Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
New research has confirmed the spectacular rise of home baking – with millions of people now baking every day, and more and more men being bitten by the bug.
Mintel’s new home baking report shows that 79% of adults now bake at home, 23% do so at least once a week and 6% – that’s 3m – bake on a daily basis. In the last year 9m home bakers have upped their baking.
Says Mintel senior food analyst Emma Clifford: “Home baking is one of the few food categories to have flourished during the recession; in fact the onset of the economic downturn actually helped to kick-start the revival in home baking.
“But while the economic downturn may have helped to reignite interest in home baking, its revival cannot solely be attributed to economic pressures…and it’s clear that many Britons have embraced baking because of its enjoyment factor.
“The explosion in the media on the topic has made home baking more accessible than ever, drawing more novice cooks to the baking aisle and helping the more experienced to develop their baking prowess.”
The younger generation emerge as the keenest bakers, says Mintel, and nine in 10 women bake – but seven in 10 men now roll up their sleeves in the kitchen too, and almost a quarter of male bakers are baking at home more than they were a year ago.
Says Clifford: “Male celebrity bakers such as Jamie Oliver, the Fabulous Baker Brothers and presenter of The Great British Bake Off Paul Hollywood are helping to raise the profile of baking among men. As a result, men are becoming more engaged in baking.”
Bread is the one baked good that male bakers are more likely than women to make.
Finally, the top five items baked in the last 12 months are: standard cake such as Victoria sponge and carrot cake, 50%; small cakes such as cupcakes, 49%; batters such as pancakes and Yorkshire pudding, 40%; biscuits and cookies, 39%; and sweet puddings, 34%.
