Commercial Baking October | Q4 2021

ISSUE Q4 OCT 2021

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FARM TO MARKET BREAD

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FLOWERS’ FOODS’ BRAD CASHAW | ALTERNATIVE INGREDIENTS

www.commercialbaking.com

Inaugural Year MICHIGAN BREAD GROWTH, EXPANSION AND ACQUISITION

MARCH 2021 ISSUE 1

4

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r, Br waiian a H s ’ g Kin

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AVA N T FO O D M E D I A

OUR MEDIA

Paul Lattan

www.commercialbaking.com

President - Principal | 816.585.5030 | paul@avantfoodmedia.com

WEEKLY

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MONTHLY

Vice President - Principal | 816.605.5037 | steve@avantfoodmedia.com

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OUR COMMUNITY

ALERT INSIGHTS SOLUTIONS American Society of Baking

CHANNEL COMMERCIAL BAKING Paul Lattan Publisher | 816.585.5030 | paul@avantfoodmedia.com

Steve Berne

Commercial Baking is published by Avant Food Media, 1827 McGee Street, Suite F, Kansas City, MO 64108. Commercial Baking considers its sources reliable and verifies as much data as possible, although reporting inaccuracies can occur. Consequently, readers using this information do so at their own risk. Commercial Baking is distributed with the understanding that the publisher is not liable for errors and omissions. Although persons and companies mentioned herein are believed to be reputable, neither Avant Food Media nor any of its employees accept any responsibility whatsoever for their activities. Commercial Baking magazine is printed in the USA and all rights are reserved.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher. All contributed content and advertiser supplied information will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication, copyright purposes and use in any publication or digital product and are subject to Commercial Baking’s right to edit.

Director of Media | 816.605.5037 | steve@avantfoodmedia.com

Joanie Spencer Editor-in-Chief | 913.777.8874 | joanie@avantfoodmedia.com

Jordan Winter Digital Editor | Designer jordan@avantfoodmedia.com

Liz Goodwin Associate Editor liz@avantfoodmedia.com

Maggie Glisan

| digital edition

Gavin Ferrara

Commercial Baking magazine is published quarterly, along with two annual issues, in print and digital formats. Circulation is tightly controlled, and the print issues are sent free of charge only to hand-verified industry decision makers and influencers. To apply for a free subscription, please visit www.commercialbaking.com/magazine.

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FIND US ON

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

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IN THIS ISSUE

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38

Michigan Bread: One Good Bread Company

Farm to Market: Coming Full Circle

34

46

54

Brad Cashaw: Steward of the Supply Chain

User-Generated Marketing: A New Ad Age

Emerging Market: Alternative Ingredients

Features

PLUS: Look for QR codes that contain exclusive digital content throughout the issue.

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IN THIS ISSUE

Departments

77

TRENDS Category Outlook: Bars

63

Category Outlook: Pretzels

71

I N N OVAT I O N S 77

Category Insight: Bars Category Insight: Pretzels

96

83

Commercial Baking Channel

94

Supplier Solutions

96

Ad Index

83

104

QUICK READS Editor’s Note

14

Seen and Heard

17

Business Intel

91

The Last Word

11

106

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SCAN TO LEARN MORE

A N OTE FR O M TH E ED ITO R

The Faithful Bread Head I love bread. I mean, I love it like Oprah circa 2016. Or like Joey Tribbiani’s obsession with sandwiches on Friends. I guess you could call me a “bread head.”

Whether it’s a grilled cheese on jalapeño cheddar sourdough or a turkey sandwich on whole wheat or even good oldfashioned white bread on the side of my Kansas City barbecue …

I. Love. Bread.

Lucky for me, bread — of every shape and size — is in its prime.

A renaissance started last year, and it’s still going strong.

Local bakeries are breaking out as regional players, and regional ones are breaking into larger markets through acquisitions and new branding. Even the big guns are innovating as they fill store shelves with new products.

I know our industry is facing supply chain disruption and a c­ ritical labor shortage, but bread is still nourishing and c­omforting people. Now more than ever, it’s important to lock arms and support one another in every way possible. Whether it’s best practices on worker retention or tips on where to find gluten, the collective effort is key to maintaining momentum in this upheaval.

JOANIE SPENCER Editor-in-Chief | joanie@avantfoodmedia.com

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

I firmly believe that a combination of collaboration and ­c ompetition is what will keep the sandwiches coming. This bread head is counting on it.

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Seen eard H

AND “[Manufacturers] are taking early action on long-lead-time items so they can get ahead, and that is allowing them to at least cut some time off that lead time.”

Lisa Anderson | founder | LMA Consulting on supply chain disruption

“There are literally hundreds of cannabinoids in cannabis and hemp plants. The different stages of processing the plant are very important, especially when you’re going to use it in a baking application. It’s an ingredient. And like any other ingredient, it has to be measured properly and used to achieve the desired effect.”

Glenn Cybulski | Glenn Cybulski Restaurant Consulting during a “Baking with Cannabis” education session at Artisan Bakery Expo

“Our collaboration in the industry allowed us to launch four new sustainable packaging programs. We have an incredible R&D team focused on packaging sustainability, and we’re working with many of our suppliers. This is something I’m very passionate about.”

Valerie Oswalt | president | Campbell Snacks during a Q&A session at SNAXPO21

17

COMMERCIAL BAKING

SEEN AND HEARD

“Donuts jumped in 2020 and continued to jump this year.

It’s mostly due to the fact that donuts are low complexity and don’t require much labor to be sold in the in-store bakery. Low complexity is a hot asset right now.”

