Abstract:

Bread, just as other bakery products in general, has always been an important part of a modern human’s food selection. However, the bread market has been through radical changes over the past centuries. Such changes are even more rapid and dynamic in our modern times. If companies want to succeed on the market, they need to understand the changes. Therefore, in order to understand the changes on this highly competitive market it is necessary to understand the trends in bakery operation economy, competitive environment, technological procedures, but most importantly: understand the consumer. This research was partially prompted by the fact that food production keeps growing, but the trends in bakery products do not correspond with such a growth. Its authors compare markets of two neighbouring countries, Germany and the Czech Republic. The objective was to describe changes and trends on both markets, identify similarities and/or differences in historic development, but primarily in the present. The authors focused, above all, on analysis of the causes of the changes. This paper presents a wide range of statistical data and a comparison of the two markets.