Are you looking for new ideas to attract more customers in 2025?
Following up on our "top 7 bakery trends in 2024", and keeping in mind that several trends are still very much active (such as bakery as an art form, croissant 2.0, XL viennoiseries, or travel with food), we have been studying and monitoring hot topics that will drive the industry this year. And we are very happy to share with you the exciting 10 bakery trends that will have an impact on the sector and help you spice up your offer and stay ahead of your customers' expectations by following them.
What are the new trends in bakery (viennoiserie, pastry, bread, food...)?
The world of baking is evolving in 2025, striking a balance between tradition and modernity to offer ever more indulgent and innovative creations. As consumer preferences oscillate between authentic flavors and bold new experiences, the industry continues to explore new possibilities. From the ongoing rise of sourdough to inventive fusion flavors, bakers are pushing the boundaries of creativity to captivate an ever-demanding audience.
The bakery sector is experiencing unprecedented growth on social media platforms, where both professional bakers and home enthusiasts are shaping tomorrow's trends. This digital revolution has transformed bakery from a traditional craft into a powerful driver of engagement and innovation, with thousands of bakers sharing their creations and inspiring others worldwide. The surge in bakery-related content across platforms like Instagram and TikTok not only demonstrates the sector's vitality but also highlights the crucial need for businesses to refine their offerings and enhance their brand image to meet evolving consumer expectations.
Discover the ten main trends that will be popular for bakery consumers this year and learn how they reflect changing consumer preferences.
#1 The great price gap: a polarized market between good value for money and premium products
In an evolving economic landscape, price has become a decisive factor in bakery purchasing decisions. While many consumers are carefully watching their budgets and seeking value, others are willing to splurge on premium products for those special moments of indulgence.
A good value for money offer
In these inflationary times, consumers are price sensitive and wiser in their purchasing decisions. Comparing prices has become a common practice. A McKinsey study revealed that 40% have switched retailers searching for better prices and discounts1.
In France, in 2024, 30% of consumers have increased their expenditures in hard discount stores. On the other side, hard discounters in Germany have gained market share by 3 points to record 37.8% of market share in the FMCG market2,3.
Artful and luxurious
Still, premiumness remains a standard for consumers who look for luxury and for time-to-time treats to satisfy cravings with memorable tastes and visuals. Consumers want to see dazzling artistic bakery beauties and choose products based on their appearance. During these hard times, they still want to see and consume sophisticated and artistic products; hashtag #art has seen an increase in interactions by 126%4.
Not to forget that influencers like the famous chefs Amaury Guichon (16,6M followers), Cédric Grolet (12M followers) and Magri Alberto (6,3M followers) who popped out this year as top influencers in the ranking on social media are gaining further interactions and interest by the audience who cannot help it. Premium looks and refined bakery are far from reaching a mature stage4.
#2 Quick & Easy: The rise of convenience bakery
According to Euromonitor, even if 72% of buyers were worried about rising costs, yet 50% were nonetheless willing to pay for timesaving solutions5. Convenience appears to be a real need shared by both consumers and foodservice professionals4.
Social media relay the same observation: in each quarter of 2024, fast & easy, quick & simple bakery recipes4 reach a new peak. As the hashtag #easyrecipes recorded 28.3 million interactions by the public and an increase in mentions of 34%, the "Quick" keyword associated with recipes recorded 4 million interactions4.
#3 Small Bites, Big Moments: snacking turns into a meal
In a fast-paced environment, consumers are changing their eating routine. In fact, 6 in 10 global consumers over the past 5 years said that they prefer to snack throughout the day instead of eating large meals7.
In addition, 67% of consumers say they snack to control their portions, which explains the trend for mini, miniature, finger-shaped, guilt-free desserts, usually adopted at social events such as aperitifs and celebrations, are now being consumed for their portion control appeal7.
Looking for inspiration? Check out our snack recipes to share or not!
