Bread is a staple within Irish diets, with packaged bread benefiting from almost universal appeal, having been purchased by over 90% of consumers in the past three months (Toluna, March 2014).

Due to its widespread appeal and versatility, the all-Ireland bread/bread products market has enjoyed value growth of 11.3% between 2009 and 2014, with rising production costs also being a driving factor.

Speciality breads (eg baguettes, pittas, naan) have enjoyed standout growth of 13.3% in NI and 3.7% in RoI between 2012 and 2014 as consumer spending improves. With 47% of RoI and around four in 10 NI consumers willing to pay more for high-quality freshly baked bread, this sector looks set to continue to grow.

• How can the health concerns about bread be addressed? – With bread receiving criticism regarding its salt content, are Irish consumers concerned about the health status of baked goods? If so, what are manufacturers doing to improve the health credentials of their products?

• What opportunities are there for manufacturers to add value to the bread category? – How are brands distinguishing themselves in a competitive marketplace and how can they encourage consumers to trade up?

• What occasions are most popular for bread consumption amongst Irish consumers? – Which occasions are most popular for Irish consumers to eat bread at and how can brands widen their usage occasions?

• Which types of bread are Irish consumers favouring? – With innovation in the market seeing the development of sandwich alternatives such as pittas, tortilla wraps and bagels, are consumers opting for these new varieties or do they remain traditional in their tastes?

This report examines the retail market for bread products in both NI and RoI, focusing on bread bought through retailers for use at home or for packed lunches, etc. Bread bought via foodservice channels is not examined in this report.

For the purposes of this report bread includes:

• Traditional loaves – white, brown and wholemeal, which may be sliced or unsliced, wrapped or unwrapped. Part-baked products are also included.

• White bread – this is made from flour, which contains only the endosperm, or the central section of the grain (about 75% of the wholegrain).

• Wholemeal bread – this is made from the whole of the wheat grain with nothing removed. This is primarily a brown bread, although it can also be white.

• Brown bread – this is made from flour from which some bran and wheat germ have been removed and represents about 85% of the wholegrain.

Speciality bread

• For the purposes of this report, the speciality bread market is taken to include: baguettes/sticks, pittas, wraps, chapattis, naan breads, panini, garlic bread (brown, seeded and white), ciabatta, focaccia, soda farls and potato bread.

Morning goods

• For the purpose of this report, morning goods include: bagels, brioche loaves and rolls, croissants, crumpets, English muffins, fruit loaves, hot cross buns, malt loaves and pains au chocolat.

Please note items excluded from this report include: scones, teacakes, savoury/sweet muffins, pancakes, doughnuts, savoury and Danish pastries, waffles, pizza bases, panettone, Swiss rolls and cakes/cake bars.

Value figures throughout this report are at retail selling prices (rsp) unless otherwise stated.

Values are expressed in Sterling (£) or in euros (€) for purposes of comparison.

The Market Size and Segmentation section of this report includes estimates for the value of the all-Ireland bread market including both NI and RoI data. Trade sources and government statistics have been used to verify market estimates, and have also been used for market forecasts.

Other Mintel reports of interest include:

• Grocery Retailing – Ireland, December 2013

• Attitudes To Food – Ireland, August 2013

• Bread – Ireland, July 2013

• Foodservice – Ireland, July 2013

• Bread and Baked Goods – UK, September 2013.

For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive online consumer research into Irish consumers’ consumption of and attitudes towards bread and bread products. The research was carried out by Toluna on behalf of Mintel in March 2014.

A total of 1,250 internet users aged 16+ in RoI and 750 internet users aged 16+ in NI were asked questions including:

“Which of the following types of bread have you bought in the last 3 months, and for which meal occasion?”

“Which of the following types of packaged sliced bread have you bought in the last 3 months?”

“Which of the following factors, if any, are most important to you when you are purchasing bread?”

The results from this survey are discussed in The Consumer sections of this report.

Mintel also draws consumer insight from other sources including Mintel’s database and previous Mintel reports from the UK and Ireland.

In compiling this report, Mintel has gathered data from separate NI and RoI sources (eg NISRA and CSO). In some cases therefore it has not been possible to provide comparable data for each region.

For the purposes of this report:

• Ireland refers to the island of Ireland

• NI refers to Northern Ireland

• RoI refers to the Republic of Ireland.

Therefore, ‘Irish consumers’ refers to both NI and RoI consumers