The Bread Flour Market
The market for bread flour underwent a significant shift in the early 2000s with the introduction of the first home bread makers. After a period of decline, this momentum was reignited during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the homemade trend surged in popularity 1.
With a 50% market share by volume, Francine is the undisputed leader in this product category thanks to its comprehensive lineup of seven products, all of which rank in the segment’s top 10 bestsellers:
Sources: 1 Federation of Bakery Companies (FEB): Bread and the French: 5 Years Later (2021) / ² Circana sales volume, CAM P13 2024, HMSM
My Homemade Bread
(1.5 kg and 2.5 kg)
My Homemade Brioche
(1.5 kg and 2.5 kg)
's Multigrain Bread(1.5 kg and 2.5 kg)
's Country Bread(1.5 kg and 2.5 kg)
Let's dive into some more indulgent recipes:
The product recipes hadn't been updated in several years, yet as the market leader, it is essential for Francine to adapt to the ever-changing expectations of the market and consumers.
To do this, we must first identify what French consumers currently prefer in order to determine the target market for our products. An extensive comparative study of the bread products most popular among the French (bread flours, homemade bread, pre-packaged bread, and bakery bread) was thus conducted by the DIP and the marketing department, enabling us to define the sales targets for Francine and the key strategies to implement to achieve them.
Following this review, the recipes were revised by the DIP department in collaboration with the production sites in Gennevilliers (for the 1.5 kg products) and Briare (for the 2.5 kg products), with the goals of enhancing flavors and achieving more balanced textures.
These reformulations began in 2023 with the Mon Pain Maison recipe and continued in 2024 with the other products in the line. The result: even more delicious products!
• My Homemade Brioche : a more intense flavor profile and a softer, melt-in-your-mouth crumb .
“We put a lot of work into the brioche recipe. We were looking for a softer, more melt-in-your-mouth crumb. To achieve this, I increased the amounts of butter and eggs and adjusted the hydration (milk). We also wanted a sweeter product with a buttery, vanilla flavor. To achieve this, I increased the amount of sugar and added a flavoring.” — Esther DE LABORDE DE MONPEZAT, Project Manager, DIP Francine and Pastry
• My Multi-Grain Bread: a more toasty flavor and a more golden crust.
“A bread with more character! I added a new seed (poppy) for crunch and its distinctive flavor, as well as toasted corn germ flour, which gives the crumb a toasty note and a golden crust. The addition of oat and barley flour also contributes to the rich flavor of the crumb” — Esther DE LABORDE DE MONPEZAT, Project Manager at DIP Francine and Pâtisserie
• Mon Pain de Campagne: a more distinctive flavor and a denser crumb.
“We wanted to offer a bread with more character, so we incorporated more wheat and rye sourdough starters (produced at our Reims facility) into our flour blend. We also adjusted the hydration to create a more rustic bread with a denser crumb. ” — Esther DE LABORDE DE MONPEZAT, Project Manager for DIP Francine and Pastry
Changes highlighted on the bundles!
Continuous improvement: a reflection of our commitments
These renovations are part of Link by GMP and RACINE’s ongoing commitment to sustainable development, as they aim to provide consumers with products of ever-higher quality that are tailored to their needs, without compromising on taste and texture.
The icing on the cake:
“As part of our ongoing commitment to improvement and in line with our Link by GMP initiative, I’ve reduced the amount of gluten in all our recipes to lower our carbon footprint.” – Esther DE LABORDE DE MONPEZAT, Project Manager for DIP Francine and Pastry
Come visit our store to try these new recipes!