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FOCACCIA WITH OLIVES TO SHAREOut of stock -
SANDWICH TO SHAREOut of stock -
PIADINA WRAPOut of stock -
TOMATO BRUSCHETTAOut of stock -
MINI SAVOURY CROISSANTOut of stock -
BASTONCINO WITH MORTADELLAOut of stock
#4 Rise & Ferment: The Sourdough Revolution
The fermentation process in sourdough bread plays a vital role in its flavor, texture and overall quality. Known for a better digestibility and lower glycemic index, consumers are increasingly turning to sourdough trying to support their aim for becoming more health conscious.12
But did you know that the sourdough trend doesn't only concern bread, but also viennoiseries?
Délifrance's monitoring shows sourdough's explosive popularity: in 2024, it generated 629K mentions online with a remarkable 44% increase from the previous year, alongside 88 million interactions representing a 29% growth4. Our quarterly report highlights a significant peak in sourdough croissant recipes during the third quarter, showcasing how this traditional ingredient is revolutionizing modern pastries. The fermentation technique has captured bakers' and consumers' attention alike, establishing itself as a game changer in contemporary bakery innovation.
Tips: How do you recognise sourdough bread? It has a tangy, slightly sour taste compared with other breads that are considered sweeter; it's airy and soft on the inside, crisp on the outside.
#5 Craving indulgence: sweet or savoury but always generous
We have observed on Instagram accounts, where foodporn is king, an increase in interactions for gourmet and trendy recipes. Everywhere on social media chefs and bakers create and promote recipes each more indulgent than the other one, generously made with mouth-watering ingredients. It has been observed also while making a fusion of familiar recipes with new bakery product base. This year, the Smash burger croissant-base made the chart, in addition to the one filled with dripping cheese. The famous Dubai chocolate was also integrated in croissants.5
The croissant is a canvas with a thousand and one possibilities. The more gourmet you make it, the more customers will want to try it.
#6 Green initiatives: Plant-based bakery boom
In continuity with last year, green recipes continue to attract interest online, with plant-based recipes recording 3.6 million interactions while vegan recipes catch 9.6 million interactions. Not only consumers are more aware of their influence on the environment, but they are now taking the matter into consideration in their purchases.
Plant-based is in the cards for bakery's future, now more than ever.
#6 Green initiatives: Plant-based bakery boom
In continuity with last year, green recipes continue to attract interest online, with plant-based recipes recording 3.6 million interactions while vegan recipes catch 9.6 million interactions. Not only consumers are more aware of their influence on the environment, but they are now taking the matter into consideration in their purchases.
Plant-based is in the cards for bakery's future, now more than ever.
#7 Playful baking: When pastry meets fun
According to our online trends and consumer tracking, feelings about bakery have always been positive, scoring over 80%, and consumers have not been shy about sharing their fun moments on social media, especially for festive occasions such as Easter, Halloween and Christmas.
Puff pastry creations, pastry sculptures can for instance include childlike inspirations, such as animals, cartoon stars...
Another of a massive trend in playful baking would be the latest bento cake trend (almost 500k interactions on social media in 2024 (+245% vs 2023)) : a fun way to customize a cake to pass on a message for a special occasion.4
#8 Flavor Fusion: Spice up your treats
Nostalgic and classic flavors are here to stay, but nowadays, consumers seek unusual adventurous combinations for memorable experiences9. According to Innova, 35% of consumers choose food based on taste experience.
This year, we discovered three emerging flavor trends that are promising and growing: swicy, swalty and citrus4. These portmanteau terms - 'swicy' combining sweet with spicy, and 'swalty' blending sweet with salty - reflect consumers' growing appetite for contrasting taste experiences. Our social listening tracking shows the increasing combo in recipes of sweet and spicy and sweet and salty tastes: for example, sweet and salty interactions increased by 35% in the last 12 months. Sweet & spicy flavors recorded +6% of mentions this year4 and big brands were inspired by consumers' recipes: Starbucks released a hot honey beverage and Heinz released its pickled ketchup. Finally, citrus made an appearance especially with yuzu, lemon and mandarin launches in sweet bakery.
