By: Monique Dyer

Over the course of the past few years, the convenience market has been the one to watch. In recent months, the rapid demand in growth in the convenience channels has largely been attributed to the coronavirus pandemic. However, even as stay-at-home restrictions are lifted, consumer behavior is not reverting back, and the convenience market is poised to be even more dominant than ever.

On the store shelves at most convenience stores, you would normally be hard pressed to find Baking Products, but sales of the category have seen an upward trend since the week of March 14, 2020 across the United States. Consumers are now settling into their new normal, and now convenience stores are realizing and meeting the demand for these new needs.

While most consumers don’t typically believe convenience, stores are a good source for things like eggs and butter, the staples are generating stronger sales as consumers spend more time at home.

In November of last year, Nielsen - a global measurement and data analytics company - forecasted that the convenience channel would grow faster than all other offline channels over the coming five years.

The most recent trends in convenience store data, agrees with Nielsen showing less of a decline in year-over-year sales trends that most channels. This indicates that the channel has benefited to an extent from eased restrictions and consumers receiving stimulus checks.

The global pandemic sparked a spike in demand for consumer-packaged goods (CPG), a specialty for convenience stores. The convenience market is primed for continued growth in the coming months and years. As uncertainty around Corona Virus continues, and consumers develop long lasting habits the demand for baking ingredients and fully pre-packaged baking goods will continue to increase.