Australian women love to bake viewing the activity as relaxing and a way to connect with family and friends. With Australia’s most loved and highest read food and cooking titles, Are Media has decoded what it takes to launch and sell food brands helping advertisers reach the decision makers in the category.
A quarter of all Australians follow a diet that limits their consumption of sugar with 44% avoiding sugar as an ingredient, 10 percentage points higher than the global average. According to Nielsen, in the 12 months ending April 2016, Australian sugar sales dropped 3.5% versus the previous year. But more than half of all Australian women enjoy baking regularly or occasionally as one in four say they bake to give them control over the ingredients they’re consuming.
Unlike preparing dinner for the family which can feel like a chore, baking is more likely to be seen as an enjoyable and relaxing weekend activity. It’s a special way for women to treat their loved ones, celebrate special occasions and connect with others, especially children.
Women love to learn about baking from scratch and although social media is bursting with images of cronuts, macaroons, mirror glazed desserts and fancy cupcakes, the simple chocolate cake is actually the most commonly created sweet treat.
Almost three in four women rate themselves as confident or very confident bakers, yet they’re still most interested in recipes that are easy to make. They aren’t looking to produce something too elaborate with few actively seeking out a challenging baking recipe. In fact, two-thirds of women use packaged cake mixes some or most of the time.
Print is the baker’s best friend with cookbooks and food magazines the top places to find inspiration as they’re easy to refer back to, make notes in and bookmark.
