Bread and rolls: The trend is towards self-service – Westfalen-Lippe – News

The number of bakeries with more than 20 employees has more than halved since 2000. While there were still over 20,000 bakeries back then, there were only 9,242 in 2023. The Association of German Large Bakeries presented the figures on Monday in Gütersloh.

Fewer bakeries sell more baked goods

“We are seeing a concentration towards larger companies,” said Ulrike Detmers, President of the Association of German Bakeries. At the same time, bakeries’ turnover and per capita consumption of bread grains have recently increased. Bread remains the staple food of Germans.

Bread and baked goods are always bought not in bakery branches, but in food retailers – for example, packaged bread, pre-baked rolls or frozen baked goods, but also fresh baked goods at self-service baking stations in supermarkets and Discounters.

Staff shortages remain a problem

A lack of staff and the unsuccessful search for successors continue to be a major problem for bakeries and the main reason for closures. Of these, solid large bakeries, says Detmers, who is also managing partner of the Gütersloh-based Mestemacher Group.

The shortage of staff has caused wages to rise. Customers have noticed this in the increased prices for bread and rolls. However, according to the association, these have now reached their peak.

Our sources:

We will also report on this topic on 23.09.2024 in the WDR Radio on WDR2: Local time OWL.