INTRODUCTION
CONCEPT OF BAKERY PRODUCTS
In the olden days people were stuck to the simple food like
chapatis, rice, pulses, corn, bajara etc. and there was no advancement
in the food habits as there was no awareness about the advance
methods of cooking food. But with the passing of time man started
thinking of some new items of food to change the taste with the same
ingredients used in the traditional food. Food ingredients have
commanded the food industry around the globe making people savor
the food they eat. Food is no more about filling the hungry stomach
but it is actually driving people into an obsession with the tastes it
leaves behind. Ingredients are the issue of research and
experimentation because it has an immense importance in developing
the taste and appearance of food cooked using them.
Bakery products are the readymade food items made of various
ingredients available anytime when demanded. The main bakery
products are bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries and other milk and dairy
products. People due to shortage of time prefer these bakery products.
The present day consumer looks for new bakery products, better
appeal, taste and convenience from bakery foods. With a population
of 1 billion plus, India has the largest middle-income consumers, who
demand varieties in food, clothing, transport and improved living
standards, also wish to eat out. Opportunities, in abundance, exist in
Bakery Cafes and Restaurants, those who cater fast-foods.
Bakery products are gaining popularity day by day. Young
generation mostly prefer the bakery products. Most of the bakery
products are made up of wheat, the major food crop of India produced
abundantly in India. Wheat is the major cereal crop of the world and
is consumed mainly in the form of bakery products in most parts of
the world. In India, wheat is consumed mainly in the form of chapati
– an unleavened baked product. In India, bakery products have
become popular among different cross sections of population in
recent years due to increased demand for convenient foods. Among
bakery products, bread and biscuits are the most popular processed
ready-to-eat food items in the country. Bread and biscuits accounting
for 84% of the total bakery products produced in the country. India’s
bakery products can be divided into three main products viz., bread,
biscuits and cakes. Bakery products are mostly popular in urban
areas. Due to unawareness and illiteracy, rural people are not familiar
with the various kinds of bakery products. Rural areas supply raw
material for the bakery products.
Many bakery products are nutritive and have become important
part of diet of the people. Bread and biscuits have become most popular
breakfast of most of the families not only in India but all over the world.
India has a large market for the bakery products. It has become
an important industry in India and is growing rapidly. In the present
era growing demand for the bakery products has become one of the
most important necessities in the life of the people.
IMPORTANCE OF BAKERY INDUSTRY IN
THE SOCIETY
Bakery industry is the rapidly growing industry in our country.
This industry in India is the largest of the food industries with an
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annual turnover of about Rs. 3,000 crore. India is the second largest
producer of biscuits in the world. The bakery industry is divided into
two main types: Individual bakers in tiny sector catering to the
requirements of their local markets and the Industrial bakers of the
Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) in the category of major
industrial units having market operations in many parts of the
country.
Bakery products once considered as sick man’s diet have now
become a common essential food items. From the later part of 20th
century, the bakery industry is growing due to demand for ready to
eat products which is influenced by increased urbanization, increased
per capita income and increased population etc.
Growing popularity of the bakery products have led to the
growth of market in India. “The market has grown faster in the last
five years as competition and new products have an impact on
awareness and consumption of the masses. A hospitality student is in
much demand after his completion of education and having
specialized training in the bakery field. Multinational Companies like
raw material manufacturers, equipment developers, food courts in
malls, franchise fast-food chains and bakery brands growing in
different cities, are all offering challenging positions and strong
salaries.”1 Growing market has led to the standardization of the
society. The living standard of the people has increased in our society.
The bakery industry today offers immense opportunities for
bakers, decorators, trainers, process managers, distributors and many
more related professions. Increased demand for the bakery products
1
www. Bakery India. com.
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has increased the jobs for the people. It provides vast employment
opportunities for the youth also. Trained professionals are getting
high salaried jobs in India as well as abroad. India’s export of the
bakery products have also raised which is helping in the growth of the
economy of the country.
Bakery products have also given some relief to the women. In
the early days females had to prepare food all the time with no time to
yet relief. But now-a-days as women are also getting professionals,
they have less time to give at home and family. The growth of the
bakery products has reduced the responsibilities of kitchen. They can
now easily prepare food with the readymade food items which need
less labour and time. Increased awareness of the bakery products has
reduced the burden of the females in the society. People going out of
home can easily satisfy their food needs. Thus the bakery products
have solved many problems of the people.