JP Frossard | VP and consumer foods analyst | Rabobank during shopper trends presentation at ABA’s NextGen Baker Virtual Leadership Summit

SEPARATION SEPARATIONANXIETY? ANXIETY?

“Don’t be afraid of the hard work; it’s worth it. You have the ability to do something great, and you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Take something that you can make better, and resolve the problem.”

Tracey Noonan | founder | Wicked Good Cupcakes PMMI’s WLN keynote during Pack Expo Las Vegas

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F E AT U R E D B A K E R Y: MICHIGAN BREAD

ONE GOOD BREAD COMPANY From growth, expansion and acquisition to an all-new brand, Michigan Bread shows no signs of slowing.

BY J OAN I E S PEN C ER

Things move pretty fast at Michigan Bread. The company went from three employees with no bakery training to nearly 150 on the payroll in less than a decade … and that was just the pacesetter.

While it’s true that growth skyrocketed quickly for this distributor-turned-bakery in 2010, that doesn’t mean it was easy to achieve. For Spiros Assimacopoulos, Michigan Bread’s president and CEO, success has come from a commitment to making strategic, oftentimes difficult, decisions and learning from them along the way.

“For our distribution company, the business model was all about service, relationships and then price,” Assimacopoulos recalled of the original company that was started by his father, George, and later merged with a then-competitor, Mike Sanfilippo (now Michigan Bread’s VP of sales). “At certain points — specifically in 2008 — price took precedent over relationships or service. So, the best way to create a sustainable business was to make the product the star. Our goal was to create products that were differentiated and would sell themselves.”

In just under a dozen years, Michigan Bread has expanded, evolved and survived a pandemic in one of the hardest-hit regions of the country. And it’s all been done through relentless bootstrapping, relation-

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

ship building and a commitment to a craft this team might have been born for.

Assimacopoulos may insist he’s a salesman before he’s a baker, but he walks the walk of those in the whites, especially on the floor of Michigan Bread’s 72,000-square foot facility located in Taylor, MI, just outside of Detroit.

—Right Michigan Bread recently took big steps toward automating its artisan bread, bun and roll process, including a tunnel oven and conveyors.

Photo by Liz Goodwin | Commercial Baking

“We will never stray from prefermentation,” he said of the bakery’s artisan process that has recently taken big steps toward automation. “The types of products we’re proud to make — and that will be successful in the market — require biga, poolish or sourdough.

I don’t know how to make good bread without it.”

“Finding the right customer with the right volume for your products can be more challenging than developing a good product in the first place.”

Spiros Assimacopoulos | president and CEO | Michigan Bread

20

21

COMMERCIAL BAKING

MICHIGAN BREAD

Michigan Bread’s starters, including the sourdough’s 7-year-old mother dough “Christine” (named after a QA specialist from the bakery’s early days) and refreshed daily, ferment for up to 24 hours before they’re used the following day on Koenig stress-free sheeting lines and roll makeup lines. These create a variety of products that are sold as nearly 300 SKUs to customers in 18 states throughout the Midwest, Florida and Georgia, and as far west as Colorado and the Dakotas.

With about 80% of the business going to foodservice customers through broadline distribution channels, Michigan Bread has ramped up production. The bakery projected a 50% sales increase over 2019, and by mid-year had nearly reached that goal at 40%. To keep up, it installed an 80-foot remanufactured WP Bakery Systems cyclothermic tunnel oven.

After years of baking with 17 Koenig gas-fired rack ovens, seven Miwe thermal-oil wagon ovens and two ­ ­thermal-oil deck ovens — a signature process for Michigan Bread — this tunnel oven will change the game for efficiency upstream and downstream and unlock potential on the makeup line, too. In many ways, it will serve as “the great equalizer,” as Assimacopoulos put it, to harmonize the flow of production.

hours of downtime a week by eliminating changeovers alone, just on one line.”

Before the tunnel oven, the plant had been producing about 50,000 lbs. of bread a day on one shift running five days a week.

Today, although a second shift may be added to keep the bread running through the oven, throughput has increased ­without requiring the bakery to work on the weekend.

Despite the bounty of benefits, not every product was meant to run through the tunnel. The thermal oil technology is still a critical part of the process.

“Thermal oil bakes with radiant heat,” Assimacopoulos said. “The absence of turbulence leads to a gentler heat transmission, so we’re able to use less yeast and achieve improved oven spring, ­resulting in a deck-oven quality bake from a rack oven, which creates a point of difference in our products.”

“The tunnel oven will double output by removing bottlenecks — allowing for longer runs of SKUs — while eliminating several steps of manual handling,” he added. “We are saving more than six OCTOBER 2021 Q4

Andy Assimacopoulos | VP | Michigan Bread

— Below For maximum efficiency, the bakery takes a “less is more” approach to focus on high quality with fewer SKUs.

Photo by Liz Goodwin |Commercial Baking

“We had certain constraints in the process that kept us from fully utilizing the makeup line as it was intended,” he said.

For example, the changeovers that came with moving racks and baking wagons in and out of the ovens significantly limited throughput for products such as sub sandwich rolls.

“We don’t look at growth just in terms of volume; we focus on customers that match our value proposition so we can be as efficient as possible.”

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Photo by Liz Goodwin | Commercial Baking

On the heels of its automation upgrades, Michigan Bread bought another bakery.

To further improve efficiency without sacrificing that trademark bake, Michigan Bread took the plunge and purchased a second tunnel oven designed with thermal oil heat technology.

The acquisition of Minneapolis-based Franklin Street Bakery has triggered an immediate upward shot in Michigan Bread’s trajectory.

“We’ll do extensive testing to make sure we can get the same quality on the WP tunnel oven for the hearth products,” Sanfilippo said. “If we can’t get it, we’ll keep making artisan bread in the deck ovens until the second tunnel oven is commissioned.”

