With its strong direct store delivery distribution system and free product displays, Bon Appetit® was voted the top fresh bakery supplier, according to the CSD Sales Tracking Study. Bon Appetit® garnered 23% of the vote from the 40 retailers participating in the survey.
Other Top Performers in the category include Interstate Bakeries (12%), Pillsbury (10%) Sara Lee Foodservice (8%) and Ne-mo's Bakery (5%). Honorable mentions were Cuisine de France, Otis Spunkmeyer and Prairie City.
Bon Appetit®, which is new to the survey, also scored the highest-marks in product quality, promotions and deals.
Interstate Brands edged Bon Appetit® 50% to 45% on store visits.Overall, chains reported they were underserved in the fresh bakery category, despite its profit potential.
The chains participating in the survey operate 18,900 stores and registered $620 million in fresh bakery sales last year. Yet 10% of the buyers reported no sales presentations from bakery suppliers in the past 60 days and 75% reported less than five presentations from the 15 companies service the market.
"This demonstrates a low level of personal selling by a great number of bakery product manufacturers in convenience store chains," the study said.
TOP PERFORMERS
• Bon Appetit®
• Interstate Bakeries Corp.
• Pillsbury
• Sara Lee Foodservice
• Ne-mo's Bakery
HONORABLE MENTIONS
• Cuisine de France
• Otis Spunkmeyer
• Pepperidge Farm
Source: Convenience Store Decisions Sales Tracking Study
