Affordability and health push bakery innovation as companies navigate increased raw material and energy costs

08 Mar 2023 --- Innovating healthier baked goods while overcoming the mounting challenges of raw material availability like eggs and pricing challenges linked to higher energy costs, are among the hot button topics in the bakery space. Improving functionality at the same time as managing food waste by extending preservation and boosting flour quality, are also key themes important to bakery innovators.

In this special report, FoodIngredientsFirst, takes a closer look at the trends driving innovation within the bakery arena and some of the latest developments coming from key players in the space.

“The baking industry is facing turbulent times – navigating challenges such as volatile raw material quality and availability amid the current geopolitical climate, inflation and widespread supply chain disruption. Pressure from these complicated issues has been mounting for longer than expected, and this has created a need for innovation beyond what many in the industry originally planned for, “ Renee Riegman, business development manager, DSM, explains. 

“Of course, improving sustainability and nutrition remain top priorities, but there is also a challenge to come up with innovative solutions to help the baking industry tackle these new manufacturing challenges.”

Some of DSM’s latest solution launches include Panamore Xtense, an enzyme designed as an alternative to DATEM (diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono- and diglycerides). This lipase can be used for partial DATEM replacement in baked goods, helping to meet consumer demand for more clean label alternatives. 

“Panamore Xtense is ideal for both white and whole wheat flour with a higher FFA content - as well as frozen dough. It helps prevent the formation of off-flavors in rich applications like brioche made with dairy derived fats and it maintains stability in dough and improves the volume and shape in the end-product - including a good crust opening when baking frozen dough products,” Riegman notes.

Increased raw material and energy costs are raising prices.Juggling affordability at forefront of bakery development 
EUM strategy director at Kerry, Nicola Weldon, also says the response to inflation and the evolution of how consumers seek value and as their sensitivity to in-home waste are driving sustained innovation in bakery.

While Adam Diggle, business unit director, baking, at Novozymes, agrees that affordability and flexibility are crucial.

“The significantly increased raw material and energy costs are leading to increases in consumer prices, while inflation has amplified the demand for the market to deliver high quality baked goods at affordable prices. Solutions now need to guard against high or volatile raw materials prices to keep baked goods affordable for the consumers and ensure that bakers can earn profits,” he says. 

Sustainability is another key trend spotlighted by Diggle as well as eating experiences - which highlights how taste and texture remain the king and the queen for consumers purchasing preferences. Consumers are on the lookout for the next new surprise that delivers a unique mouthfeel – different from the already known.

Health underpins it all. “Consumers are becoming increasingly health-conscious. The baking industry needs to adapt and cater for this demand as more people no longer see food as  merely a source for nutrition, but also see it as an active contributor to better health,” he says. 

“Consumers are looking for foods and baked goods to be an active contributor for health benefits. Bread has a strong association of being natural and consumers are mainly looking for more of the good in bread, such as fibers, wholegrain and proteins. While other baked goods categories such as snack bars and biscuits are seen as a source of new health claims.”

“With time we expect that prebiotics and synbiotics will be accepted broadly by consumers,” Diggle reveals. 

Novozymes recently launched Optiva LG (Less Gluten) to reduce the dependency of vital wheat gluten, while still securing good dough stability and volumes for baked goods. Lipopan Fortis is another new product delivering strong and robust dough strengthening performance across different flour types.

Rogerio Guimaraes, global innovation marketing leader for bakery, bars and confectionary IFF’s Nourish division, also cites “affordability” as one of the big trends in the bakery category, considering that it is the staple of many family routines. 

“Bread, for instance, is an essential product many consumers buy worldwide. How can corporations keep delivering good products to consumers at a price that can make this category accessible to more and more people? Therefore, companies must have a broad view of affordability by looking at the entire supply chain, “ he outlines.

“It impacts productivity in formulation, and production processes, avoiding food waste via longer shelf life and keeping products fresh for consumers. Affordability can also mean a lower cost in formulation via cheaper ingredients which will require the support of some ingredients such as enzymes and emulsifiers to improve dough stability, alongside giving products excellent crumb structure, volume, and visual appeal,” he says. 

However, while affordability is important, label-friendly, healthier options with indulgence and comfort will also be driving innovation in the bakery space in the next few years, according to Guimaraes.

“Label-friendly can mean natural products and avoidance of certain ingredients perceived as bad to consumers. Bakers have struggled to balance delivering products with labels containing consumer-friendly ingredients with the need to ensure ideal quality in their finished products.” 

“Challenges include upholding dough strength and tolerance during production, maintaining consistency across varying conditions, reducing waste, and preserving finished product quality, volume, and crumb structure.”

“Healthier options can mean less sugar with some additional functionality, such as fiber and protein. The exploration of these two claims has been growing in product launches during the last few years. Take the example of protein; sub-categories such as biscuits, for instance, would be competing against yogurt or bars if we think about the share of stomach. In this case, high in protein, for example, is a claim to explore in new product launches,” he continues. 

