Bakery has a powerful emotional pull: the smell of freshly baked bread, pastry and cake can evoke comfort, nostalgia and wellbeing. Now other industries are borrowing those sensory cues, from croissant-inspired perfumes to gin and protein products. What can industrial bakers learn from the growing value of the “freshly baked” experience?

The Summer 2026 edition of Baking Europe spans the ancient and the cutting-edge, from teff and Lambeth cakes to HFSS reformulation, allergen management and enzyme technology. The most interesting stories in baking are rarely the obvious ones.

Baker Street has launched a Light Rye Bread into Sainsbury's, targeting shoppers new to rye with a softer texture, sourdough starter and a nutritional profile including fibre, protein and iron.

Verhoeven Bakery Equipment Family celebrates 25 years at Interpack 2026, showcasing innovative bakery technologies, digital solutions and future-focused production advancements.

Baker Street has reformulated its core rolls range with shorter ingredient lists and updated packaging, responding to shopper demand for less processed bakery products.

St Pierre's Croissant Loaf brings a category-first hybrid format to UK breakfast bakery, pre-sliced for convenience, croissant-textured and available from April 2026.

Lesaffre has appointed Edouard Gestat as Marketing Director of Baking with Lesaffre, drawing on 24 years in food ingredients and 15 years within the Lesaffre group.

Before a customer reaches the counter, their brain has already started deciding. New insight from The Original Baker reveals how the aroma of freshly baked pastry, working alongside the audible snap of good lamination and the visible flake of skilled layers, is quietly shaping buying decisions across Britain’s bakeries. When these sensory signals align, customer confidence follows. When they don’t, trust evaporates just as fast.