A salesgirl at Moon Bakery in downtown Yangon takes out some cakes last week. Expectations are high for bakery culture to develop and the market to expand in the future.

THE baking industry is booming as cakes, puffs, donuts, cookies and other pastries become more popular in Myanmar wedding receptions, birthday parties and other social events.

U Kyaw Min Oo, managing director of Moon Bakery's six outlets in Yangon, said sales had steadily increased since the company was started in 2005.

“Our yearly sales have increased by about 15 percent since 2005. But on special occasions like Thadingyut and Tazaungdaing in October and November, sales usually increase by about 20pc,” U Kyaw Min Oo said.

He said he expected bakery culture to develop and the market to expand in the future.

“Actually, cakes and burgers are western foods but they spread into Myanmar around 1994 or 1995. These kinds of food are eaten in most countries, including those in Asia,” he said.

In U Kyaw Min Oo’s opinion, the market for cakes and bakery foods will expand in the future because they are light, easily transportable and anyone can eat them.

Other bakery owners said they were optimistic the market would expand during Thadingyut and Tazaungdaing festivals in October and November.

For U Tint Swe, managing director of Uncle Bird bakery - which has three outlets in Yangon, sales had increased sharply at the end of last year.

“Sales increased by 40pc during the last six months of 2006,” he said, adding that the Thadingyut and Tazaungdaing festivals were the industry’s peak season.

He said that he thought sales had increased overall because more people were buying bakery products as gifts and offering for grandparents and older people.

Daw Ohn Ohn Myint, manager of El Dorado bake house, said they produced bread specially designed for people with diabetes.

“We hope that everyone will like our products, so we make bread that can be eaten by people who have diabetes,” she said, adding that the bread is also distributed to hotels, shops and wholesalers.

She agreed that Thadingyut and Tazaungdaing festivals provided the best sales of the year. “Thadingyut is the best selling season for the baking industry and sales increase by about 40pc at that time,” she said.

Daw Ohn Ohn Myint said the shop makes more than 100 different products and the target customers were people of all ages.

“In the future, bakeries will become more competitive and that will make them run with lower profits,” she said.

One suggestion Daw Ohn Ohn Myint gave for attracting customers was increasing variety and offering different tastes.

For U Aung Khin Myint, owner of A&T bakery, changes in lifestyle were affecting the industry.

He said that as people’s lifestyles changed and they became wealthier, many did not want to drink coffee in roadside tea shops. There are also demand differences between urban and rural areas.

“There are wet and dry products that we manufacture. For dry products like biscuits and cookies, the demand is high in rural areas but for wet products like cakes and bread, the demand is higher in Yangon.”

U Aung Khin Myint pointed out that sales decreased in 2003-4 due to the banking crisis and increased again in 2006. For his business, the target customers are government employees aged 40-years-old and above.

“People of that age prefer special butter cakes but save the fancy cakes - which cost about K4800 - for weddings, company anniversaries and birthdays,” he explained.