Vanessa Bergamini M Mendes, global product category marketing manager, IFF’s Cultures and Food Enzymes, outlines IFF’s bakery developments.

ENOVERA 3001 a strengthener for high-performing breads and buns with more consumer-friendly ingredients and is noted as the first enzyme-only strengthener that matches the robustness and functionality of conventional dough strengtheners, which means the inevitable variations in raw materials or processing conditions can be less challenging. 

It can also replace 30%-100% of added gluten depending on the formula and process.

Mendes explains this product is currently only available for the US market but will soon be rolled out in other markets.

TAURA are inclusions for bakery, made with real fruit pieces, flakes, and paste to deliver exciting flavor variety and texture appeal in bakery and cereal products. IFF’s inclusions are bake stable with low water activity and are formulated for success in long shelf-life applications, offering high fruit content and are free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.

Other innovations include IFF FLAVORFIT, the company’s primary Taste Modulation product, 

POWERBAKE 701 bakery system is a strengthening system that can be used as a complete blend or a booster for flour performance when flour quality optimization is required to secure bread quality while optimizing the cost of flour, while PANODAM DATEM is a range of emulsifiers that strengthen the dough for easier processing and improved bread quality.

Optimizing shelf lifeAffordability is one of the big trends in the baking space.
Kerry’s solutions overcome shelf life and ingredient replacement challenges.

Baked goods need consistent flavor, texture and freshness over shelf life and this usually takes a multipronged approach across lipid encapsulated flavors and flavor modulation to succeed in delivering extra shelf life days, Weldon says. 

“When we hear the impact of extra shelf life days from our customers, we are always innovating to unlock the next level of protection and preservation without compromise. We have some great case studies where we partnered with customers to extend the mold-free shelf life by 30% beyond the incumbent. The differences they saw in retail waste and consumer purchase behavior made a great impact on their bread sales.”

“Another customer who was seeing high waste in one market with challenging climate conditions came to us looking for just one extra shelf life day to allow them to service a new region without having to build a new plant. These kinds of customer innovations really impact the profitability of their bakery operation.” 

Avoiding waste
Kerry’s Tastesense, enzymes and texture systems as well as mold inhibition with market leading propionate and fermentation-based solutions ProBake and UpGrade are key solutions in the bakery space.

“We understand the cost of wasted bread to our customers whether it’s reduced efficiencies, pressure on supply chain, retail returns or poor brand perception. By overcoming shelf life challenges, a higher portion of production volume can nourish more consumers and avoid landfill. This can also result in savings on transport, labor for retail stock rotation and lost sales due to consumer frustrations,” Weldon adds. 

She also spotlights how manufacturers face challenges when replacing ingredients, either for nutritional optimization to better meet the criteria of the NutriScore or due to supply chain challenges or cost prohibitive ingredients. 

“Following sugar or sodium reduction, taste modulation may be needed to avoid compromising user experience as well as ingredients to recreate browning and structure,” Weldon continues. “If butter is being replaced or reduced, Dairy Taste flavors can be used to build back in the experience. Eggs are in short supply these days and our egg-free, clean label glazes have really been making a difference for our bakery customers.”

The natural baking trend is expected to continue to grow.What’s coming next in bakery?
Diggle reiterates “We live in a world that is changing. Right now, affordability and flexibility are more important than ever, but so are health, quality and sustainability. These are the issues that remain our focus within our innovation.” 

Meanwhile, Kerry expects the natural baking trend growth to continue throughout 2023. 

The company remains focused on the elimination of food waste and creating sustainable nutrition, while keeping very close to the latest research on shelf life extension and upcycling. 

Another growing area for Kerry is the digitization of food waste data to help the market prioritize food waste elimination through extra shelf life days. A recent example is the Kerry Food Waste Estimator. 

“We are harvesting the learning and expertise from our acquired businesses and creating synergies with our innovation pipeline to allow us to deliver new to the market innovations that can deliver extra shelf life days,” says Weldon.

“In the challenging environment of a cost-of-living crisis, Kerry will continue empowering customers to unlock production efficiencies and incorporate the added benefits of shelf life extension, through food preservation. We see this as a major growth opportunity for the bakery space in 2023, as we know even one extra day of shelf life can result in added benefits versus cost for our customers, ensuring products reach consumers at their best and deliver nutrition instead of ending up as food waste,” she concludes.

It’s crucial that the industry collaborates to address pain points and replace less desired ingredients with more sustainable alternatives, stress Riegman.

“Despite the ongoing market turmoil, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve in consumer expectations. Proactivity and forward thinking will minimize future risk while pleasing people, and the planet, simultaneously.”

By Gaynor Selby