The American Society of Baking’s annual BakingTech conference has undergone an evolution, incorporating more engaging formats to cover the latest, most pressing issues for bakers. 

BreadTalks, for example, 10-minute presentations on trending industry topics, debuted last year and will return this year as BakeTalks. This year the BakeTalks stage will be expanded and featured more prominently in the MarketPlace, providing a quicker and more engaging way for attendees to learn, said Xochitl Cruz, 2025 ASB chair and vice president of operations for Bimbo Bakeries USA, Horsham, Pa.

“A classroom maybe isn’t as attractive to some participants, but if we offer engaging learning that is 10 minutes long, then we can provide quick, hard-hitting insights. This format really grabs my attention,” she said.  

This year’s show will additionally feature a live recording of Since Sliced Bread, a Baking & Snack podcast hosted by Editor Charlotte Atchley. Also new this year is the Ideation Lab, peer-led discussions on a variety of topics meant to spark ideas and learning, said Kristen Spriggs, ASB’s executive director. These events all serve as more accessible ways for attendees to learn at BakingTech going forward. 

“Developing new ways to learn and connect is paramount to creating an inclusive community,” Cruz said. “We want to evolve BakingTech to give those types of learning options to everybody.”

Eric Lewis, vice president of quality assurance and regulatory at Flowers Foods Inc., Thomasville, Ga., and 2024 ASB chair, emphasized that effectively passing knowledge on to those entering the industry is one of the biggest challenges facing baking — one ASB aims to help solve. 

“It’s keeping people engaged at BakingTech, it’s having more avenues for people to gain that knowledge,” he said. “I still don’t think anything can really replace that in-person sharing of knowledge.”  

Going forward, BakingTech will also put a greater emphasis on honoring those who have made their mark on the industry. In addition to ASB’s Baking Hall of Fame, the organization added its Rising Baker award, which recognizes young bakery professionals under the age of 40 who have made outstanding contributions to the industry. 

ASB is also planning to expand its Product Development Competition, now in its 10th year. Teams of collegiate bakery students compete in researching, developing and marketing a new bakery product, with a total of $20,000 awarded to its contestants. Spriggs said ASB hopes to create more of these competitions and host regional events, eventually making it a national program. 

She added that the competition, as well as the Rising Baker Award, are meant to put a spotlight on the next generation of bakery leaders. And by helping further their development, these bakers can in turn better support the generation that follows them. 

“We have people who in their undergraduate years were recipients of the Product Development Competition award, and now with their PhDs are coming back, serving on the committee and lifting up the next generation of industry leaders,” she said.

This article is an excerpt from the February 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire special report on ASB Centennial: Future, click here.