As hard-pressed consumers look for ways to fill up their stomachs and their shopping carts, bread sales are rising.
It’s all part of what some food economists are calling a “back-to-basics” trend.

“With the tight economy and people eating out less, we’ve seen a marked increase in a huge range of foods that are staples and basics,” Bill Patterson, a senior analyst with Chicago-based Mintel International, said.

“People are spending more time at home,” he added. “They’re taking more brown bag lunches to work. They’re eating more peanut butter and jelly.”

And when it comes to frugal eating, any way you slice it – loaves, rolls, biscuits – bread is one of those basic food staples that easily fills shopping carts and stomachs. The U.S. city average for a one-pound loaf of whole wheat bread fell to $1.88 in May, from an all-time high of $2.01 in November.

And after revising its 2008 bread market forecast up from 2 percent to 7 percent growth, Mintel is now predicting higher growth for bread sales through 2013 – with a 3 percent spike forecast for this year.

The bread craze is on full display every day around 2:30 p.m. at Dollar Tree on Okeechobee Boulevard in suburban West Palm Beach. That’s when the day’s bread is delivered.

Several hundred loaves of bread never make it to the shelves. At $1 each, the name-brand loaves are snatched up right off the rolling metal carts.

“We fill up the racks, and within two hours, it’s all gone,” said a store employee who spoke only if their name was not used.

But customers such as Fannie Dority, a West Palm Beach retiree, had no problem expressing their appreciation for the bargain.

“If my husband weren’t diabetic, I’d buy even more bread,” Dority said, as she rushed to land three loaves of Nature’s Own cranberry swirl bread, along with packages of Dandee hamburger and hot dog buns.

Dority said bread is a good way to stretch her food dollars. She keeps plenty on hand for when her grandchildren visit.
The phenomenon isn’t limited to low-priced dollar stores.
Grocery store bread sales rose 4 percent to $6.6 billion for the 52 weeks ended May 17, according to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based market research firm. Private label brands have seen sales soar 10 percent.

Like other basic foods – including fruits and vegetables, meats and poultry, and dairy products – bread has become even more affordable with falling energy prices.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose less than expected in May and posted the steepest annual drop in 59 years. That was largely attributable to the fact that food prices in the U.S. fell for the fourth straight month in May.

For shoppers such as 34-year-old Aaron Lane of West Palm Beach, eating inexpensive but healthful foods such as whole grain breads, ground turkey and beans is the goal.

“I’m cooking at home more,” Lane said, as he bought the fixings for chili recently at the Winn-Dixie in West Palm Beach.

Consumers, hammered by job losses, declining home values and dwindling stock portfolios, are increasingly frugal. That has forced some retailers to cut prices, or at least keep them low.

But these days, even the more pricey breads are a bargain compared to dining out.
At the Winn-Dixie, West Palm resident Ana Colarte stopped in recently just to pick up a loaf of Pepperidge Farm honey flax wheat bread for $3 a loaf. “I buy expensive bread, but it’s healthy,” Colarte said.

At Le Petit Pain, a French bakery in Lantana, owner Tom Tchernia said his bread sales have held steady, with the best sellers the whole wheat and plain baguettes.

“People are just making more food at home,” Tchernia said.
Mike Katisch, assistant warehouse manager, Costco Wholesale, Palm Beach Gardens, said bread sales are up over a year ago.

“Bread is big, as are all the foods,” he said. “That is what sells big right now.”

On the rise
In these trying economic times, demand for bread is rising because:
- Consumers are opting for brown bag lunches.
- Consumers are dining at home more.
- Comfort foods, including bread and sandwiches, are popular.
- Bread is inexpensive and filling.
- Breads containing whole grains, fiber and other healthful ingredients are nutritious.