AN END TO THE LOAF?

Readers will know that I have long been an advocate of home-baked bread and most days my family eats freshly made bread baked each weekend. Nevertheless, on occasions we have to resort to locally purchased loaves to supplement our own supplies. So, what a shock to see that the food press are reporting a possible end to the humble loaf.

From making sandwiches for a packed lunch to egg on toast for tea, a loaf of bread has always been the staple family diet and frequently top of the shopping list. However, it seems more of the British public are opting for ready-made sarnies from the local shop or ditching bread completely to cut down on the carbohydrates. So it seems that the loaf of bread is falling out of fashion.

The press are reporting that nearly a million fewer loaves a week or 50 million a year were brought in supermarkets in 2015 – that’s a tremendous £138 million less spent on bread! The wrapped bread sector has plunged by 9% over the year, following a fall of over 5% in the previous 12 months. That is according to The Grocer magazine. This drop in popularity has also affected prices, with them shrinking to an average of 75p for a standard white loaf. Likewise, the price of wrapped bread and rolls has also fallen by 8p per item to just 90p.It seems that more of us are opting at lunchtimes for ‘food to go’ and many dodging carbs on health grounds.  Kingsmill and Hovis have seen their sales plummet by nearly £60 million each and only Warburton’s have sold more products in the past year.

It goes without saying that fewer sarnies mean fewer loaves sold. Is it goodbye to the loaf?