Top 5 takeaways from IBA 2025

IBA 2025, the world’s leading trade fair for the baking and confectionery industry, which took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, from May 18-22, 2025, showcased a wide array of trends shaping the future of the global baking industry.

Here are some of the top trends that emerged and how Bakels can support you in getting up to speed:

Bold and adventurous flavours take centre stage: Consumers continue to seek extraordinary taste experiences, leading to surprising mashups and creative flavour combinations, often inspired by street food or global cuisines (e.g., spicy chai cakes, yuzu-infused pastries, miso in cookies). Bakery is designed to delight, so it is no surprise to see a flood of eye-catching and inspiring flavour and visual creations.

Format innovation: This remains an important way for bakeries to stand-out, and there were a number of hybrid concepts on show. Mashing together popular favourites like the “crookie” (croissant-muffin) and “cronuts” (croissant doughnut) continues to be popular ways to mix-up product application, especially when traditional and contemporary products are used.

Sensory experiences: Products are being developed to deliver multi-sensory dimensions in taste, texture, and visual appeal, with a focus on vibrant colours and creative designs.

Affordable Luxuries: While consumers are cost-conscious, they are willing to spend on premium ingredients, bold flavours, and creative textures for an “affordable luxury” experience. There was no shortage of indulgent ingredients to help bakery businesses serve taste-hungry consumers.

Occasion-Based Products: There’s a boom in products targeted at specific occasions and holidays, catering to “reward and escape” purchase motivators. The theme of escapism, sparked through Covid-19, offers consumers a way to enjoy treats they associate with their favourite holidays or cuisines.

Another popular theme, which aligns to many consumers managing their intake of indulgent items, is that of mini formats. There was a bite-size, snackable version of most sweet applications, suggesting the thirst for snacking is showing no signs of slowing!

Potted cheesecakes and desserts, pretzels, muffins and cookies all enjoyed a bite-sized transformation at the show, offering guilt-free options for consumers seeking moments of indulgence throughout the day.

Return to heritage: Consumers are drawn to their culinary heritage, embracing authenticity in baking, with a strong demand for traditional recipes, provenance-based ingredients and familiar flavours. This trend offers comfort and reassurance and aligns with a preference for many to shop and support local where possible.

Quality as a differentiator: Quality is a top priority for consumers, who associate it with freshness, premium offerings, and brand reputation. Consumers won’t compromise on quality, and exhibitors were aligned to this requirement.

Artisan techniques: The exhibition showcased a continued appreciation for artisan baking techniques, showcased through numerous live sweet and savoury demonstrations throughout the week. Creative and distinctive sourdough breads drew the eye and offer bakeries a way to premiumise their bread assortment.

Sustainable ingredient alternatives: Egg prices for instance continue to be a challenge for bakery businesses. A popular conversation was that of mitigating the high prices, with many searching for alternatives which managed costs (to minimise price increases for consumers), in a sustainable way and without compromise to the finished product.

Waste Reduction: Bakeries are increasingly adopting low or no-waste practices, including repurposing byproducts (e.g. stale bread for puddings, croissant scraps in cookies) and optimising energy and water usage. As well as inventive applications to reduce waste, extended shelf life solutions for bread and cake products were on-show, an increasing number of which were clean label.

Clean Label and Natural Ingredients: Consumers are demanding greater transparency about ingredients. This means a push for reduced additives and E-numbers, natural colourings, and nutrient enrichment (e.g. fibre, protein). In fact, 64% say they are trying to choose foods made with natural ingredients¹ and 48% extremely conscious of cutting back on artificial preservatives².

The trend for heathier products continues to be important, more so in bread products, with various focusses on gut health with claims such as prebiotic and fibre featuring in a wider range of baked goods.

Other claims such as egg-free, gluten-free and high protein were as popular in queries as they were in product presentations – all experiencing an increase in demand from consumers across markets.

Plant-Based Innovations: The plant-based movement continues to grow, with a focus on high-quality vegan pastries and bread that mimic traditional versions in taste and texture. There’s also innovation in subtly incorporating vegetables into sweet treats, which offers eye-catching visual advantages.

IBA 2025 highlighted the dynamic and innovative industry in which we operate, that is adapting to evolving consumer preferences for unique experiences, sustainability and health.

Has IBA motivated you to accelerate your new product development? Do you have challenges which are reducing your efficiency and restricting your growth? Bakels are at your service to support you and your teams overcome these challenges, with market-leading solutions to fuel your future growth.

Let’s connect and create together:

Data: 1 – International Food Information Council survey 2021: “Chemical-sounding” to “clean.” 2 – Innova Health & Nutrition Survey 2022.