SWOT Analysis: Inflight Bakery Catering

 

Bakery products represent a segment of the catering sector that is defined by specific restraints and opportunities for travelers in the APAC region. 

By Kunal Majumder, Market Research Analyst – Level 1, Transparency Market Research

What flies?

When looking at the main bakery product ranges that are included in inflight offerings across the APAC region, we find a diverse market, unique in its variety and just as importantly, with high expectations. In terms of inflight food choices, Asia Pacific customers are some of the most demanding in the world. In order to meet the culinary habits of passengers, airline catering service providers focus on adjusting food menus as per local choices, age groups and flight types. For example, bakery products offered on South Asian airlines vary significantly from bakery products offered in the Far East. In terms of product type, the main bakery product ranges offered by Asia Pacific inflight catering services are bread products, cookies, cakes and pastries, brownies, muffins, donuts and breakfast cereals.

The presence of these items on inflight trays across the APAC varies according to geographies. The selection of bakery products offered by catering service providers in Asian countries is dependent on multiple factors including aircraft class, flight type, customer age groups, local choices and the food quality guidelines of airlines. Based on region, the inflight (bakery) catering services market in Asia Pacific has been sub-divided into South Asia, South East Asia, East Asia and Western Asia. The following represents the bakery product choices for inflight catering services offered in Asia Pacific.

Table 1: Inflight (Bakery) Product Choices in Asia Pacific.

Region	Bakery Product	Key Trends
South Asia	Bread products, cakes and pastries and cookies.	In India, flour-based roti ispreferred by passengers. The selection of bakery products is limited due to local culinary habits.
South East Asia	Breakfast cereals, cakes and pastries, brownies, muffins and bread products.	In most countries, cakes and pastries and bread products are preferred by customers.
East Asia	Donuts, cakes and pastries, muffins and bread products.	In most countries, the demand for bakery products is very selective among passengers.
Western Asia	Brownies, cakes and pastries and bread products.	In most countries, passengers look for bakery products prepared in traditional baking styles.

Source: Primary interviews, airline websites, Transparency Market Research.

Trends and innovations

What technology and service trends pertaining to inflight catering can be observed, especially those related to bakery goods?Inflight catering (bakery) service providers have adopted to the latest technology trends to offer superior food products to passengers. In order to increase response time, many inflight catering (bakery) service providers have installed high-end dishwashing machines (with broader transport belts) in dishwashing sections. Extended loading and unloading sections of these machines has helped catering staff to process multiple plates at a time.

In addition, many companies are using oven-safe catering film to wrap bakery products. These heat sealable flow-wrap films are ideal for packing bakery products using VFF/HFFS machines. In business class, some of these service providers are using eco-friendly Incada folding boxboard to wrap bakery products. This new packaging solution is able to preserve heating conditions, nutritious content, taste and aroma of bakery products.

Strengths and opportunities

In Asia-Pacific, the strengths and opportunities in the inflight bakery catering services market are dependent on factors such as the offerings of service providers, passenger preferences, the health and safety norms of airline service providers and the activities of competitors.

The major strengths of this service market include a rise in the consumption of bakery products during short duration flights, an increase in the demand for bakery products among children and young travelers, as well as a rise in the demand for bakery products on airlines of Western Asia.

Major opportunities for the market include offering local bread-based bakery products (e.g., flour-based roti in South Asia), the introduction of a broad range of bakery products to low-cost airlines and a rising demand for breakfast cereals among health-conscious passengers. 

You can read more on this feature in our print magazine Asia Pacific Baker & Biscuit (Autumn 2016)!
You can read more on this topic detailed for the Australian market in our next Asia Pacific Baker & Biscuit (Winter 2016-2017)!