“Franklin Street has a number of innovative products,” Spiros said. “There will be a tremendous amount of value created between the two leadership teams, R&D and the combined larger geographic reach.

Leveraging customer relationships will be key to realizing synergies in sales and plant operations, and I’m excited to see what the two teams can accomplish together.”

Waiting on the second installation, signature 3-lb. artisan loaves will remain in the deck ovens, which will also be used for specialty orders and product testing.

But adding the ovens was just the beginning.

Automation is coming for oven loading on both tunnels as well as racetrack coolers to quickly send product downstream toward packaging in the 12,000 square feet the bakery added to the operation after taking over the neighboring space last year.

The 18,000-square-ft. facility that exclusively manufactures fully baked frozen products for foodservice opens the door for a host of collaboration in areas such as sales, marketing, finance and accounting to foster that growth.

Even after the finished product leaves the bakery, the “more with less” model is improving life for the distribution leg of the company, as well.

“There will be a tremendous amount of value created between the two leadership teams, R&D and the combined larger geographic reach.”

“We don’t look at growth just in terms of volume; we focus on customers that match our value proposition so we can be as efficient as possible,” said Andy Assimacopoulos, Michigan Bread VP. “We’ve changed the kinds of products we deliver and focus on valueadded items. This efficiency benefits not only the bakery but the warehouse and drivers as well.”

Yes, things happen fast at this bakery, whether it’s the product mix for distribution or the plant floor configuration, which has changed a dozen times since Michigan Bread began. After the second oven installation, the layout won’t be shifting for a while, but the evolution isn’t over.

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

Spiros Assimacopoulos president and CEO | Michigan Bread

24

MICHIGAN BREAD

Photo by Liz Goodwin | Commercial Baking

Additionally, the company is streamlining operations between the two facilities to further increase those efficiencies the team now enjoys in Taylor. And after the second tunnel oven installation, the Taylor facility can shed some of the rack ovens to help with the process in Minneapolis.

The acquisition also paves the way for product development and refining the overall portfolio for the whole company, specifically through the expertise of David Beal, an R&D specialist at the Minneapolis bakery.

“I’m really impressed with some of the products David has developed,” Spiros said. “There are challenges and opportunities that come with integrating two plants, and he will play a critical role in navigating those waters.”

With an arsenal of SKUs, Michigan Bread can fill in gaps in the Minneapolis product line almost immediately while at the same time rationalizing its own SKU proliferation.

“With the growth, evolution and change comes some hard decisions,” Spiros said. “Sometimes, you just create more headaches by trying to do what feels good. Despite our best efforts, there are certain products that are just too costly or difficult to automate.”

In recent months, those hard decisions have included nixing some of the products the bakery created in those early days as it tried to get on the broadliners’ radar.

In just over a decade, partners Mike Sanfilippo (left), Andy Assimacopoulos and Spiros Assimacopoulos have gone from no baking experience to operations in two states with an expected 50% sales increase over 2019.

“We’ve cut SKUs that probably should have been cut a long time ago,” Spiros said. “Some of it is the residue of trying to elbow our way into the industry. We often have to be willing to bake products that other companies are not interested in. From manufacturing and business perspectives, some of those products only work if our intention was to maintain the business as a hands-on shop.”

At the height of the lockdown, the bakery’s sales had plummeted nearly 80%, and Michigan Bread made the heart-wrenching decision to lay off a good portion of its workforce.

But as one facet of the business came to a screeching halt, another area rapidly expanded.

“Finding the right customer with the right volume for your products can be more challenging than developing a good product in the first place,” Spiros said.

At the same time foodservice operators closed, retail demand for bread surged, and supermarkets couldn’t keep it on the shelves. One day after that layoff, the bakery got a call from Kroger looking for an operation with the capacity to help replenish its bread supply. The following week, Michigan Bread had half a dozen branded products in Kroger stores and began pulling those workers back into the plant.

That was one lesson that revealed itself during the state’s 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, which dealt the bakery a near-­ fatal blow. On March 16, 2020, Michigan Gov. Gretchen ­W hitmer ordered bars, restaurants, theatres and casinos to close, shutting down virtually all Michigan Bread’s customers.

“It was a very timely and mutual need that both organizations had,” Spiros recalled. “The Kroger team was incredible to work with, and the relationship is flourishing.” Today, retail accounts for about 20% of the bakery’s business, and that’s triggered even more change.

Strategy is not simply about cutting SKUs, though. It also means having an appropriate portfolio for the customer base.

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

26

MICHIGAN BREAD

Photo by Liz Goodwin | Commercial Baking

Between the retail opportunity and the acquisition’s expanded reach, Michigan Bread had to rethink how it presents itself in a much larger marketplace. The company recently launched its new brand, The Good Bread Co., representing the Minneapolis bakery as well as all branded products. Next year, the transformation will be complete when Michigan Bread completely rebrands itself into the Good Bread Co. “Although Michigan is our home and dear to our heart, Michigan Bread doesn’t fully represent the essence of the growing organization, which in part is bringing our version of Good Bread to dinner tables across the country,” Spiros said. Starting with the retail line and the Minneapolis bakery, the move will very quickly put the Good Bread Co. on the map.

Michigan Bread’s artisan products, made from biga, poolish and sourdough from the bakery’s orginal mother dough, “Christine,” are processed on a stress-free makeup line.

Change may happen quickly for this bakery, but some things remain constant.

First and foremost, it will always be a family business, and Sanfilippo and the Assimacopoulos brothers will never forget those roots.

