Akij Bakers launches Funtastic Cake, strengthening its hold on a promising market.

Established companies in bakery items are increasing their investment due to the industry's rising potential, while newer companies are also entering the scene.

Almost all the companies are coming up with new flavours to survive in the competition. There are also variations in prices.

The industry has already made a mark in the international market, attracting more local investors, particularly the large conglomerates, to put their money into the business, industry insiders have said.

They said less than 4% of the products in this category were now coming through imports, especially high-end products consumed mainly by the middle-and upper-middle classes.

However, they said the automated bakery and confectionery units have gradually grabbed a major stake in the local market at the cost of the traditional ones which are now struggling to survive amid tough competition.

The leading conglomerates have captured over 60% of the market over the last two decades, according to an estimate by the industry insiders.

Changing food habits amid rising income of the people has helped the sector maintain a 10-12% for last two decades, according to the Bangladesh Auto Biscuit and Bread Manufacturers Association (BABBMA) and Bangladesh Bread, Biscuits O Confectionery Prostutkarok Samity (BBBCPS), an association of the traditional factories.

Biscuit industry

There are no precise figures on how big the country's biscuit market is.

Officials of several companies said that the country's biscuit market is about Tk10,800 crore. Of that, the branded biscuit market is almost half, close to Tk5,400 crore.

Biscuit market is growing at the rate of 12 to 15% every year.

Currently simple biscuits, those of various flavors including potato, cumin, cream, chocolate, wafer, toast, masala, salty, almond, milk, ghee, salt, vegetable, glucose, coffee, strawberry, and orange are being sold.

Besides, some companies have introduced sugar free biscuits and digestive biscuits for diabetic patients.

The biscuit market is broadly divided into three categories. These are biscuits made by ordinary bakeries, biscuits of small regional or local brands and biscuits manufactured in factories of established big companies. As the price of the brand's biscuits is lower than before, their sales are increasing every year.

New market player

Some of the big brands in the market now include Olympic, Haque, Nabisco, Danish, Romania, Coca Cola, Pran, Kiswan, Well Food, Fresh, and Dan Cake.

Akij Bakers, the country's second largest cake seller, launched their third category of "Funtastic Cake" on Saturday, to capitalize on Bangladesh's growing demand for food items.

With an investment of Tk1,200 crore, Akij Bakers had launched on December 16, 2020, by introducing Bakeman's, a premium biscuit brand.

They launched on December 16 in line with National Victory Day, as well as to match their vision of being victorious by producing best quality products in the market, as well as being victorious in the hearts and minds of consumers by fulfilling their unmet demands.

Courtesy

Later they launched Funtastic biscuit the following year.

Possessing the highest capacity of cake production in Bangladesh, Akij Bakers ensures quality products using best possible raw materials like A-grade flour, sugar, high quality imported flavors, skimmed milk, cake gel, and full cream milk powder.

They also use real cream in the production of their cakes which they import from other countries, whereas others are using Dalda.

Their bakery production factory contains world-class European machines from France, Germany, Italy and England.

These machines consist of TT Italy, Comas, Imaforni, Mettler Toledo, and ABB brands for processing, and PFM brand of machinery for packaging.

The entire process is fully automated, with no hand-touch production facility at all cake lines.

Multiple conveyor belts are used for easy product handling, making them capable of producing the highest variety of cakes in terms of taste and flavour.

Akij Bakers has also been active in terms of their corporate social responsibilities (CSR), as they provided free ambulance service for Covid-19 patients' easy transportations and high flow nasal cannula machine for government hospitals during the pandemic period.

They also distributed free food, pure water and medicine support for flood-affected people in Sylhet earlier this year.

The bakery brand also organizes regular factory visits for different renowned schools and universities.

The popularity of the brand's biscuits has increased another step due to the increase in health awareness among people during the Covid-19 pandemic period.

This article has been published in partnership with Akij Bakers Ltd.

News Source: Dhaka Tribune