Biscuit and cake sales on the rise
According to Biscuits and Cakes 2014, a Market Update from Key Note, the value of biscuits and cakes at retail in the UK increased by 3.6% between 2012 and 2013.
The growth is surprising given the rising popularity of home baking, which has been attributed to television baking programmes such as The Great British Bake Off.
Despite this trend, the market has grown due to two factors. The first is inflation, which, while it has created financial pressures, has enabled the snacks industry to remain fairly resilient, with people treating themselves to more low-cost items. The second factor is the increasing demand for convenient snacks and cakes, which has lead to the rise in popularity of products such as breakfast biscuits and individually wrapped cakes.
Key Note warns that the long-term future growth of this market could be unstable due to products saturation and increasing competition from rival markets, such as the confectionery industry. Over the next 5 years, inflation looks set to continue rising and as such, Key Note forecasts total market growth of 14.8% between 2014 and 2018.
