Fall baking is becoming more flexible, functional and creative
Fall baking is rooted in comfort and seasonal celebration, but today’s shoppers are also seeking products that help save time and manage costs while letting them add a personal touch.
Baked desserts continue to show up regularly in consumers’ routines, accounting for 8% of all eating and drinking occasions, according to data from the Hartman Group. Bakery and restaurant items make up the largest share of baked dessert occasions at 37%, followed by shelf-stable products at 19%, retailer-baked and ready-to-bake products at 15% each and home-baked desserts at 13%.
Shelley Balanko, senior vice-president at the Hartman Group, says shoppers are no longer simply choosing between scratch baking and store-bought. Increasingly, they want shortcuts that still leave room for a homemade touch. “Semi-homemade is the centre of home baking now,” she says.
Convenience with a personal touch
That shift is prompting demand for mixes, ready-to-bake formats and products shoppers can customize at home. Balanko says consumers are embracing “finish at home” products such as cake and brownie mixes, where they still do some of the baking or decorating but avoid the effort of a fully scratch-made dessert.
Giant Tiger notes a similar shift. “Customers are approaching home baking with a stronger focus on both value and convenience than we’ve seen in previous years,” says Jason Gardiner, the retailer’s general merchandise manager, grocery, private label and quality assurance.
Those solutions are especially relevant as fall and holiday baking bring occasional bakers into the category. Gardiner says mixes and other convenient options reduce the number of ingredients shoppers need to buy, making seasonal baking more approachable and affordable.
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Convenience is also gaining ground at the premium end of the market. Haley Allen, culinary innovation and events chef at Summerhill Market in Toronto, says customers are using high-quality shortcuts such as frozen all-butter croissants cinnamon buns and chocolate chip cookie dough to get the fresh-baked experience without spending hours in the kitchen. “Rather than choosing between scratch baking and convenience, many customers are blending the two,” Allen says.
Health cues reshape indulgence
Better-for-you baking is also shaping the category, but consumers aren’t necessarily looking to take indulgence off the table. Balanko says consumers are looking for smaller portions, better ingredients and more functionality. “It’s not about restricting indulgence but having smarter indulgences,” she says.
For flour and grain suppliers, this means growing interest in pulse flours, ancient grains and products that add protein or fibre to familiar baked goods. Reid McEachran, international marketing manager at Ardent Mills, says the company’s recent research found 75% of consumers had made changes to their diet or eating priorities in the previous three months. Of that group, almost one-third were doing so to add specific ingredients that could improve health or wellness.
Ardent Mills recently launched Roasted Chickpea Flour across Canada, a product McEachran says was developed to make pulse flour easier to use in everyday baking. The roasting process gives chickpea flour a richer, nuttier taste while boosting protein and fibre content compared with all-purpose flour.
A more measured approach is also showing up in sweeteners. Stefan Pazulla, director of sales, retail and distribution at Lantic, says consumers are not eliminating sugar, but are weighing sweetener type, amount, price and format more carefully. White sugar remains the dominant sweetener, he says, but shoppers are also reaching for maple syrup, brown sugar, yellow sugar, icing sugar and other specialty formats.
Global flavours meet familiar formats
Flavour is bringing fresh excitement to classic baking.
Traci Wildish, vice-president, Canada consumer sales and marketing at McCormick & Company, says Canadians still gravitate toward nostalgic fall flavours but are reimagining them with new pairings such as cinnamon with orange zest, and pumpkin pie spice with maple.
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“The opportunity isn’t about replacing traditional baking, but about integrating culturally inspired flavours into everyday recipes,” Wildish explains.
This is also playing out at Summerhill Market, where Allen says customers remain loyal to classics but are increasingly curious about flavours such as matcha, black sesame and tahini.
For grocers, the takeaway is to group products in ways that spark ideas and provide simple usage cues that help shoppers move easily between convenience, wellness and creativity.
