Last week it was reported that the first airing of the Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 attracted an audience of 9.5m, making it one of Channel 4’s top ten audiences ever.
For the true GBBO fans out there this should come as no surprise. But what is astounding is that in a world where we are hooked to shows like Love Island, it was a baking competition that delivered the biggest 16-34 audience of the year on TV and Channel 4’s biggest show amongst 16-34’s since Big Brother over ten years ago.
The current millennial audience continues to be one of the most complex youth audiences of recent times – for one start a generation of foodies rather than a generation of fixers, as according to TGI 16% of millennials regularly bake versus only 6% who claimed to regularly conduct DIY.
This love affair with the Great British Bake Off will likely rise faster than a proofing bread loaf, as movements like the Comfort Food trend take hold driven by consumers’ demand to seek products that are recognizable rather than revolutionary.
According to The Grocer, ‘Brits have baked at home on more than a billion occasions since 2015’ and according to Harris Interactive research sector head Lucia Juliano “our love of baking is here to stay, with a third of people baking at least weekly…increas[ing]to nearly half of 25 to 34-year-olds, with London being one of the baking hotspots.”
With trends like Comfort Food taking hold and with our love of baking showing no signs of slowing down, it seems that Channel 4 has a real show-stopper on their hands – attracting a hard-to-reach audience that not many other shows can achieve.