Bakery products also solve the problem of preservation. These
products can be stored for few days and do not easily get spoiled. As
other food items loose their taste when stored for some time but the
bakery products do not loose their taste. People living away from
home can easily store these food items. The bakery products have
reduced the dependence on females for satisfying their food
requirements.
Increased demand for the bakery products has helped the
primary sector of the country i.e. agriculture. Almost all the bakery
products are made from the wheat and dairy products. There is a great
demand of these agricultural items all over the world. Farming has
become now more commercial. Farmers grow the crop and sell at
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competitive prices in the national as well as international market.
These bakery products have brought prosperity to the farmers all over
the country. Likewise, the demand for the dairy products has also
experienced a hike all over the world. The cattle owners get attractive
prices for their products. Milk and milk products are in great demand
from the last few decades.
Increased earning has improved the standard of living of the
people of rural areas which helped in the overall development of the
country as more than half of the population of our country is living in
rural areas.
The agricultural and dairy products have raised the quantity of
exports of the country and thus contributed in balancing the trade of
the country.
Bakery products have globalized the market facilitating the
producers to sell their products profitably.
Bakery products in India are in common use and are very
important for our society. In modern days bakery products are
becoming one of the most essential food items in human diet due to
readymade availability and high nutritive value. These are the most
consumable wheat based products. Wheat and other shortening agents
are required as raw materials to manufacture these products easily
available in India. The plant and machinery and the technology
required to manufacturing these products are completely available in
India. Since the consumption of bakery products is increasing rapidly
day by day, the demand also is increasing enormously. So, though
there are a lot of organized as well as private sectors existing, but the
demand will not meet totally by them in near future. So, for new
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entrepreneurs, it may become very good sector for investment. Thus
the bakery products have great importance for our society from all of
these views.
CLASSIFICATION OF BAKERY PRODUCTS
Bakery products are the easy, readymade food items which are
easily available on demand. These are available from long time but
now the liking of these items is increasing rapidly. In the present era
there is large number of bakery products available in the market. The
popular bakery products are being classified as under:
1. BREAD: In modern days bread is becoming one of the most
essential food items in human diet due to its readymade availability
and high nutritive value. It is the most consumable wheat based
bakery products. It is the most popular breakfast item in almost every
family. It is also easy to manufacture and also cheap as compared to
other bakery products. Mainly wheat flour is used to prepare it.
Bread is a very old bakery product. The history of bread starts
with Neolithic age and marches through time according to ingredient
availability, advances in technology, economic conditions, socio-
cultural influences, legal rights and evolving tastes. The earliest
breads were unleavened. Variations in grain, thickness, shape and
texture varied from culture to culture.
Bread is also a raw material of many other Bakery products.
Wheat flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water and shortening agent are
required as raw materials to manufacture bread. The plant and
machinery and the technology required to manufacture the bread, are
completely available in India. Since the consumption of Bread is
increasing rapidly day by day, the demand also is increasing
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enormously. The production of bread is estimated at 11.5 lac tones
per annum. In this sector 25-30% of the production is from organized
sector units. There is a lot of scope for introducing anti-diabetic bread
or breads of high/low calories and so on. The major players in the
bread industry that hold about 80% of the market share are Britania
and Modern Industries Ltd.
2. BISCUITS: Biscuits are the important items of Bakery
industry. It has now become a common item of consumption among
all classes of the community. With tea or Coffee, a biscuit makes a
tasty nutritious snack. This highly nutritious and easy to digest
product can be preserved for a long time. It is with in the reach of
even lower class people. It is available on small shops at all places. It
is the most common snack used by all the people. Biscuit is made of
simple wheat flour, sugar etc. By varying the ingredients and flavors
it is possible to produce a variety of biscuits. About 50 percent of the
total biscuit production in our country is of glucose. It is highly
demandable product. It is liked by the people of all aged-groups. It is
available in all rates, Cheap as well as costly. Its demand is
continuously growing. These are easily digestible item. The plant and
machinery used in making biscuits is not heavy and expensive.