DOING GOOD DURING DARK TIMES Seventeen Michigan Bread trucks were loaded with bread and ready to roll for the day shortly before 9 a.m. on March 16, 2020.

donated that bread to churches, food banks, hospitals and more.

“Even some families who couldn’t find bread on the store shelves came,” Sanfilippo said. “We were donating bread everywhere.”

That’s when the order came down from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, closing bars, restaurants, theaters and casinos and shutting down virtually all of Michigan Bread’s customers, and leaving the bakery with about $60,000 worth of undeliverable bread.

“That was a lot of bread we had to get rid of really fast,” recalled Mike Sanfilippo, VP of sales for Michigan Bread.

This quick-thinking stemmed from a long-established foundation of giving at Michigan Bread. The bakery donates bread to food banks every week, as well as supporting other local fundraising causes, whether it’s donated bread, monetary giving or providing products at cost.

Quickly, the bakery partnered up with a foodservice customer, Pete’s Place in Taylor, MI, and rolled a bread truck in front of the restaurant with the local Fox affiliate reporting live. Michigan Bread

“I don’t think there’s ever been one time that someone’s asked us for help and we’ve said no,” said Spiros Assimacopoulos, president and CEO.

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

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If you bake it, we can slice it.

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MICHIGAN BREAD

INNOVATIONS FROM THE PLANT FLOOR

Photo by Liz Goodwin | Commercial Baking

By investing in automation, Michigan Bread was able to increase throughput at its Taylor, MI, facility while maintaining an artisan process and running fewer SKUs. With this efficiency, the operation has been able to maintain its five-day work week and avoid over-burdening its workforce. Below are the innovations that can be found on the plant floor.

Adamatic overhead proofer B&B Impianti silos and scaling Cinelli proofers and retarder Daub Hanseat tunnel oven

Michigan Bread prides itself on bread products that never compromise on quality.

Hartmann bread slicer Koenig mixers, makeup lines and gas-fired rack ovens

“On any given day, if we walk out on the floor and see a line or someone struggling, any one of us would jump in and help,” Sanfilippo said.

“That’s the family culture. We’re here to support them.”

Miwe thermal oil rack and deck ovens Rexfab conveyors

No matter how quickly it may happen, change — for the right reasons — is a good thing.

“I walk back here and see all our bread stacked so nicely in baskets, and I think about everything it took to get here. It’s a minor miracle, and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, this is really great.’ It takes a lot of blood and guts every day from everyone on the team to get the job done.”

Even in the most painful points of this rapid growth, it’s been worth the ride. “At the end of the day, we’re enjoying the process and the journey,” Sanfilippo said. “We still love coming to work every day.”

That’s one good bread company. CB OCTOBER 2021 Q4

30

Photo by Liz Goodwin | Commercial Baking

In seeing all that Michigan Bread has accomplished, Spiros holds the ones he calls “true bakers” in reverence.

WP Bakery Systems cyclothermic tunnel oven

“Growing a business relates back to those ‘meaning of life’ questions and what your definition of success is,” Spiros pondered. “Of course, we strive to make great bread and become a world-class company, but there are so many other aspects of the business that need to be right for us to consider our efforts a success. Maintaining our family culture and continuing to produce better-for-you baked products are vital to our definition of long-term success.”

UBE baggers and slicers

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SCAN ME

Steward of the Supply Chain Flowers Foods’ Brad Cashaw is facilitating transformation in the face of disruption.

BY J OAN I E S PEN C ER

Photo courtesy of Flowers Foods

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

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EXECUTIVE PROFILE: B R A D CA S H AW

Not every engineer is a leader — nor is every leader an engineer — but the two are not mutually exclusive. Many bakery executives successfully balance this dichotomy and, perhaps, few more masterfully than Brad Cashaw, executive VP and chief supply chain officer for Thomasville, GA-based Flowers Foods.

Engineers are tactical, technical, analytical and efficient. With these skills, Cashaw is leading the company’s digital transformation and supply chain optimization for its numerous brands produced in 46 facilities throughout the US. A 35-year veteran of CPG manufacturing in food and beverage, Cashaw has covered a lot of ground overseeing complex, matrix-style operations, including Frito-Lay, Kellogg’s, Kraft and Dean Foods. With expertise that ranges from operations, project management and supply chain to quality, sustainability and R&D, Cashaw’s resume reads like a training manual for his role at Flowers.

“I see myself as the steward of our supply chain,” he said. “My breadth of experience across similar, yet unique, industries has prepared me to lead Flowers through the next chapter of our growth.”

COVID-19 and the subsequent supply chain disruption, bakers often scrambled to keep up with people’s instant access to information, opinions and even pseudo-science that could change shopping behavior on a dime. Today, tapping into Cashaw’s data expertise allows Flowers to keep pace with consumers.

“My breadth of experience across similar, yet unique, industries has prepared me to lead Flowers through the next chapter of our growth.”

Brad Cashaw | executive VP and chief supply chain officer | Flowers Foods

“We need to be consumer-centric and always thinking about what the endusers want,” Cashaw said. “And we can use data to anticipate their needs.

That comes with a strong emphasis on e-commerce, the availability of data and the input of more information and accurate forecasting. Our digital transformation will be key for ­ ­agility and adaptability in this changing environment, and it’s something everyone should have on their radar.”

Cashaw equally weights data collection and analysis to achieve quantifiable end-to-end results, not only for product development and operational and supply chain efficiency but also for adaptability during mergers and acquisitions.

“I apply my engineering background for analytical purposes,” he said. “It fuels my approach to the execution of plans. It’s about defining what we will achieve and setting a ‘North star’ in the processes that will get us there. You have to use the data and let it tell you where to go. But you also need an objective to achieve. I like to work backward, so to speak, in that regard.”

