Baking&Snack - March 2012 - 34

COOKIE TRENDS

Chocolate and real butter make for a more indulgent treat, which consumers look for in a cookie.
Groupe Biscuits Leclerc

Mintel, a research firm based in Chicago, IL, found in its 2010 consumer survey that households with children consume considerably more cookies than those that don’t, and it isn’t just the children eating all those cookies. Even though adults without children buy fewer cookies than parents, adults with children do indulge in the cookies they buy for their kids. This information bodes well for the cookie business because the US Census data reports that children under the age of 6 and between the ages of 6 and 11 show the strongest population growth. Even though mom and dad share a bag of cookies with the kids doesn’t mean they have the same taste when it comes A 2010 consumer survey showed that to what cookies to buy. Mintel parents are likely to eat the cookies found that adults favored upscale they buy for their children, however, brands while children would their tastes trend toward more upscale brands than their children’s taste. rather eat candy-based brands.

Cookie consumption stays in the family

however, hope that this love affair is more than just a fling but maybe an actual lasting relationship. “I know over the past year the customer has come to trust private labels, specifically some renowned private labels that have done a good job to make sure under any category the quality of the items is good,” said Frédéric Langlois, senior vicepresident, private label for Groupe Biscuits Leclerc, St-Augustin-deDesmaures, QC. “Even if you weren’t a private label customer, you might be in these tougher times.” Proving the level of quality is the battle private label faces when it comes to winning consumers away from national brands that dominate the market. Bud Cason, owner of Hoover, AL-based Bud’s Best Cookies, which produces both its own brand as well as private label cookies, said he believes that consumers who convert to private label during a recession will stay if the quality is there. “When a consumer can go into a store and buy one of the national brands for $3 or $4 or buy our cookies for less and get milk to go with it, they have a tendency to start testing those products,” Mr. Cason said. To draw in consumers on quality, Leclerc pursues indulgent cookie concepts in much of its new product development. These cookies could be enrobed in chocolate, full of inclusions or even a traditional wirecut cookie made with butter. The company strives to offer decadent cookies at affordable prices, a philosophy that works well for its branded line and has opened doors in the private label sector. Mr. Langlois noted consumers now are willing to pay for quality if they believe they are getting their money’s worth. “People are more and more cautious in how they spend their money,” he said. “They don’t want to be deceived. When they spend $1, $2 or $3 on a box of cookies, if

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Baking&Snack - March 2012

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