Biscuits are found in both sweet and salty tastes.
Biscuits also have very old history but these are not as old as
bread. Biscuits are found in all shapes such as square, circled,
rectangle etc. Due to their increasing demand, there is a bright scope
for new entrants as well as for existing manufacturers. The major
brands of biscuits are Britania, Parle, Bakemen, Priya Gold, Elite,
Cremica, Dukes, Anupam, Horlicks etc. In addition of these brands
also a large production of this item is manufactured by the units
having no brand in the area of the study.
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3. CAKE: Cake is a new bakery product compared to the other
bakery products. It was earlier famous in the Western countries but
now becoming popular in other parts of the world too. In the olden
times it was considered the rich men’s items and mostly famous
among Christians. But with modernization, it is gaining popularity
among all the communities. It is a perishable product made of wheat
flour, cream, gel, sugar and milk. It is of two types viz egg cakes and
fruit cakes. Egg is mostly used in this to make it fluffy. Egg cakes are
more perishable than fruit cakes. Cakes are used in all parties and on
all happy occasions. Mostly the young generation has developed the
taste of this item. But the use of cakes is mostly confined to urban
areas. These are not very popular in rural areas due to its low
accessibility. It is not available everywhere except big bakeries. Plant
and machinery used in preparing cakes is expensive and needs good
investment. Its scope is increasing in India also.
4. PATTIES: Patties are the bakery product made of wheat flour
and other vegetables. It is the most common bakery product these
days which can easily satisfy the hunger of a person as it is easily
available every where on bakers and confectionaries. It is salty in
taste and is found in many types such as simple potato patty,
vegetable patty, cheese patty, mushroom patty, non-veg. patty etc.
Egg is added to its flour to make it crispier. It is baked in ovens. It is a
perishable food product and losses its taste another day. It is
triangular as well as square in shape. It is widely popular item and is
liked by the people of all ages especially by the young generation.
They use to take it in their meals as well as in refreshment. There is
large market of this bakery product because it is reasonable in price
and can be afforded by every middle class people. It is mostly
available in urban areas and rural people hardly get it to use. This
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factor limits its market which can expand more and bakers can give
good profits if they make this product available in rural areas also as
the markets of Meerut Region has a good scope of this item.
5. PASTRIES: This bakery product is sweet in taste and is a
highly perishable food product. Its taste is very much similar to the
cream cakes and is found in small pieces. It is made with wheat flour,
cream, sugar, fruit flavors, chocolates etc. It is very sensitive bakery
product and needs cool place to preserve. It is made in fruits flavors
and chocolate flavors and is made similar to cakes. Its taste remains
good only for one or two days after it is manufactured. In winters it
can be preserved for two- three days but in summer season it starts
loosing its taste the next day as cream, a milk product is used in
preparing it. Pastries are mostly found in rectangle and triangle shape.
Being a bakery product of the western countries it is now becoming
popular in our country also. Children, youths and even the adults have
developed the taste for the pastries. It is available at reasonable price.
But the main drawback is that it is not easily available in rural areas
due to its early perishable nature.
In Meerut Region pastries have a good demand especially in
urban areas. It is manufactured locally and is consumed on large scale
here. Pastries manufacturing and distribution provides employment to
large number of people in the Region.
6. BURGER: Burger is a salty bakery product. It is highly
nutritious and hunger satiable product. A person can satisfy his
hunger by consuming this product. It is made of buns and various
vegetables. Burger is a readymade product available immediately on
demand and it needs no time to prepare. It is baked in microwave
ovens and packed in silver foils. Before eating these are again
reheated in microwave ovens. Burger is also a perishable product and
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become stale after some time but it is less perishable than other milk
bakery products like pastries, cakes etc. These are round in shape and
comparatively simple to prepare. This fast food is made up of two
buns made of wheat flour. One bun is put at the bottom and in
between mixed cooked and raw vegetables are put and then the other
bun is put at the top. These things are attached with a thin stick and
are baked at a high temperature in microwave. It doesn’t need any
special storage place and is kept in a glass container. It is consumed
in all weathers. Burgers are in demand at a large scale from earlier
times but in the present time their demand is increasing rapidly day
by day.
