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Making sourdough bread using natural yeast became popular during the coronavirus pandemic, and it appears to be gaining ground in Britain and the United States. In the UK, the chain Gail’s expanded its store count and was even used as an indicator of voter retention in election campaigns.
◆The rise of “craft bakery”
financial timesopinion articleanalyzes the rise of the British bakery chain Gales and reports that demand for “craft bakery” among British people is growing rapidly. Gales is a chain bakery with over 130 stores mainly in London, and the brand is positioned as artisanal bread (handmade bread made by bakers). The products they sell include chunky sourdough bread (4.6 pounds per loaf, approximately 910 yen), croissants (2.65 pounds, approximately 530 yen), and babka with chocolate (15 pounds per loaf, approximately 3,000 yen). High-priced bread. Cafe Bakery is said to be especially popular with young parents with babies. Although they are artisanal bakeries, the expansion of chain stores also means that small town bakeries are going out of business. In some areas, petitions and protests have taken place to oppose the opening of a Gales store, fearing that the city will become richer and more homogenized (gentrification).
Galeshas its roots in the bread wholesale business started by Gail Mejia in the 1990s for top chefs and restaurants. The first Gales store opened in London in 2005. In 2011, private equity (PE) fund Risk Capital Partners and Luke Johnson, who has experience in developing the famous British pizza chain Pizza Express, jointly invested and acquired the company. , focused on business expansion. Furthermore, in 2021, US Bain Capital acquired a majority stake at a company valuation of 200 million pounds. In April of this year, Gale’s opened its 131st store, and the company says it plans to add 35 more stores.announcementIt was done.
◆As an indicator for voter retention
Gales’ rise seems to be having an impact not only on business but also on politics. In the UK’s July election, the Liberal Democrats, who had been conservative until then, used the question of whether Gales was opening a store as a yardstick.aimed at retaining voters. In other words, it appears that residents in areas where Gales stores have higher disposable incomes are likely to switch from the Conservative Party to the Liberal Democratic Party.Guardian explainsdo. On the other hand, Luke Johnson, a Gales investor and chairman of the parent company, is a supporter of Brexit and an opponent of lockdowns and net-zero environmental policies during the pandemic.
However, one thing that Gales’ target audience and potential Lib Dem supporters have in common is a sense of community, a value that values respect and connection to others. Gales’ business model is that of a chain store, but management insists that they value community building and the “neighborhood.” Although Gales store locations are only a rough indicator, the 13 constituencies in the south of England where the Liberal Democrats defeated the Conservatives in the July 4th election were all areas where Gales opened a store. The Guardian reported.
The question remains as to how far Gail’s will be able to maintain its “community feeling” by further promoting new store openings, but as the overall pie of the craft bakery market expands, it is likely that real craft bakeries that do not open multiple stores will be able to maintain their sense of community. I hope that it continues to exist.
