Demand for donuts produced in commissaries and other offsite facilities and in instore bakeries continues to exceed what it was prior to COVID, said Randy McArthur, national technical sales, Dawn Foods, Jackson, Mich.
Puratos UK has strengthened its fruit filling offerings with the acquisition of Fourayes, the UK’s largest fruit processor and commercial jam manufacturer for bakeries, desserts and dairy.
While pulse proteins have gained prominence, there’s plenty of protein power and health benefits to be found in nuts as well. Blue Diamond, for example, offers almond flour, protein powder, inclusions and butter that can each provide unique benefits to a formulation.
Gluten-free flours, keto-friendly ingredients and ancient grains all have boosted bread sales in past years. What’s next? How about seaweed that gives bread nutritional and environmental benefits.
“Can real artisan bread be made to scale? This is a question I get all the time from bake shops that have a handful of people to companies that employ hundreds,” said John Giacoio, vice president of sales, Rheon USA. “What they don’t understand is that this question is relative to what they are doing at the moment.”
While it’s still early days in assessing the full impact of Hurricane Ian on the baking industry, as of Sept. 29, several companies were adjusting to keep their operations running by managing power outages, cell tower outages and severe flooding in central Florida.
Most consumers in an Ardent Mills’ survey expressed interest in buying an item containing ancient grains, and nearly 90% said they wanted to know more about ancient grains.
Extending the shelf life of baked goods reduces food waste and controls costs. Chemical preservatives, such as calcium propionate, and emulsifiers, such as DATEM and SSL, have been very cost-effective at achieving these goals. However, consumers are rejecting them as they seek out foods with natural claims.