Puratos hosts first ever Indian edition of flagship Patisserie event, 'Indulgence & Beyond'

The whiff of baking made its way from Brussels to Mumbai as Puratos, the leader in the Bakery, Patisserie and Chocolate sector, hosted its signature Patisserie showcase event ‘Indulgence and Beyond’ in Mumbai at ITC Grand Maratha, Andheri. Held as a first of its kind seminar in India, it fetched who’s who of the patisserie and bakery industry under one roof. What followed was pure awesomeness baked to perfection.
Based on three key aspects of baking – naturalness, freshness and taste, ‘Indulgence and Beyond’ was marked with the presence of guests from Industries, Semi Industries, Food Service players (including HORECA), Supermarkets and Large Artisans. The event helped enhance awareness of Puratos’ global expertise and its unique prowess as one of the world’s most innovative patisserie player.
The delectable day opened with an address from MD, Puratos India, Dhiren Kanwar, which gave way to a deep dive on ‘Global and Asia Pacific Trends – Cakes Tomorrow’ by Lynn Yeung, Marketing Director Asia Pacific, Puratos APAC. The seminar also brought key trends under a special spotlight with discussions on ‘Baked Goods in India’ by Dilip Radhakrishna – Research Analyst, Euromonitor International, ‘Patisserie Packaging – Challenges and Future Opportunities’ by Prabuddha DasGupta – Principal Lead – Packaging – Thinking Folks, and ‘Differentiate with Patisserie in an Industrial way’ by Yusuf Patanwala – Director, Autobake Productions.
The indulgence soared higher with some appetizing and pertinent workshops covering themes such as ‘Freshness & Beyond’, ‘Taste & Beyond’, ‘Naturalness & Beyond’ and ‘Patisserie On the Go’.
India ranks #4 in the APAC region in terms of volume growth of baked goods. Among patisserie products, packaged cakes garnered the fastest growth in current value sales to the tune of 17% in India. This is mainly driven by growing preference for eating packaged cakes as snacks, especially among children in India.
Speaking at the event, Dhiren Kanwar, MD – India, Area Director – South Asia, Puratos Food Ingredients India Pvt. Ltd. said, “Keeping up with Puratos legacy, Puratos India too is committed to offer solutions across the entire bakery value chain from developing new innovative product solutions, production, packaging to chanelising those insights back in the product development phase. We are strengthening our foothold as a reliable partner for large players as well as specialised bakers to ensure Indian patisserie and bakery lovers get baked delights that they find irresistible, healthy and full of taste.”
Ranjana Sundaresan- Food and Drink Analyst, Mintel said, “There is high acceptance of patisserie in India given our sweet tooth, but Indian consumers still prefer freshly baked goods over packaged products. However, our hectic lifestyles today will see a growing demand for convenient and innovative solutions. There is significant scope for packaged patisserie to cater to these needs.”
Prabuddha Dasgupta, Principal Lead-Packaging, Thinking Folks said, “Packaging is a celebration of food. From the baker’s oven to the dining table, it is the last thing your bread gets into and the first thing it comes out of. Between the two lies the story of packaging. It adds value to the product journey by preserving its freshness and providing information on its nutritive value through branding on the shops shelf.
Sharing insights on Indian consumers’ taste preferences, Dilip Radhakrishna, Research Analyst Packaged Food and Nutrition, Euromonitor International said “Indians like their food; and taste is of primary importance. Sometimes it even supersedes health aspects of the food. Baked goods are no exception to this preference. Despite the fact that health and wellness is a key driving force in eating habits, baked goods continue to grow in India primarily driven by flavours and taste. Apart from that, due to the growth of the organised retail and food service chains in India, consumers over the last few years have been introduced to new baked goods and flavours. Furthermore, the new and empowered millennial consumers with higher disposable income and changing lifestyles are also more careful about hygiene and quality (in terms of freshness, health and taste) of food they consume. These three key parameters are the current and future growth drivers of the baked goods market in India.”
‘Indulgence and Beyond’ in its first ever edition in India, aims to be an extension of the premier showcase event held in Brussels by Puratos. It serves as a 360 degree platform for participants to draw in depth insights and upcoming trends of the global and Indian patisserie industry and to co-create with experts while discovering modern innovations.