Home baking 2022: Baking boom over as values freefall

Don’t tell Mary Berry: Britain’s home baking boom is well and truly over. All five sectors covered by this report – including flour, sugar and cake mixes – are in double-digit volume decline. They’ve shed a total of £89m.

Fewer shoppers have baked in the wake of the pandemic – and the remaining ones are baking less often, explains Jen Brown, head of marketing for cake at Dr Oetker Baking.

This comes amid a litany of difficulties for home baking brands in 2022. “Recruiting production staff has been problematic. This not only affects our productivity, but that of our suppliers,” says Jane Arthern, marketing manager at Cake Angels owner Fiddes Payne. She also points to material shortages and delivery delays across the supply chain.

As inflation rages for suppliers and shoppers alike, Fiddes Payne is developing a range that “reflects ingredient price hikes and pressure on household purse strings”.

Dr Oetker, meanwhile, is looking to deliver that value while focusing on HFSS, reformulating and innovating to fall within government guidelines.

But ultimately, Brown believes baking sales could rise in a recession. “With less disposable income, home baking can become an affordable way for families to spend valuable time together.”