Cashaw joined Flowers in 2020 during pandemic-driven industry upheaval that also happened to be a pivotal point for this company known for exponential growth through acquisition. His focus on data as part of Flowers’ digital transformation is not only creating supply chain resiliency, but it’s also leveling the playing field when it comes to the volatility of consumer demand.

Beyond tactical traits, leaders must also possess those soft skills — commonly known as emotional intelligence (EQ) — including ­e mpathy, adaptability and intuition.

Intense and rapid changes are currently hitting the industry, but commercial bakeries are no strangers to keeping up with immediate changes. Long before

For Cashaw, leadership requires servitude above all.

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EXECUTIVE PROFILE

“I take a servant leadership approach to understanding people and building culture,” he said. “I like to build a learning environment so that teams can grow while learning how to be successful. For me, it’s not only an approach to style but also a principle. My goal is to help make the organization better and help those around me rise. My role is to serve and equip people for success, and that allows me to deliver results.”

support effective transitions and better assimilate future M&A,” he said. “It’s really around leveraging our best practices and adding to our toolkit.”

He learned that early on in his career when, as an entry-level project manager, he quickly became a candidate for m anagement training programs at ­ PepsiCo. In that environment, Cashaw modeled his behavior after those mentors leading the programs, and he applies it in his role today.

“Certainly, today’s environment has affected how we look at that, and some of the past principles remain the same,” Cashaw said. “Technical competence is still key; there’s a lot more automation, and the digital transformation will create a need for us to be better stewards in how we think about, interpret and leverage data to advance our efficiency and improve our operations every day, every week and every year.”

Cashaw’s collaborative leadership style is a key factor in his standards for operational excellence, and it brings a specific value to Flowers as the company continues to flourish in its acquisition activity. For him, that’s how the current operation can effectively support incoming teams and further streamline acquisitions down the road.

“If we execute on that operational excellence and digital transformation, we can

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

And that’s not only how Cashaw operates; it’s also how he identifies and develops potential leaders within the ­organization.

By focusing on characteristics such as people skills, project ownership and the ability to prioritize, he can harness that potential to help people and teams deliver quantifiable results.

“The leader or associate who best understands how to collaborate will build alliances and harness that creativity in others,” he said. “And that is critical to our overall success. You have to put a value on that, and in my mind, it’s a premium.”

Throughout the changing bakery environment, and as Flowers leads the industry toward the future, Cashaw is a champion of the strategy to doubledown on supply chain resilience with the initiatives the company has in place.

That requires bravery on all sides.

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Photo courtesy of Flowers Foods

“It was a parallel process of learning the technical side and also focusing on people development and being prepared to lead,” he recalled. “There have been many mentors on my journey, and what I remember most is what made those leaders successful. It was about keeping the people top of mind and recognizing how important they are to the ultimate success of the company. We can have the best plans and most detailed engineering diagrams, but it won’t matter if we can’t execute on them. In the end, if we can’t lead, we limit our chances for success.”

In the present tense, this team mentality creates efficiencies that are critical to smooth operations in a time of deep disruption from the pandemic, labor shortages and overall supply chain troubles.

Bakery tours look different when onboarding during a pandemic. Here, Cashaw meets with a local team discussing their role in Flowers’ digital transformation.

Yes, Cashaw took a leap of faith to join a new team at a time when onboarding is still remote. But it also speaks volumes to Flowers’ vision for the future, not only for growth but also in taking a modern approach in a traditional industry.

“Flowers Foods is more than 100 years old, and we’ve survived all the past challenges and successfully grown the business,” Cashaw said. “We have welcomed new brands that delight consumers, and we’re adopting new ways to bring our products to market. That’s how we will last another 100 years.”

With Cashaw’s supply chain leadership, Flowers is certainly up to the test. CB

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COMING FULL CIRCLE

From artisan to commercial, Farm to Market’s growth brings the bakery back to its roots.

BY J OA N I E S PEN C ER

The year was 1993, and Mark Friend and Fred Spompinato were working for a bakery in a warehouse district of Kansas City, KS, when they realized they had a better way to make bread.

company holds true to Mark and Fred’s original vision. As the bakery stands on the cusp of commercialization, it’s scaling up right down the street from where that dream began.

“The bakery was actually down the street from where we currently operate,” said John Friend, Mark’s son and current president of Kansas City, KS-based Farm to Market Bread Co. “They were making frozen sourdough that was shipped out on train cars. But it was the beginning of the artisan movement in the US, so Mark and Fred wanted to make fresh bread their own way, with a commitment to quality and without compromise.”

Like many commercial bakery origin stories, Farm to Market began with a mixer and a rack oven in the back of a restaurant kitchen, where the partners traded bread for rent and delivered loaves from their cars. The first big break came from a local grocer where the bakers delivered fresh bread each day, and it grew from there.

That’s how Farm to Market started, and three decades later, this family-owned

“We had always been focused on daily fresh delivery to grocery stores,” John said. That was the business’ main avenue for growth, especially after an investment

In its new facility, Farm to Market now has the capacity to keep up with demand for artisan products like its popular seasonal Chile Cheese sourdough loaves.

Photo by Liz Goodwin | Commercial Baking

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from Fred Ball, then-CEO of Ball’s Foods, which owned several supermarkets in the area. That initial investment allowed Farm to Market to acquire the equipment needed for hearth bread production and a raw dough program.

Although sliced sourdough was the company’s bread and butter, it became somewhat limiting in terms of growth … until a foodservice opportunity knocked.

“When we were approached by a local hamburger restaurant to do buns, it really ballooned our foodservice side,” John said. “We got more into buns and rolls and custom products when chefs would come to us looking for something special.

