Lesaffre: wheat shocks squeeze bakers

Lesaffre’s new baking marketing director, Edouard Gestat, says Europe’s bread business is being reshaped less by new recipes than by tighter control of how dough is made. (commercialbaking.com) Gestat took over the Baking With Lesaffre unit in April 2026, succeeding Thomas Lesaffre, who moved to become general manager of Fermentis. Lesaffre says Gestat will steer baking strategy with a network of more than 50 baking centers worldwide. (commercialbaking.com) (lesaffre.com) His message to bakers is that wheat-price shocks, pressure for shorter ingredient lists and demand for artisanal cues are colliding at the same time. That leaves craft bakers and supermarket in-store bakeries trying to deliver hand-made-looking bread with factory-level consistency. (bakeryandsnacks.com) (commercialbaking.com) In practice, that means controlling dough temperature, fermentation windows, scaling and shaping more tightly from batch to batch. Gestat’s argument is that the commercial value is shifting from a secret formula toward repeatable execution on the bench and on the line. (bakeryandsnacks.com) Lesaffre is selling that shift through fermentation and improver systems that promise cleaner labels and steadier production. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the company says some of its deactivated yeast and enzyme systems can cut mixing times by up to 35%. (lesaffre.uk) The company says those systems can also replace additives such as L-cysteine, protease and synthetic emulsifiers in some applications. That pitch is aimed at bakers trying to keep ingredient decks shorter without losing machinability, loaf volume or shelf life. (lesaffre.uk) (lesaffrebaking.com) That matters in a market where raw-material swings are still feeding through the chain. The European Commission’s cereals dashboard, updated April 24, showed soft wheat export prices at 204 euros per tonne, down from 216 euros a month earlier but still part of a volatile run for grain buyers. (europa.eu) Bread makers are also dealing with consumers who want bread to look more rustic, fermented and premium even when it is produced at scale. Lesaffre’s own marketing language now pairs “industrial and artisanal bakers” together, a sign of how blurred that divide has become. (commercialbaking.com) (foodandbeverage.business) For Lesaffre, the bet is that bakers under cost pressure will buy more help with process discipline, not just more ingredients. For bakers, the challenge is selling bread that feels crafted while being made the same way every time. (bakeryandsnacks.com)