Burger has a good future prospect and its producers are earning
good profits. In Meerut Region, there is a healthy demand of Burgers
among the children, youths and adults due to its good taste, high
calorific value, easy accessibility and reasonable price. But like other
bakery products its demand is confined to urban areas most due to its
unavailability in rural areas and also poverty and ignorance about
such type of products among the rural people.
7. PIZZA: Pizza is a round shaped bakery product. It is salty in
taste. It is the most common fast food popular among the people
especially the youths and the children. It is made in many flavors.
Such as cheese pizza, onion capsicum pizza, mushroom, pizza etc. It
needs various raw materials to prepare it. It is prepared on pizza base
pasting cream on it and adding vegetables, cheese, mushroom, spices
sauce etc. It is light in taste and has high calorific value. It is also
baked in ovens at a high temperature. Pizza is a highly perishable
product and is preserved very carefully. It is a new bakery product in
India which was earlier popular only in foreign countries. Due to
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advent of the foreign culture pizza is also becoming the taste of the
youths and the children. It is comparatively tough to manufacture.
Unlike the other bakery products, pizza is an expensive bakery
product. Middle class people cannot easily afford to consume it
regularly. Pizza is a new product in our country as well as in Meerut
Region and its market is growing in this area with the passing of time.
It is totally confined to urban areas and rural people are unaware
about this fast food. But due to growing demand its future prospect is
bright.
8. RUSK: Rusk is the bakery product which is made of wheat
flour and suji. It is light sweet in taste and is consumed as snacks with
tea and milk. Its preparation process is very simple. It can be
preserved for a long period of time i.e. upto 2 to 3 months. They have
very low storage cost. Rusk is very old product in our country.
Like the other areas Meerut Region also have a high demand and a
wide market of rusks. These are very cheap bakery product and even
poor people can afford to consume it easily. These are popular in
urban as well as rural areas.
9. NAMKEEN: As its name suggests namkeens are salty in taste
and are found in different flavors. Some namkeens are also salty as
well as sweet or sour in taste. These are very old bakery products and
consumed on large scale all over the country. It is not very much
perishable and can be preserved for 2 to 3 months. It is simple to
prepare and is a mixture of many different items.
The more items are added to the mixture, the more its taste
increases. Its taste depends upon the quality and the freshness of the
material used in it. That is why the branded namkeens have superior
taste than the non-branded namkeens because the raw materials used
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by the big brands are of very good quality and these companies
maintain the quality norms.
The namkeens are made both in the urban as well as in the rural
areas but the people of rural areas use the cheaper material than used
by the urban manufacturers which deteriorates its taste and that is
why it is available at cheaper rates. Rural people don’t care about the
brand and consume low quality and branded namkeens are not
preferred by them because of its high cost.
The market of namkeen is very wide from very early days in
our country and it is increasing day by day. There is a good scope for
the producers in this field due to growing demand of this item.
Meerut Region has a large market of namkeens. Namkeens
manufactured in Meerut are popular widely. These are demanded
equally in urban as well as in rural areas. Many new brands of
namkeens like Bikanerwala, Bikano, Haldiram are also available in
the market which are very popular among the people of this area.
10. SANDWICH: Sandwich is a new bakery product in our
country. Earlier it was famous only in foreign countries. It is very
simple food item with high calorific value. Only few spices are used
in preparing Sandwiches. It is a good accessible item in urban areas
and can satisfy the hunger to a large extent. It is salty in taste. It is a
readymade product which can be prepared in very less time and not
much appliances are needed to manufacture it. Sandwich is a
perishable product and becomes very quickly stale due to the
presence of cream in it. It is triangle in shape. Bread, cream, butter
and vegetables are needed to manufacture it. It is packed in thin
plastic, transparent sheets and is consumed in all types of weather. It
needs a moisture free place for its storage.
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Sandwich is gaining popularity among the children, youths,
adults and even the old-age people as it is not very spicy. It is a
moderately priced product and can be consumed by middle class
families too.
In Meerut Region obviously the demand for the sandwiches is
increasing very fast but its demand and popularity is confined to the
cities only. Being a highly perishable food item it is not available in
rural areas and so is very uncommon in the villages. But it has a
bright future and its manufacturers can hope to earn good profits from
the increasing sale of this product in this Region.
