KANSAS CITY — Four years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed the baking industry’s approach to business. To keep supermarkets and other retail outlets stocked, bakers pivoted away from new product development to keep their top-selling SKUs running on the production line as continuously as possible. While the impacts of the pandemic still reverberate across the supply chain, business has settled into a new normal, and with that, new product development is starting to bounce back. 

To understand what that journey looks like, Baking & Snack’s next installment of the State of the Baking Industry study series, conducted by Cypress Research, focuses on new product development and innovation. Survey respondents weighed in on their ingredient priorities, challenges, innovation pipeline, and even R&D budgeting and staffing. 

The study offers trending data from its benchmark installment conducted in 2022 compared with this year’s study, conducted in May and June. 

“We’re excited to be able to see not only how baking companies are approaching new product development right now but also how these approaches have been changing since the pandemic,” said Charlotte Atchley, editor of Baking & Snack, who will be moderating the webinar. “This study will show how priorities have shifted post-pandemic and how the current challenges of inflation, labor and supply chain are still having an impact on the new product pipeline.” 

The study’s findings will be presented and analyzed in a free industry webinar, “State of the Baking Industry: Product Innovation & Development,” Aug. 7 at 1 p.m. CT. 

The webinar, sponsored by Corbion, will offer data analysis from Marjorie Hellmer, president of Cypress Research, and on-the-ground industry insights from Penny Patterson-Smith, chief innovation officer, Flowers Foods, Thomasville, Ga., and Sergio Machado, senior director of RD&A, Corbion. 

Register to attend this free webinar here.