This study will help readers understand the way consumer behavior has changed over the past few years with respect to frozen bakery food products. It also focuses on various factors that influence the market and the overall buying behavior of consumers. Constant innovation in the field of freezing technology has led to the current market growth. There has been increase in the various distribution factors, like grocery stores, convenience stores, supermarkets and so on. Bakery products are popular and integral part of a balanced diet in most of the western countries. It has not been a smooth ride, especially for women to accept that bakery products could be frozen and consumed later.

This study will help readers understand the way consumer behavior has changed over the past few years with respect to frozen bakery food products. It also focuses on various factors that influence the market and the overall buying behavior of consumers. Constant innovation in the field of freezing technology has led to the current market growth. There has been increase in the various distribution factors, like grocery stores, convenience stores, supermarkets and so on. Bakery products are popular and integral part of a balanced diet in most of the western countries. It has not been a smooth ride, especially for women to accept that bakery products could be frozen and consumed later.

Bakery products like breads, cakes and muffins can trace their origins back to 300 B.C. Since then bakery products are immensely popular and form an important part of diet. Baking Breads and cakes was much more than meeting the basic diet needs. It required skills and precision that came with training. Back then the women of the house, treated baking as a part of lifestyle necessity and relaxation therapy. During the festival of Christmas baking was part of family tradition that was widely followed by many. With time the concept of baking as a profession came. This was due to lack of baking equipment and the space required for it along with other infrastructure constraints like wood and coal. Within no time baking became popular as a respected profession.

During the 1920’s owing to the efforts of Birdseye the frozen food technology was introduced. This started as a method to increase the shelf life of the product and to cater to the long-distance customers. Frozen foods became popular as there was improvement in refrigerators and freezers, improved transport and a growing product line. Popularity grew with the advent of TV Diners in the year 1954, a place to just heat and eat pre-cooked frozen meals.

Consumer behavior

The last 5 decades have seen a decline in the time spent by people in preparing a meal. Frozen bakery industry has adapted to the changing technology trends and adapted to new technologies like microwave oven. Americans have found various nutritional advantages of frozen vegetables and fruits in regular diet. The traditional and preferred breakfast sandwiches were quickly replaced by heating of frozen croissant or muffin.

Frozen bakery products are ready products that can be consumed at any time of the day just by heating it. The industry did face a setback during the mid-90’s, which was overcome by new innovative products and change in marketing and distribution strategy.

Various distribution channel of the product are convenience stores, Artisan bakers, Quick service restaurants, Hypermarket and supermarket and Catering and industrial companies. The above graph clearly indicates that there has been growth in the overall industry. In the year of 2013, the convenience stores, contribute a little to the market share. Quick service restaurants and Hypermarket and supermarkets contribute a large share to the market.

Quick service restaurants: These are typically the grab, heat and eat while on move joints. Here the restaurants have food prepared and stored in specified temperature. This is fried or reheated as per the product requirement before being served. An ideal example of this is leading fast food joints like Mc donald’s and Burger king. There is no special skill set required for these products and can be easily assembled and presented. The market is growing due to the fast paced lifestyle of the people, as there is a huge demand of quick food to save time.

Hypermarket and Supermarkets: Hypermarkets and Supermarkets are another growing market contributors. These supermarkets are located strategically at accessible locations for consumers. Here along with daily need grocery products, consumers can opt from a wide range of ready-to-eat and frozen food products. Frozen food products come in a wide range in the form of breads, pie-crusts and pizza base.

What Changed?

In the year of 1950, instant mix cake was introduced in the market. For a perfect cake all it needed was to add water and bake it at preset temperature. What seemed like an awesome concept failed miserably in the market and failed to generate revenue. The company did a survey and got to know that the housewives, which were there actual customers, were not happy with giving up their art of cooking. Also mixing water was an easy job and they were unhappy with the situation. So the company changed the product and now, user had to add egg and water to the mix. The sales of the product sky-rocketed and so did the profit of the company.

Also, this was the time when the concept of breakfast places was becoming popular. The working population was opting for eating out rather than cooking in. Eating out became the most trending and part of lifestyle, soon it started facing hurdles. Awareness about the health effects due to regular consumption of the product was increasing along with the involved high cost.

Understanding the concerns and market hurdles, companies worked to provide better products to the consumers. They worked on Technological innovation, product development and expansion factors of the company. The above graph indicates the weightage given to all these factors on a scale of 1-10.

In terms of expansion the key players worked on expanding their infrastructure as well as the product range. Some such game-changing incidents are, In April 2016, Alpha Baking Co. Inc., a Chicago-based manufacturer of baked goods and supplier to, national restaurant chains and other institutions, bought two bakeries to increase the manufacturing facilities across states. In terms of technology, In November 2017, Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies and Chatbooks planned to launch a consumer engagement campaign launching just in time for the holiday season. The product would inspire women and moms to make time for themselves to enjoy more moments of well-deserved "me" time. In terms of product development there are various stages that the market has come across. In October, 2017, Europastry added four new products to its existing high-quality margarine pastry range.

These are just few of the factors that have helped in the growth of the market. With a wide variety of products for the consumers, frozen bakery products is successfully wooing the customers. The trend is growing in the developing countries like India of the Asia-Pacific region.