Moving into fresh delivery for foodservice was the next step in our growth.”

F E AT U R E D B A K E R Y: FA R M T O M A R K E T

As those opportunities came, so did plenty of lessons.

Although he’d delivered bread and worked odd jobs around the bakery as a teenager, John took on a more serious role in the early 2000s, learning every facet of the operation when the business really took off. Gaining experience in areas such as dough makeup, packaging and sales prepared him for the bakery’s next big step: moving into a small commercial production facility near downtown Kansas City, MO, in 2012.

“We moved from a 4,000 square-foot space to 10,000 square feet,” John recalled. “I gained a lot of experience and knowledge in that process.”

The key was figuring out how to grow the business inside a finite space.

Taking on more foodservice accounts — and the custom orders that came with them — brought rapid changes that would not only expand Farm to Market’s product mix but also evolve the business model.

The bakery’s portfolio had grown to include artisan breads, buns and rolls, and laminated pastries for daily fresh delivery to restaurants and grocery stores, and the orders weren’t slowing down. The bakery was at capacity; without freezer space or room to add equipment, new business opportunities were lost.

“We were kind of stuck and unable to grow much more,” John said. “That was the biggest lesson I learned: being able to prepare not only for five years down the road but also the next 10 years. We didn’t anticipate how quickly that space was going to run out. We had to make sure we had ample space to grow while also figuring out where the growth was going to come from.”

The next chapter was like a boomerang.

In 2020, the bakery’s lease was about to expire, just as a commercial pie producer was vacating its 30,000 sq-ft. facility back in Kansas City, KS. Farm to Market was set to move into this new space already equipped with enough freezer capabilities

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to allow the bakery to expand regionally through broadline distribution and grow along with its foodservice customers.

Then COVID-19 hit.

Practically overnight, the bakery lost most of its local foodservice business while the retail side exploded. Although Farm to Market products were typically sold in the in-store bakery, supermarkets needed help stocking the center shelves as well.

“Our foodservice orders, they basically dropped off a cliff,” John said.

“Meanwhile, we had ‘toilet paper Armageddon’ in the grocery stores. We kept bumping up the numbers we delivered to stores, and we just kept selling out. Losing the f­oodservice gave us the capacity to take on more retail production.”

The business picked up about a dozen more retail accounts; to meet the demand, the team ordered more pans from Bundy Baking Solutions and tweaked its packaging with a new label for the center store.

COMMERCIAL BAKING

FA R M T O M A R K E T

“In the first two weeks of the pandemic, we made up all our losses in foodservice with those grocery sales,” John said.

It also serendipitously created a slow period that allowed the company to move into its new space without losing much production. That setback inadvertently propelled Farm to Market forward.

Today, the bakery is developing a new frozen-fresh program for foodservice customers, many of which are local chains breaking out as national brands. It has also expanded its pastry production to offer frozen laminated dough triangles and squares as well as frozen laminated books that customers can sheet onsite.

“As we add onto the frozen side of our business, we’re making sure it doesn’t change who we are but enhancing it and giving us a bigger reach.”

John Friend | president | Farm to Market Bread Co.

And the new plant has plenty of room for the bakery to create yeast-raised and naturally leavened bread products that range from top-selling Grains Galore and San Francisco Style Sourdough, to custom buns and rolls, to soft pretzels of every shape and size.

The 16,000 sq-ft production space is home to a semi-automated process flexible enough to produce custom items with equipment that streamlines this operation, which runs three staggered shifts every day but Christmas, to complete bread deliveries 363 days a year.

For example, batches mixed in six spiral mixers — four 300-lb capacity and two 600-lb capacity — can create small custom products all the way to large batch items like 1-lb sliced loaves for retail or 2-lb crusty artisan breads for restaurant table service or menu items.

The most recent mixer addition is a Sottariva 600-lb spiral that’s equipped with a bowl lift that drops dough directly onto the makeup table for hand-chunking.

With this broad product lineup, mixing is the key to efficiency, especially for dough types that range from brioche to pretzel to potato and more.

INVESTING IN FOOD SAFETY One lesson Farm to Market took from its former address was the importance of food safety and compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Like many small- to mid-size bakeries, Farm to Market wasn’t quite ready for FSMA regulations signed into law by President Obama in 2011.

facility set up for that,” Friend said. “And learning from our previous mistakes really helped.”

A first order of business was investing in an LVO 36-pan washer.

“We work with a lot of allergens, and we have to clean things a lot more frequently,” Friend said. “This was a big investment to upgrade the sanitation room and the pan washer, but it’s greatly increased capacity and made our lives easier.”

“We weren’t fully prepared for some of those rules that had come into effect,” said John Friend, Farm to Market president. “That really held us back.”

When the company moved into its new location last fall, FSMA compliance was much easier thanks to the previous tenant, a commercial pie producer.

Farm to Market also purchased Loma IQ4 metal detectors to inspect finished products before they are bagged.

“An integral part of food safety is having the final check before products go out,” Friend said.

“They were already operating under those standards and had the

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

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FA R M T O M A R K E T

EQUIPPED FOR ARTISAN As a producer of artisan breads, Farm to Market has historically relied on other commercial artisan bakers, especially when it comes to equipment designed for craft at scale.

For example, the bakery acquired an intermediate proofer from La Brea Bakery and a spiral mixer from a nearby Panera Bread facility.

Photo by Liz Goodwin | Commercial Baking

In other areas of the operation, Farm to Market seeks out equipment suppliers with specific expertise in artisan production, including a Bloemhof (now Oliver) moulder for baguette forming and a tunnel proof box designed by TMB Baking, which was launched by Michel Suas, who founded the San Francisco Baking Institute (SFBI).