IMPORTANCE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Bakery Industry is an important part of economic and social
structure of Meerut Region. As the population is growing, its food
habits are changing and the consumers are driving towards low
calorie fiber diets. Bakery industry is also growing in the country.
Bakery Industry is having many products in itself such as- Biscuits,
cakes, bread, pastries, pizza, sandwiches etc. These are such items,
which are liked by young generation very much. But there are many
problems and challenges before Bakery Industry in our country.
Firstly, it is found that the methods which are being used for the
preparation of such items are very much traditional because of which
their costs remain high and the quality inferior. Secondly, this
industry is not organized in nature because of which also the tastes
differ from bakery to bakery. Not only this, also the marketing
practices are found defective which results in the increase of their
marketing costs to a large extent. If we go into depth of this industry,
we find that although the profits of the manufacturers seem to be very
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low but due to the mixing of inferior quality goods they earn heavy
profits. So, on one hand the production and marketing costs come
very high and on the other hand unethical profits are also earned by
the bakery owners.
Keeping in view, the so noticeable facts about this industry, the
researcher has decided to conduct a study in the field of production
and marketing costs of Bakery products and had chosen the topic
“Cost-Benefit Analysis of Bakery Products in Meerut Region”.
The researcher has a firm belief that this study will attract the
attention of the people relating to this industry and constructive
suggestions will be given to reduce the production and marketing
costs of bakery products.
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OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH STUDY
The main objectives of the present research study are given
below:
1. To enlighten the need, scope and importance of the study.
2. To study the concept of Bakery Industry and to evaluate the
importance of bakery products in the society.
3. To classify the different types of bakery products.
4. To study about the manufacturing processes of different types
of bakery products.
5. To analyse the production costs at different stages of bakery
products.
6. To study about the expenses incurred at different levels of
marketing of bakery products.
7. To study about the margins at different levels in the marketing
of bakery products.
8. To study about the factors affecting the production and
marketing costs, marketing charges and margins of bakery
products.
9. To arrive at the logical conclusion and to propose constructive
suggestions to reduce the production and marketing costs.
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LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The present study has been conducted under certain limitations
which have been discussed under the following heads:
1. Scanty Literature: The researcher had to face difficulties in
collecting literature related to this study. He had to visit various
libraries to consult the literature related to bakery products but
he could get a little on this particular topic and he had to
concentrate on primary data only. No doubt, the library and
statistics department of District Planning Office, Meerut proved
very helpful in providing the information regarding the bakery
products in Meerut Region.
2. Limitations Regarding Personal Interviews: During
personal interviews it was observed that in most of the cases
interviewees remained suspicious about the queries made from
them. Generally they tried to avoid such an interview and were
trying to escape in giving the answer of any question or in
providing any information related to the present study. But
after making continuous efforts, the researcher got success in
getting required information from the Bakers. It could be
possible only after giving them assurance about the non-
leakage of any information provided by them except the use of
these for the present research study.
3. Problems in collecting the Data and Information:
The researcher faced great difficulty in getting correct data and
information required for the present research study. Generally
the authorities of bakery industry remained reluctant to provide
any information from their records due to their traditional
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bureaucratic approach. But after making continuous efforts and
giving them assurance again and again that these were being
collected for the purpose of research work only and these will
be used only for the analysis of them for the present research
work so that this study may be useful to the bakery industry,
the present data could be collected.
4. Time Limitations: As the researcher is in service and he
scores limited time for his research study, he had to face the
problem of time limitation. But due to entire cooperation of
research team and family members, this could be performed
with entire satisfaction within the minimum prescribed time-
limit.
5. Financial Limitations: As the research scholar belongs to
service class, he has limited financial resources. It is but natural
that a research study of this dimension requires a large amount
of money for building research team, survey work etc.
However, all such expenses were managed by the researcher by
his limited means.
Thus, the main limitations of the present study are scanty
literature, non-cooperative response of interviewees, difficulties in
collecting data and information from official records, shortage of time
and paucity of funds. Inspite of all these limitations and problems, the
present research work could be done at satisfactory level and no
compromise was made at any level due to existence of above
mentioned problems.
* * *
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