Gonnella is looking to engage with young, edgy chefs around the country to create a series of videos of them using Gonnella bread in creative ways.

HOUSTON — While the in-store bakery and the perimeter of the grocery store may be seeing a surge in sales, fresh bread in this area is not, according to data presented at the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association (IDDBA)’s Dairy-Deli-Bake Seminar and Expo, held June 5-7 in Houston.

In the Ed Talk session “New ways to win with ISB bread” held June 7, Eric Richard, education coordinator, IDDBA, said fresh bread isn’t keeping pace with the rest of the fresh food offered in the perimeter of the supermarket. While flatbreads and sandwich bread are growing, fresh bread in the in-store bakery is experiencing flat or declining sales.

Mr. Richard and Scott Fox, bakery operations director, Dorothy Lane Markets, Dayton, Ohio, offered in-store bakery operators ways to promote the sales of fresh bread, most notably through proactive shopper engagement targeting younger demographics of millennials and Generation Z.

“Reaching these demographics is a whole different animal,” Mr. Fox said.

Proactive shopper engagement may come in the form of demos or educating shoppers of how to use fresh bread and pair it with other finds in the store’s perimeters. Gonnella Baking Co., Chicago, a supplier to in-store bakeries, is doing just that with a new program the bakery is developing aimed at engaging sandwich builders and grocery store commissaries.

Tom Marcucci, vice-president of sales and marketing at Gonnella

“We want to create an interest in bread, recipe development and getting consumers to think of bread in new and creative ways,” said Tom Marcucci, vice-president of sales and marketing at Gonnella Baking Co.

Gonnella is looking to engage with young, edgy chefs around the country to create a series of videos of them using Gonnella bread in creative ways.

“This isn’t a celebrity endorsement,” Mr. Marcucci said. “Millennials are smarter than that.”

This is a way for Gonnella to engage and educate consumers at the same time, an opportunity for the company to get consumers excited about using fresh bread and illustrate the creativity that can go along with it.