In the past five years, the supply chain that supports the wholesale baking industry has been through a lot. Jason Frye, secretary of the 2025 International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) planning committee, has had a front row seat as senior vice president, supply chain planning and performance, Flowers Foods, Thomasville, Ga. 

Timelines for equipment deliveries and services were extended as labor and transportation challenges persisted during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. While timelines are improving, Frye noted it has definitely impacted the way bakers approach their projects. 

“The extended lead times have forced us to become much more strategic with our investments,” Frye said. “What used to be a 6- to 8-month turnaround now takes 12 to 18 months. This requires careful planning and due diligence to ensure every decision aligns with our long-term goals.”

As bakers look ahead to future projects with IBIE 2025 on the horizon, Frye said major shifts in the market are forcing bakers to change what they’re looking for from their equipment and production lines. 

Niche products are growing at the expense of legacy products. In the past, bakers may have wanted high-speed lines that could produce as many units per minute as possible, but Frye anticipates flexibility will be the main need going forward.

“Bakers will not be looking for legacy equipment at IBIE 2025,” he said. 

“They will be looking for their capital expenditures to have a tighter ROI (return on investment), and they’ll be looking at aspects like sustainability and flexibility. The legacy product types are declining in volume, and different product types are evolving. The equipment has to have the flexibility to deal with that deviation without too much additional capital spending.” 

Those niche products represent the major shifts happening in consumer needs. Consumers continue to want cleaner ingredient labels. Nutrition demands like more protein, keto and gluten-free options endure. 

“At-home consumers aren’t eating traditional bread products at the same velocity,” he explained. “Their eating habits have changed, so being able to give them more, differentiated options has truly been the difference between them buying a loaf of bread or not.” 

Frye also expects that with consolidation on the supplier side of the industry, bakers are gaining access to more niche equipment and processes, maybe even technologies from different industries. At IBIE 2025, it will all be on the table. 

“Every three years, IBIE is where everyone comes to the same venue and has an absolutely open mind about how to improve their companies as well as the whole industry,” he said. “Bakers, suppliers, everyone has a completely open mind to have a collaborative conversation about what’s next and what could be.”