This trend represents a prime opportunity to appeal to Gen Z consumers, who are known for their adventurous palate and eagerness to explore bold flavor combinations that create unique taste experiences.
#9 Food for Mood: The Sensory therapy
According to Innova Market Insight, 28% of consumers say that mood enhancement is the most important aspect when choosing flavours.8 This trend goes beyond simple comfort food - it's about strategic combinations of flavours and textures that can influence mood and state of mind.
Sensory therapy in baking focuses on creating multi-sensory experiences to create a connection with food. Coffee is the flavour always consumed, whether you want to feel happy, energetic, healthy or calm. Berries and summer fruits are chosen to make us feel happy, energetic and healthy.8
Consumer's demand for mood and brain support products continues to grow; new launches of F&B adaptogens and natural nootropics compounds known their mood and brain effectiveness have increased and will continue to grow.13
This trend offering businesses the opportunity to create meaningful connections through mood-boosting menu options.
#10 Sugar tax: the combat against sweet food
Sugar reduction has become a major concern across Europe, with striking regional variations in consumer attitudes. While 69% of adults in the UK are actively limiting their sugar intake, the numbers are even higher in Western Europe, where 80% of consumers in countries like Germany, France, and the Netherlands are taking similar steps. Southern European nations lead the charge, with an impressive 89% of consumers in Spain and Italy avoiding or limiting sugar consumption9. This trend is reflected in product claims, where "no added sugar" has emerged as the leading claim, followed by "sugar-free" and "low sugar" options, all showing consistent growth10.
The situation is particularly noteworthy in France, where the average person consumes 35 kg of sugar annually. More concerning is that 20-30% of French people consume over 100g of sugar daily, double the WHO's recommended intake11. In response to these challenges, the EU is taking decisive action to address rising obesity rates and associated health issues through new regulations targeting sugar-rich products. While sugar taxes have historically focused on sweetened beverages, countries including France, the UK, and Italy are now expanding their regulatory scope to encompass processed foods more broadly. This regulatory shift has created significant concern within the food industry, raising important questions about how these changes might impact consumer behaviour patterns around sweet foods.
These trends reflect a dynamic industry balancing tradition with innovation, consciousness with indulgence, and convenience with premium experiences, all while adapting to changing consumer preferences and regulatory pressures.
Sources:
At Délifrance, we've been analysing consumer behaviour and sentiment for years. As we do every year, we track consumer changes and adaptations through ongoing research, market research and analysis of online searches and conversations around the world using a variety of tools.
1 Mckinsey&co; (2024). State of the Consumer 2024: What’s now and what’s next |2 Trade magazine, (2024). German supermarkets draw even with discounters | 3France info, (2024). Inflation : le hard-discount séduit de plus en plus de cadres | 4Délifrance X Ipsos Synthesio social listening, (2024) : 1/01/2024-04/12/2024 | 5 The Naughty Fork’ (2.3 million followers) | 5 Euromonitor, (2025). Top global consumer trends 2025 | 6 Délifrance, (2022). Foodservice study: challenges, needs, expectations of the foodservice in EU linked to bakery | 7 Mondelez, (2024). The state of snacking | 8 Innova market insights, (2025). Top trends in flavor for 2025 | 9 ADM, (2024). Consumers around the globe navigate sugar reduction |10 Innova market insights, (2024). Consumer Food Trends for Global Flavor Adventure |11Carenity, (2023). D'où viennent les envies de sucre ? |12Islam, M. A., & Islam, S. (2024). Sourdough Bread Quality: Facts and Factors. Foods, 13(13), 2132 | 13Innova Market Insights, (2022). Ingredients Insider: Emerging Functional Ingredients, 2022)