“We actually worked with [SFBI] to help us design our last move,” said John Friend, Farm to Market president.

John Friend is the second generation of family-owned Farm to Market Bread Co. His experience at the bakery has touched every aspect of the business, from makeup to packagaing to sales and more.

“We do more than 200 different items when you break it down by size, shape and custom attributes like topping,” John said. “When we can take 200 different products out of one mix, that’s efficient for us, but when we need 20 mixes to do 200 products, it gets more labor-intensive.”

While there is ample space for artisan production stations, the new facility also provides plenty of room for growth. In the current setup, the bakery produces up to 25,000 pieces per day, and once it invests in more planned automation, including an intermediate proofer to replace the one the bakery acquired from La Brea Bakery nearly 20 years ago, that throughput will increase to 35,000.

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

After products bake in one of six rack ovens or on the hearth of the deck oven, Farm to Market enjoys — and has already planned for more — packaging e ­ quipment upgrades as well as new freezer space that came with the facility.

In the packaging area, the company thought outside of the box by using a FoodTools horizontal slicer for its hamburger buns. “They do a lot of cake slicing, but this equipment is also great for slicing buns,” John said.

For slicing artisan loaves, the bakery has relied on its UBE slicer for years and is now ready for an upgrade to a flighted machine that will feed into an automated bagger.

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The sliced loaves are currently placed into wicketed bags before they run through a new Burford takeaway twist tyer, a pure necessity from the pandemic’s skyrocketed bread sales. The Burford machine is the second for the bakery; it will create redundancy and increase throughput in this area.

Beyond the larger space and additional equipment and upgrades, the biggest factor in Farm to Market’s growth is its freezing technology: a 1,200-sq-ft ­storage freezer as well as an Airco CO2 spiral blast freezer.

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INNOVATIONS FROM THE PLANT FLOOR

Photo by Liz Goodwin | Commercial Baking

Farm to Market has taken the next step in becoming a mid-size producer of commercially baked artisan breads by bringing automation into its new home in Kansas City, KS. Here is a list of equipment innovation you’ll find in the bakery.

Airco Kwik-Freeze blast freezer AM rounder Bertrand Puma Divitrad V4 hydraulic dividers

Farm to Market’s semi-automated process includes a sprial batch mixer with a bowl lift that dumps dough onto a makeup table for hand chunking.

Bloemhof/Oliver Express 1060 artisan moulder Bongard spiral mixer

pastries, the walk-in, which runs at -10°F, has opened up a world of opportunity for broadline distribution to foodservice.

Burford Corp. EL554C entry level twist tyer Diosna spiral mixer

“Before, all we had was a three-door freezer for pastry dough,” John said. “Now, we’re shipping frozen bread out on pallets.”

Erika Record divider/rounder FoodTools bun slicer Hobart mixer

Despite all the new growth opportunities, the bakery stands firmly on its ­foundational roots.

LVO pan washer Loma IQ4 metal detectors

“After only doing fresh daily deliveries for so long, this is a big change,” John said. “As we add onto the frozen side of our business, we’re making sure it doesn’t change who we are but enhancing it and giving us a bigger reach. It’s been great to grow again.”

Reed rack ovens Revent rack ovens Sancassiano spiral mixer Sottariva spiral mixer

“Recipes aren’t a hard place to come from,” John said. “Baguettes have been made for hundreds of years; it’s all flour, water and salt. But paying attention to the product and the process, that’s what makes us stand out … giving it the right floor time and doing all the little steps along the way to get the superior quality.”

Then again, it’s also about knowing where you’re headed.

“Ten years from now, we hope to have our sliced sourdough on grocery store shelves in San Francisco,” John said. “Can you imagine? Kansas City ­sourdough … in San Francisco.” CB

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UBE Model 10 bread slicer

Photo by Liz Goodwin | Commercial Baking

It’s all about remembering where you started.

TMB Baking tunnel proof box

Limited space and the pandemic’s shutdowns caused a step backward that ultimately thrust the company forward. And now, Farm to Market is prepared to break out beyond its hometown borders … with its original San Francisco Style Sourdough as its top seller.

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A New Ad Age User-generated content and influencer marketing campaigns shape the baking industry’s future of advertising.

BY MAGG I E G LI SAN

Advertising in 2021 looks pretty different from the kinds of storyboards Don Draper would have pitched in a Manhattan boardroom in the ’60s. It also looks different from the early ’90s when the first banner ads appeared via dial-up internet services like AOL. And it even looks different since the dawn of social media advertising in 2008 with Facebook ads.

The face of digital marketing has evolved drastically, namely in that people are no longer passive onlookers. Today, they are active participants. And it’s based on a shift by companies to engage with consumers and market through usergenerated content (UGC).

UGC is any digital material — including videos, social media, blog posts, comments and reviews of a brand, etc.

— that is produced and shared online by customers or potential customers.

It spans the social media sphere from Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok, to newer platforms like Clubhouse. It’s a massive space to play in with virtually unlimited reach potential. In fact, a July 2021 report from Grand View Research suggested the market size of the global UGC platform will reach $18.65 billion by 2028 and expand at CAGR of 26.6% from 2021 to 2028.

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

Consumers turn to social media to share their opinions and seek the opinions of others. They are increasingly distrusting of traditional marketing tactics that advertisers have used in the past; they want to hear from “people like them,” not just from the brand itself. A recent Nielsen study into global trust in advertising found that an overwhelming 92% of those surveyed trusted UGC more than traditional advertising. And in a report from Influencer Marketing Hub, 91% of millennials said they trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends and family.

