"Angel Bakery is the biggest in pitas, we are the biggest in rolls"

The beginning of the school year is one of the peak points in sales for bread bakeries. "There is a 10% increase with the start of the school year," says Berman Bakeries CEO Asa Arbel in a conversation with ynet Economy. "Children still eat sandwiches at school, but less in bread and much more in rolls and pitas."

So are pitas taking the place of bread?

"Pitas in recent years have undergone a significant upgrade, also thanks to Eyal Shani and the 'Miznon' chain, which put everything in a pita. Restaurateurs have turned pitas into something trendy. If once there was mainly one type of pita, thin and prone to tearing, today there are several levels of quality. Spelt pitas are very trendy — this is flour that is three times more expensive, and the price of the pitas is accordingly high: a package of 10 smaller pitas is sold to the consumer by retail chains for around 18 shekels."

The company also introduced new 'Ananim' (Clouds) pitas, 8 in a package, for around 15.9 shekels. "They are soft, with 'droplets' inside. The secret is a higher percentage of water that makes them softer. It is a challenge to work with less dry dough. Angel Bakery is the biggest in pitas and standard bread, we are the biggest in rolls. A serious profit center for them comes from their pita activity specifically in the USA. We are concentrating on the local market with the intention to continue and develop the field."

Bread that is not under supervision costs on average 20–22 shekels. That is a lot.

"Bread that is not under supervision is considered special bread and its price is accordingly. The fact is that demand for standard bread, despite its relatively cheap price of 7–8 shekels per loaf, is in decline. Its main customer is the institutional market and the Haredi public. Even in areas of low socio-economic status, there is consumption of special breads. Therefore, we came out with breads in the style of brioche, which is currently very popular, soft and slightly sweet. Supervised bread currently takes up only 20% of our total sales."

A strong market that can be expanded in is challahs. "We feel that the demand for challahs is rising, and not for supervised challahs; the growth is in the special ones."

How many types of bread do you produce? "50 different types. We produce more than 100,000 baked goods — bread, rolls, pitas — a day. Once life was simple — white bread or black bread, or half a loaf. The industry has grown significantly and there are many boutique bakeries."

What about an IPO?

"The bakery is 151 years old, it was private — and will remain so. We are big enough, and the country is quite small."