as human civilisation.
Bread has been the staple food for many civilisations - it is consumed by people across the globe. Bakery products, once considered as sick man's diet, have now become an essential food item of the vast majority of population.
In India, the market for the bakery products witnessed a turning point in the later part of 20th century. Factors contributed were urbanisation, increased demand for ready-to-eat products at reasonable costs. The bakery units since then have been unevenly spread among various populated states.
Major states with large number of bakery units include Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Amongst them states like Maharashtra and West Bengal can boast of having large number of bakery units. "Biscuits" have emerged to be the king of all the bakery products with nearly 60% of consumption only in the rural sector alone.
Says Jaspal Singh Johar, marketing head of Mrs Bector's Food Specialities Pvt. Ltd: "Today, the current size of the bakery industry is approximately Rs 7,500 crore. It is growing at 15% per annum. We also observed that North India has shown tremendous growth followed by West zone of the country."
Bakery products still remain the cheapest of the processed ready-to-eat products in the country. The production of bakery products has increased from 5.19 lakh tonnes in 1975 to 18.95 lakh tonnes in 1990 recording four-fold increase in 15 years.
Major biscuits players
" Britannia
" Parle
" Bakeman
" Priya Gold
" ITC Foods
" Surya Foods & Agro Pvt. Ltd.
The current bread and biscuits production in the organised and unorganised sectors is estimated to be around 20 lakh tonnes and 15 lakh tones, respectively. The organised bakery market is valued at around Rs 3,200 crore.
"A steady growth of 15% in the next 10 years will be achieved by the biscuit industry of India. Besides, the export of biscuits will also surpass the target and hit the global market successfully," the Federation of Biscuit Manufacturers of India (FBMI) said.
India is also the second largest producer of bread and baked products followed by the US. Over 75% of the biscuits are produced by small and medium scale sector consisting of both factory and non-factory units.
The growth rate for other bakery products like cakes, khari, and toast is estimated at an average of 10% per annum. The demand for bakery products will continue to increase in future.
Encouraging trends in consumption of bakery products by population of lower and middle income groups indicate vast scope for consideration of nutritional enrichment of bakery products also.
Retail bakery boom
A concept of "retail bakery" is that the chain has a central kitchen which produces all these products and then from these kitchens products are moved to retail shops on regular intervals.
In metro cities, few malls and supermarkets like Bisk Farm, Bread Talk, Hot Bread, Cookie Man, Monginis, Birdy's, Croissant, Ovenpick, Cafe Coffee and Donut Baker have put bakery products on their food courts. Retail chains have mushroomed all over metros where you can see people spending lavishly on bakery products. Rise in disposable income, change in eating habits, people's preference for ambience and service have contributed towards this trend.
"Retail chains are fast gaining popularity in upscale markets in India .These are speciality product chain and offers quality premium products. This has been very popular abroad, until now people have been going to restaurant or coffee houses," Ganesh Dhonde, Mumbai-based BPO employee said. He is also an avid food shopper.
Even coffee houses are now supplementing their stores with bakery products .Most popular products are cakes, sandwiches, pastries, puffs, and croissants .They also provide home delivery and take home pickings.
Bakery as your career
With bakery products in demand and bakery retails opening everywhere bakers are in demand as there is a shortfall of skilled bakers in the industry.
One can choose baker as a profession and earn about Rs 25,000 - Rs 50,000 with age and experience. Advantage to this career is that at any stage one can start its own signature bakery products.
The Indian universities and institutes in direct or in-direct tie-ups with the food ministry or association offer various diplomas, degree courses to become bakery professionals. One can opt for two-year or four-year degree course in baking and bakery related courses.
These courses also provide internship for practical training.
Every now and then, regional and national associations like Bombay Bakers' Association, National Association of Bakery Industry, India Bakers Association, and Society of Indian Bakers organise workshops and seminars and provide certificate courses or short duration courses for bakery and pastry.
As baker one needs to know about ingredients, equipment, packaging material, food safety standards, food laws, ingredients prices, and marketing. It can be a creative profession where you get enough space for imagination and creativity.
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