October 2013
« Bakers and pastry-makers have become local businessmen »
Jean-Pierre Crouzet*
Europain, the world bakery, pastry, ice-cream, chocolate and confectionery trade show
8-12 March 2014 Paris-Nord Villepinte – France www.europain.com
* A baker by profession, Jean-Pierre Crouzet is Chairman of the French National Bakers’ and Pastry-makers’ Confederation (CNBF), the Professional Union of Artisans (UPA) and the General Food Retailers’ Confederation (CGAD).
The bakery sector is changing in step with society: people are spending less time eating meals but their demands for quality and traceability are increasing. How can we reconcile healthy products made on the spot with these new constraints of fast preparation and tighter budgets? That is the challenge facing bakers, who have become “businessmen in a rapidly changing local economy”, according to Jean-Pierre Crouzet.
Added to that, the sector seems to be the focus of everyone’s attention, witness the recent enthusiasm shown by the French media for baking and pastry-making (with a competition for the best bakery in France on TV channel M6) and the national communication campaign launched by the watchdog “Observatoire du Pain”! Europain will be presenting and illustrating 7 trends, 5 of them devoted to the profession, in order to gain a better idea of the sector and the way in which it is changing. Trends to explore and compare so as to gain a better understanding of the baking and pastry-making industry now and in the future:
- Contemporary bakeries for all-day consumption
- I can get things that are good for me at the baker’s
- Design, collections and perfect matches to suit every taste
- Faster, more practical and without compromising quality
- Pastries become lighter and go on the moveDepending on what they are looking for, visitors to Europain will quickly find the supplies and new products that match each of these trends by using the website or visit resources available at the exhibition.Maintaining profitabilityTo give concrete expression to these trends, a wide, varied range of exhibitors will be showcasing all the products, equipment and services that can accompany the changes taking place in baking and pastry-making. “Professionals must constantly invest in new equipment… The Europain exhibition enables them to compare new products and choose those that will optimise their working area and thereby increase their turnover”, explains Jean-Pierre Crouzet.
Europain is at forefront when it comes to novelty, with the Innovations and New Products Area, which will showcase new products and innovative equipment in all the categories represented at the exhibition, as well as the 2014 Europain Innovation Trophies and 2014 Intersuc Collections. A panel of experts will award prizes to the most innovative equipment, products and services presented by exhibitors at Europain and Intersuc. A compendium of technology and solutions available for professionals wishing to improve their performance and productivity! And for the first time there will be a new selection criterion in 2014: an oral examination enabling Europain Innovation candidates to defend their products in front of the Selection Committee.
Combining taste, quality and creativity
“The trend is towards fresh products made directly by bakers and pastry-makers”, observes Jean-Pierre Crouzet. To inspire the professionals, Europain is staging several elite contests, a distillation of talent and creativity. Bakers and pastry-makers will be able to pick up new recipes and techniques thanks to these master classes and admire the world’s finest bakers and pastry-makers in action. The Cube, the highly innovative 4000 m2 competition area for Europain and SucessFood, which brings together the worlds of baking/pastry-making and foodservices, will be the setting for the Bakery Masters and International Confectionery Art Competition. The French Schools Cup, for its part, will be held in an area dedicated exclusively to promising new talents.
Another source of inspiration for professionals, the Road to Success will present bakery/pastry-making and restaurant concepts that “work” from France and abroad, in an area covering more than 1000 m2. Linking Europain and SuccessFood, this area will be a life-size source of inspiration for professionals wishing to start up or reinvent their business. It will be packed with attractive, practical ideas for meeting consumers’ new demands.
Adapting to market expectations
To adapt to new market and consumer expectations, bakers and pastry-makers now need to be company managers, at the heart of an increasingly diversified industry.
“Three hundred years ago, bakeries produced bread, and that was all. Then pastries gradually appeared, followed by cakes, sandwiches and now entire meals”, explains Jean-Pierre Crouzet. “This change is inherent in the transformations taking place in our consumer society, and is to be welcomed provided that the bakery’s image of neighbourhood service and quality is maintained”, he emphasises.
SuccessFood, the contemporary foodservice exhibition, will be taking place alongside Europain to showcase complementary foodservice ideas. A feature of the 2014 exhibition will be the emphasis on coffee as a new source of business for restaurant owners and bakers. Latte art, Barista and Cup Tasting contests and practical demonstrations will show how this product can offer added quality and profit to professionals who wish to diversify their menu.
The challenges of vocational training
“Thirty years ago, bakers were trained to produce a single product – bread – for four years. The question of making changes in vocational training never arose. How can young people today be properly trained in half that time to make a much wider range of products?” asks Jean-Pierre Crouzet.
Since the future of baking lies in the hands of apprentices, a dedicated area – the Rue des Ecoles – will present basic and advanced training courses in this field. The schools, which are all trusted partners of Europain, share the same values of professionalism and quality of work. “Studies prove that bakers who have followed a training course succeed better. They learn technical skills and respect for the products they use. There is a difference between aptitude and ability”, recalls Jean-Pierre Crouzet.
Mixing know-how and modernity
Based on its knowledge of the baking and pastry-making market, Europain offers professionals a range of resources and contacts enabling them to adapt to the requirements of a constantly changing market, without forgetting the basics. The French tend to choose their baker on the strength of his know-how (73%), the quality of his bread (72%) and the fact that it is produced from A to Z at the place where it is sold (60%)*. “Clearly, the challenge is a renewed interest in healthy, traditional baking that is in step with the changes taking place in the 21st century”, concludes Jean-Pierre Crouzet.
FrENCH bAkINg AND PAsTry-MAkINg: kEy FIgurEs
- 11 billion euros annual turnover
- 12 million customers a day
- 32,000 baking and pastry-making businesses
- 84% of bakeries offer take-away meals
- 10% increase in turnover from snacking in bakeries in 2012
- 2 billion sandwiches sold each day
PrEss CONTACT
AB3C Anne Daudin / Maxime Godart Tel : +33 (0)1 53 30 74 00 anne@ab3c.com / maxime@ab3c.com
Maralyn D. Hill, M.Ed., The Epicurean Explorer
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