Fed up with the standard baguette? Anuga bakeries showcase rise of artisanal touch

08 Oct 2019 --- Urbanization has led consumers – millennials especially – to have more adventurous tastes, bolstering trends such as street-food within the bakery section. This was apparent at Anuga 2019 in Cologne, Germany, where FoodIngredientsFirst spoke with a variety of bakeries on the show floor. Also key are artisanal and clean label products, with consumers increasingly turning toward “purer” offerings.

“Consumers are looking for something more artisanal. They are fed up with the standard baguette and want a story about it and to see real craftsmanship,” says Pieter Hullaert, International Key Account Manager Foodservice, La Lorraine Bakery Group. At Anuga, they are presenting a line of new handmade baguettes.

“It’s a natural sourdough with ancient grains. The product is raised over a long time, meaning its very tasty. You can tell something is artisanal when it is not regular – it lifts in its own way in the oven, for example. Artisanal products also have a specific pronunciation of the crust so it’s more rustic looking. They’re not too fancy but really the pure product in itself,” he continues.St Michel notes that packaging is key to maintaining freshness without preservatives.

Purity of the product is also a key priority for Matthieu Maestre-Molla, Export Product Manager at St Michel. The French company is presenting its baked donuts, dubbed Doonuts. They are based on a madeleine dough and tap into the clean label trend. 

“We pay a lot of attention to our raw materials and all of our ingredients have short ingredient lists. We didn’t want to use additives, colorings or preservatives. It’s only eggs, wheat, chocolate, butter, vegetable oil and nothing more. While it’s important we don’t use preservatives, we also need a good shelf life as we are exporting from France. We need a nine-month shelf life minimum, which means packaging is key. For example, aluminum wrappers help stop humidity and oxygen affecting the product,” Maestre-Molla explains. 

Hullaert also notes that maintaining freshness can be challenging in artisanal goods. “However, we have specific techniques to capture the moisture in the products to ensure a good end-product for the consumer.”

Lantmännen Unibake is also showcasing its artisanal offerings, as well as plant-based products. “Most bakery products out there – especially breads and buns – are already vegetarian. It’s not very difficult to make vegetarian and vegan claims on quite a lot of products in our assortment,” says Chris Houston, Group Market Intelligence Manager at the Sweden-based company. However, he adds that there are some R&D challenges related to replacing the butter in products such as croissants. Lantmännen Unibake's offerings tap into plant-based and street-food trends. 

Meanwhile, Jacques van Diermen, Marketing and Sales Manager at de Graaf Bakeries, argues that although the plant-based trend in bakery is growing, it is still a small market. Notably, the Netherlands-based company’s new line of street-food snacks all includes meat. “Our snacks are just focused on being delicious and trendy foods,” he says. 

Age is not just a number
Many bakeries at Angua highlighted how they were targeting new demographics. “Our classic consumer are aged around 40 or 50 and we want to target the new consumer. That’s people around 30, the family and kids. We hope to target a new group for St Michel because we know that the main category for biscuits and cakes are children,” says Maestre-Molla. 

Meanwhile, La Lorraine Bakery Group is also launching a donut range, but Hullaert notes that they are not just a children’s product anymore. “Adults like them too as there is a history of having fun colors with sprinkles on top. Donuts can bring joy and amusement to families’ lives.”

De Graaf's street-food snacks all are meat-based.Meanwhile, millennials continue to be a desirable target market, especially those living in cities. “We see an urbanization trend around the world, which offers a lot of opportunities for eating out or alone. Additionally, millennials are looking for healthy products but also increasingly reaching toward indulgent ones. They like to mix and match their consumption, which suits us as we have a wide assortment,” explains Houston. 

He adds that the rise of the coffee trend is also complementing the sweet pastry sector. “We see around 50 percent of our sweet bakery products being consumed with coffee,” he notes. Another major trend that companies have picked up on is street-food. 

Van Diermen highlights that consumers are getting more adventurous, leading to growth in the trend for street-food throughout Europe. “The trend is not only evident on the streets, but also in food trucks and at festivals. There are not so many innovations in the snack sector as European flavors are known quite well to consumers. This means that consumers are happy to see new flavors instead of always the same sausage in the snack or puff pastry with meat fillings in it,” he concludes. 

By Katherine Durrell