In the US alone, the Bread & Bakery Products segment amounted to $66.17bn in 2022. This is a highly competitive industry, so you need every possible edge you can get to make your bakery stand out.
Thankfully, the internet is full of helpful online resources that you can use to improve your recipes, keep up with market trends, and grow your business. Here are just a few of our top picks to support bakers across America.
Baking Business
This organization is a complete source of news, insights, and trends for the grain-based food industry. As well as reading hundreds of articles on ingredients, markets, and innovations, you can also use Baking Business to locate associations, manufacturers, retailers, and suppliers to expand your network. It’s a one-stop resource for product development and business strategy that gives you the insider knowledge you need to reach the top.
Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery
Much like Baking Business, Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery is an excellent source of production, technology, and product news. But rather than focusing on the industry at large, this organization offers plenty of niche resources tailored to individual products and ingredients. And if you don’t have the time to search through all of their material, you can follow their monthly eMagazine for a valuable snapshot of the latest baking developments.
American Society of Baking (ASBE)
The goal of ASBE is to share knowledge, promote skills development, and encourage networking to help bakeries grow. It’s a highly collaborative community with plenty of membership options that provide education, networking, visibility, credibility, and discounts. Even if you’re not ready to join, their freely available Workforce Gap studies and ANSI-approved Safety and Sanitation standards are excellent tools for meeting industry needs.
Bakerpedia
From baking ingredients and processes to FDA guidance and sanitary advice, Bakerpedia has a page or video for almost any baking topic. It’s a free resource seeking to educate, inspire, and empower bakers with cutting-edge food science and solutions that every bakery can benefit from. Bakerpedia even offers professional development programs such as:
- BAKER Academy – A free membership service that provides exclusive content and connects you with other professionals through interactive seminars and forums
- BAKERcertified – A catalog of affordable online certified bakery training courses that you can use to upskill your employees
Bakery Equipment Manufacturers and Allieds (BEMA)
BEMA gives its members an overwhelming competitive advantage through professional development courses, networking opportunities, and industry events such as the International Baking Industry Expo. Bakers can master valuable leadership and sales skills through BEMA University, and their Baking Industry Forum (BIF) discusses key challenges facing the industry. The organization also publishes a quarterly Intel Industry Summary, a report on trends for US economic and commercial baking industry indicators.
American Bakers Association (ABA)
As North America’s only bakery-specific national and state trade association, ABA represents more than 300 companies in public policy advocacy. They provide resources that discuss key issues, consumer trends, and economic research to better educate both professional bakers and policymakers. If you’re looking to make changes, you can also take action through their American Bakers PAC, Grassroots Advocacy, and Political Education Fund programs.
Lenexa Manufacturing Company (LMC)
While our main goal is to supply mid to large-size bakeries with fully automated bread-slicing, bagging, and sealing equipment, we also strive to provide accessible education. On our website, you’ll find lots of concise, easy-to-read content covering topics such as:
- The Prospects and Challenges of Bakery Packaging
- How to Clean and Maintain Your Commercial Bakery Equipment
And if you ever need expert advice on finding the ideal machinery for automating your bakery, all you need to do is get in touch.