World Bakers Summit Draws More Than 250 Industry Professionals to Bucharest
More than 250 bakery, ingredients, technology, retail and hospitality professionals gathered in Bucharest for the first World Bakers Summit, held September 15–17 at the Radisson Blu Hotel.
Created as a regional meeting point for different parts of the bakery value chain, the event brought manufacturers and suppliers into the same discussions as retailers, hotel groups and foodservice operators. Rather than concentrating on a single technology or product category, the Summit focused on the business decisions currently shaping bakery in Central and Eastern Europe, from investment and changing consumer behaviour to automation, product development, market expansion and procurement.
One of the recurring themes throughout the programme was the relationship between international scale and local market realities. Speakers from Grupo Bimbo, pladis and Lantmännen Unibake approached the subject from different stages of business development, including market entry, the growth of local production operations and the conditions that can turn a national business into a regional platform.
Consumer and economic pressure was another thread running through the discussions. NielsenIQ and PwC data provided a closer look at the business environment and the changing bread and snacking behaviour, while subsequent sessions examined how those changes translate into decisions around product development, reformulation, pricing, capacity and investment.
The technology and ingredients programme moved the conversation onto the factory floor and into product development. Discussions addressed labour availability, automation, production efficiency and resource use alongside reformulation, protein enrichment and the challenge of developing products that respond to changing consumer expectations without losing sight of commercial and technical constraints.
The Summit also placed buyers directly into the conversation. Retail and hospitality sessions explored what happens after a bakery manufacturer develops a product: how assortments are built, how suppliers are evaluated, what buyers expect in terms of quality and consistency, and what can turn an initial commercial relationship into a longer-term partnership.
Representatives from hotel groups, foodservice businesses and QSR operators discussed procurement from the buyer’s side, including supplier approval, operational reliability, product consistency and the differences between supplying an individual market and working across larger regional networks. For producers looking to expand beyond their existing channels, the discussions offered a comparatively rare opportunity to hear directly from the people responsible for sourcing decisions.
The programme concluded on September 17 with two extended masterclasses that moved away from the presentation format. Lucian Marin, Managing Partner at Marco Polo CEE, examined value creation across the bakery ecosystem and the relationship between strategy, business models and consumption occasions. Master Baker and Bread Sommelière Lara Schütz then led a practical sensory analysis session, using bakery products to demonstrate how a structured sensory vocabulary can support product assessment, development and communication between teams.
Networking was also a central part of the three-day programme, beginning with an informal welcome evening on September 15 and continuing throughout the conference, breaks and closing lunch. Bringing manufacturers, suppliers and buyers into the same event was intended to create conversations that would continue beyond the formal sessions.
Following the first edition, the organizers confirmed that World Bakers Summit will return in 2027, with details of the next event to be announced.
World Bakers Summit 2026 was supported by Grupo Bimbo as Main Partner; Pakmaya, Lantmännen Unibake and Puratos as Platinum Partners; Nutella as Gold Partner; 5 to go as Coffee Partner; and AD Production as Solutions Partner.
Community partners were the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, the Hellenic Romanian Bilateral Chamber of Commerce, the Council of Slovak Exporters, FIHR – Romanian Hotel Industry Federation, and HORA – Romanian Hotel and Restaurant Employers’ Organization. Arta Albă and All Retail supported the event as Media Partners.
