The global pastries market, valued at USD65bn in 2024, continues to show growth potential with projections reaching USD75bn by 2029, representing a 3% annual increase.
While breakfast remains the primary consumption occasion, the sector’s expansion stems from manufacturers’ format innovation, retail channel diversification, and the rise of café culture in Europe. The market spans both premium artisanal products and mass-produced varieties, with distribution channels ranging from traditional bakeries to in-store supermarket operations, creating multiple entry points for industry players.
Though sweet pastries are often consumed throughout the day, they continue to carry strong links with the breakfast market, reports Jonathan Thomas. Consumption of sweet pastries remains widespread throughout the world, representing one of the largest and most dynamic sectors within the global market for bakery goods.
According to data from Mordor Intelligence, the global pastries market was worth more than USD65bn in 2024. Sales are expected to increase by an annual average of almost 3% during the period leading up to 2029, by which time the market is forecast to reach almost USD75bn.
Many types of pastries have a rich and established heritage, meaning that many are sold at comparatively high prices by artisanal bakers and other similar establishments, although lower cost industrially produced varieties are also available via various retail channels.
Much of the recent market growth can be attributed to experimentation by manufacturers with new formats, shapes and flavors, while indulgence continues to represent a key driver of purchasing behavior. In many western markets, sweet pastries have come to be seen as an affordable treat, while sales have also benefited from the ongoing expansion of the café culture throughout Europe.
Another market driver in recent years has been the emergence of products positioned on a health platform (e.g. clean label), as well as sweet pastries catering towards specific diets, with gluten-free one example. However, the sector continues to face challenges, such as the widespread perception that sweet pastries have negative health associations, such as being high in calories or sugar. The global market for sweet pastries is dominated by products such as croissants and pain au chocolat.
Although croissants are most frequently associated with France, their origins are often linked with bakers in Vienna. In the 17th century, the city’s bakers designed a brioche in the shape of a crescent to celebrate Austria’s victory over an invading Turkish army from the Ottoman Empire. It is largely for this reason that products such as croissants, brioches, pain au chocolat, etc. are referred to as ‘viennoiseries’, which translate as Viennese pastries.
Both pain au chocolat and Danish pastries also carry strong historical links with Austria, according to popular lore. Pain au chocolat was first introduced to 19th century Paris as the ‘schokoladencroissant’, a crescent-shaped brioche filled with chocolate. Danish pastries are believed to have originated in 1850, when Danish bakery owners hired Austrian workers to fill in during a strike. When they returned to work, the Danish bakery workers adopted many Austrian ideas and recipes.
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