(from British Baker, first published July 2001)

Well, I’ve heard your comments, and a few readers will be pleased to know that the photograph above the page will soon be changing soon. Some felt that a picture of a denim clad baker in a wheat field sent the wrong impression, an alarming and somewhat puzzling response. So I’m open to suggestions as to what sort of backdrop and apparel would make a suitable impression on us.

Many years ago I used to be an advertising photographer. My work was to create images that sent a message to a particular consumer, a set of values in a picture that specifically outlined the emotional appeal of the product. No campaign was ever intended to sell to everyone, but rather to appeal to the consumer that was most likely to enjoy the product. Enjoy rather than use, since if it could create an emotional bond between the consumer and the product, the campaign would be deemed a success. Aiming to increase the number of consumers that bought the product because they believed the image reflected the way they felt about themselves. The price of the product was the icing on the cake.

I am happy to apply these values to the small, almost insignificant picture at the top of the page. But I want you to think of the images we in the baking industry send to our customers, and ask whether they too send the right message. From the packaging, to the look of the shop window, to the catalogue of bakery products, to the advertising that appears in the pages of this magazine, every printed image must be seen as an opportunity to differentiate our products from the competition. Please don’t try and make products and their promotion look like that of the competition. If you want to join a club, do so. But if you want to sell, tell me and every other consumer what is different about you, what is special, and why I would want to buy your product above all others.

There is a book out in the U.S. at the moment, called “Artisan baking across America”. I must admit I have only just glanced at the recipes. But what is inspiring is the way that bakeries look and are photographed. It’s not particularly American, and many older bakers will recognize the ovens and bakery layout. The interesting thing is, no bakery is old either. Clearly all have been designed to present an image, of tradition, craft values, and local style, as well as being workable and practical. From the uniforms the bakers wear to the layout of the store, all are designed to send coded messages to consumers about the values of each company. Remember, these are new bakeries trying to be both youthful yet suggesting tradition. If you like, a very Hollywood view of the baking industry.

Soon, this magazine will undergo a redesign, and I salute Sylvia (the editor) for that. I hope that it sends a message to all in our industry that even the oldest bakery trade magazine can both be comfortable about its heritage as well as lead the way in presenting a relevant visual image to its readers and advertisers. I know many of you having been working this industry for longer than me, and some are perhaps despondent and tired from fighting. But we must renovate our appearance, and rejuvenate our approach in order to go forward, and this will make the future easier.

(from British Baker, first published July 2001)

Thought I’d test a recipe for a Christmas cake, and vary it a bit using mead to soak the fruit in. Mead. You remember, that rather sweet honey-based alcohol that became the stuff of our history. I thought its sweetness and honey notes would be good in a fruitcake, but as the recipe was for a consumer magazine it made sense to check where it’s available. Tried the local supermarkets, but no luck. The assistants at the old local wine store, with its dusty old bottles and young staff, were puzzled. “Ever heard of a wine called Mead?” one shouted out the back. I tried to explain that it was more of liquor, but that made matters worse. “Ever heard of a wine called Liquor”. At this point I left the store quickly.

It seems to happen every seven years or so. The ingredients I’m used to, the equipment I know, the familiar faces in my world have moved on. The flours are different, better I’m told, and spare parts are no longer available for the cherished equipment in the bakery. Obsolete, the reps say. Everyone’s moved on. Our consumer’s diet has become more promiscuous and flighty. As soon as a product becomes very successful and imitated, the decline quickly sets in. At that point you’re left with products that don’t sell, made with ingredients no longer required, made from kit no longer suited to the fashionable demands of the market.

Add to that list skills no longer of use, and you have an accurate picture of the bind food manufacturers and their employees are in. Yet, we do have a use. Though it feels sometimes that our place on the national dinner table has been taken by other foods, our somewhat shrunken form still contributes greatly to the economy. Though venture capital is scarce for baking companies whose livelihood depends on the fickle buying procedures of the multiples, there must be those who look beyond our old-fashioned demeanour. And see that we draw from past knowledge to sustain our growth.

Without investment, how will we create the brand heroes in the bakery sector, to focus the gaze of the city, and its politicians on us? Perhaps you think only the consumer is swayed by the whims of fashion? Just reflect on the last few years, the Internet and mobile phone ‘revolutions’, and compare that to our industry. Perhaps we’re not sexy; maybe we’re old-fashioned and seasoned with experience, but unlike some we produce a dependable and growing income for a consumer who will turn increasingly to us as the winds of recession begin to blow. I will happily go again and again to meetings, demanding interest rather than dismissal for our bakery sector. Most of the time I get looked at like the nutter asking for mead at the wine store. But eventually those outside our industry will grasp the notion that the success we have as our goal is achievable and just ahead of us.