In 2025, the bakery sector confirmed itself as a vital and resilient market. The Italian segment showed steady growth, driven by a clear evolution in consumer habits. Consumers continued to seek a balance between the authentic taste of artisanal tradition and modern demands for health and sustainability. The trends defining 2025 highlighted a dynamic equilibrium between the revival of historical recipes and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies to improve efficiency and product quality.
Health and authenticity first
The dominant trend has been the search for products offering clear added value in terms of well-being and raw material quality. Consumers have been extremely attentive to ingredients, favouring products with improved nutritional profiles. Demand has grown for bread and baked goods high in fibre and low in sugars and fats.
Interest has increased in whole-grain products, doughs enriched with superfoods (such as chia, flax, and hemp seeds rich in Omega-3s; antioxidant turmeric and spirulina; and protein-rich legume flours), as well as natural sourdough, perceived as a marker of superior quality and digestibility. This rediscovery has also led to a return to long fermentation times and the use of ancient grains.
Traceability and ingredient origin are fundamental. Preference for products made with local or zero-kilometre raw materials has become firmly established. Traditional products, considered more natural, are enjoying a strong revival: from Altamura DOP bread, to Valle d’Aosta’s pan ner, to Sardinian carasau bread.
Sustainability as a core objective
Sustainability has become an indispensable pillar across all production sectors, and bakery is no exception. This shift is driven by a dual motivation: bakers actively seek ways to minimize waste and optimize resource use, while consumers increasingly support and reward companies that adopt more ecological and responsible production processes.
Attention has focused on four key areas:
Baking technology plays a decisive role in both energy efficiency and the preservation of the artisanal quality demanded by consumers. Investments in ovens have focused mainly on two aspects: energy savings and baking precision. Latest-generation ovens are equipped with heat recovery systems or advanced insulation and are increasingly connected and digitalized. Integration with IoT systems allows remote monitoring and management of the baking process, enabling bakers to replicate their best recipes with extreme precision.
2026 outlook: trends for the year ahead
Protein is the most sought-after ingredient, with 67% of consumers basing their food choices on health benefits. There is strong demand for high-protein baked goods (including vegan and vegetarian options), perceived as ideal for an active lifestyle. This trend also extends to sweet products, which are increasingly seen as potential sources of protein without sacrificing pleasure.
Texture is the new “wow factor.” Seventy-one percent of consumers consider it crucial and actively seek new sensory experiences. Elements such as crunch are particularly appreciated, symbolizing freshness, craftsmanship, and high quality. The contrast between a soft interior and a crisp exterior has become a key opportunity for innovation.
Sourdough is the most talked-about trend, with online searches on the rise. Fifty-eight percent of consumers consider it healthier, and 70% prefer it for its flavour. No longer limited to artisanal bread, sourdough is expanding into snacks, ready-to-eat products, and less conventional categories, establishing itself as a true signature of health and tradition.
Visual appeal is another major strength: the appearance of bread and attention to aesthetic details—finish, scoring, crust colour—will become even more important in communicating quality and craftsmanship.
Demand for traceability will move beyond raw material origin to transparency of the production process itself. Consumers will actively seek information on how bread is made, valuing long fermentation times and traditional methods.
Digitalization will go beyond e-commerce, evolving into experiential communication. Bakers will use digital channels (video, social media) not only to sell, but to tell the story of their products and their craft, creating emotional engagement with customers.
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Discover AVO product 3D models in .stp format, available for direct download from the website.
These files enable seamless integration into the main CAD environments, allowing designers to work with real geometries and dimensions while improving accuracy during design and technical validation phases.
The use of 3D models helps optimize development processes, reduce validation time and support more efficient component configuration within application systems.
This implementation is part of AVO’s digital evolution strategy, aimed at providing advanced technical tools to support design and engineering activities.
.stp files are available within each product page on the AVO website.
In the food industry, operational performance is built on the precision and quality of every single component. For companies operating in environments governed by strict regulations, the careful selection of materials and the technical specifications of castors and mobile supports are essential to ensure maximum resistance, hygiene, safety, and durability.
Material handling systems must not only be capable of managing significant loads under demanding working conditions, but also meet rigorous sanitation and durability standards, minimizing the risk of contamination and ensuring consistent, long-term performance.
With more than eighty years of experience across four generations, AVO has a deep understanding of the sector’s requirements and has developed a product range entirely dedicated to overcoming these challenges.
AVO solutions are engineered to maintain superior performance even at high temperatures, a common factor in environments such as industrial kitchens, pasteurization plants, and ovens. Our range includes castors made from compounds that offer excellent resistance to chemical agents and thermal shock, featuring smooth surfaces free from gaps or joints that could compromise hygiene.
The supports are also designed to deliver maximum structural reliability, reducing wear and the risk of premature failure, even under the most demanding operating conditions.
A distinctive element of our portfolio is our range of high-temperature castors. These are advanced technical solutions, indispensable for production environments exposed to prolonged heat or intensive thermal cycles.
The range includes castors made from thermosetting phenolic resin, versions with rubber tread and glass-fibre-reinforced Polyamide 6 cores, as well as silicone rubber models with aluminium cores or steel flanges. These configurations ensure safe and reliable operation for applications reaching temperatures of up to +280°C.
The thermosetting materials used, such as phenolic, urea, and melamine resins, are ideally suited to severe thermal conditions. Unlike thermoplastic compounds, their rigidity increases with heat, preventing permanent deformation and ensuring long-term dimensional and mechanical stability.
AVO castors are available in diameters ranging from 80 to 250 mm and can be combined with medium-duty or heavy-duty supports. This modularity allows load capacities from 80 to 800 kg, depending on the selected configuration.
With AVO, food industry professionals can rely on components that enhance the efficiency and quality of their production processes, without ever compromising on final product safety.
AVO presents the new Heavy-Duty Stainless-Steel Castors: maximum corrosion resistance for critical environments
Avo expands its product portfolio with a new line of heavy-duty stainless-steel castors, engineered to deliver reliable and safe performance even under the most demanding operating conditions.
The range is designed for high-intensity food, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications where high load capacities are required.
Manufactured entirely from AISI 304 stainless steel, this series offers superior resistance to corrosion, aggressive cleaning agents, and high-pressure washdowns. This makes it ideal for the food industry, the pharmaceutical sector, refrigerated-logistics environments, and all applications exposed to strong mechanical and chemical stress.