Now more than ever, consumers are demanding authenticity, relatability and trust from brands, and they’re basing their purchasing decisions on those that deliver. Who is more authentic, relatable and trustworthy than the people in their social communities? The bigger the community that companies can build around their brands, the more they can increase their credibility. And they’ll be more effective in communicating with customers and consumers.

“Brands need to understand that there has been a significant shift in how information is consumed and shared,” said Laurie Buckle, CEO and founder of Cookit Media, a Los Angeles-based agency that specializes in brand strategy,

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CONSUMER TRENDS: U S E R - G E N E R AT E D M A R K E T I N G

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© emaria on Adobe Stock

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CONSUMER TRENDS

influencer marketing and content creation. The agency has worked with grain-based food and bakery brands such as Bob’s Red Mill, Little Northern Bakehouse, Angelic Bakehouse and Dave’s Killer Bread.

“We need to be nimble, adapt to change and get ahead of the curve,” she said.

“This is the new advertising.”

This growing marketing strategy comes with a solid roster of benefits.

First, UGC campaigns are a certain way to boost a brand’s social media reach.

That’s especially true because UGC allows brands to react in real time to national and global events as well as emerging trends.

Take a recent campaign from Oreo, for example. At the height of the pandemic, the Mondelez brand launched

#AtHomeWithOreo, which encouraged families to play and find cheerful moments by making Oreo creations and sharing them on social platforms including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. It also creatively tapped into the momentum of the in-home snacking trend and leveraged consumer interest in creative culinary adventures during lockdown. The effort resulted in more than 249 million impressions and 29 million video views, and the follow-up campaign #MakeWayForPlay intensified the initiative.

In addition to expanding social reach, there are some major search engine optimization (SEO) benefits. According to Kissmetrics, 25% of search results for the world’s 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content. And there are also considerable consumer insights to be gained through UGC, and that data is

an invaluable resource for improvement and innovation.

There are, of course, a few downsides to marketing through UGC. Since brands have less control over what’s floated out for social consumption, negative content is inevitable and, therefore, requires close supervision. Some consumers are also skeptical and reluctant to trust content that comes from an unauthoritative source, so building credibility at the outset is of the utmost importance. It’s a model based on truthfulness and reality.

If consumers get the slightest whiff of inauthenticity or an altering of that reality, they will call it out.

Influencer marketing is another growing industry that isn’t going anywhere.

Spending on influencer marketing is up, according to January 2021 research by Influencer Marketing Hub, with 62% of

© Dan Rentea on Adobe Stock

When making online purchases, consumers gravitate toward products they know and routinely use or eat.

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

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marketers globally stating they intend to increase their influencer marketing budgets this year. Market analysts predict that the industry will be worth north of $15 billion by 2022, nearly double what it was in 2019. And per Insider Intelligence’s latest forecast, 67.9% of US companies with 100 or more employees will use influencer marketing in 2021, and that number is expected to rise to 72.5% in 2022.

Laura Konopack, senior VP of influencer marketing at Ketchum PR & Marketing Communications Consulting, said that brands see the value of partnering with influencers to reach audiences directly with a real human message. “People follow influencers because they like their content or their personality, and they can engage with them in a real way.

Marketers understand the importance of that,” she said. “There’s a level of trust that consumers have with the influencers they follow, which gives the brand credibility.”

There are several ways brands can approach influencer marketing, starting with the reach of the influencers themselves. Macro-influencers have a following of 100,000 to 1 million and have usually gained “fame” through the internet itself. Brands looking to build awareness or reach a broad audience might want to engage with these highprofile individuals to build credibility. But the price tag for such partnerships is often on the steeper side.

be a beneficial partner, especially when a brand is trying to gather feedback or launch a new product.

“It’s important for the brand and the influencer to know what is going to resonate. Goals need to be clear at the outset … and that can vary significantly from brand to brand and influencer to influencer.”

Laura Konopack | senior VP of influencer marketing | Ketchum

One company that’s found success by working with nano- and microinfluencers is Tate’s Bake Shop. Kelsey Formost, director of content strategy at Tagger Media, noted that these smaller influencers’ partnerships have driven engagement rates of up to 5%, more than double the overall industry average.

“Each influencer tier serves a different role and different purpose,” Konopack said. “It’s important for each — the brand and the influencer — to know what is going to resonate. Goals need to be clear at the outset for both parties at the start of a campaign, and that can vary significantly from brand to brand and influencer to influencer.”

Kate Ramos has been partnering with brands on influencer campaigns for the past 8 years. Ramos’ blog, ¡Hola!

Jalapeño, specializes in Mexican cooking, and with just over 30,000 Instagram followers, she falls squarely in the micro-influencer camp. She’s worked with companies from Kellogg’s Special K to La Tortilla Factory to Alfaro’s Artesano Breads on gifted partnerships (in which the companies send product samples in exchange for posts, some with monetary rewards for high-performing posts) and paid partnerships.

Micro-influencers (1,000 to 100,000) tend to have a niche (which could be as broad as baking or as narrow as vegan baking for kids), and their audience is usually more like-minded and singularly focused than those of macro-influencers.

These mid-level influencers don’t boast celebrity status, but they have strong relationships with their followers and can

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

Then there is the newly coined segment called nano-influencers, who have a smaller number of followers (fewer than 1,000) but tend to have a strong impact in their local neighborhood or community. It’s a reminder that bigger isn’t always better; according to Planoly, nano-influencers earn a 7% average engagement rate, which is higher than any other group.

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CONSUMER TRENDS

For her, it’s most important that she speak to followers in a genuine way about the brands she’s working with. “I’d never partner with a brand I wouldn’t use myself,” she said.

When she first got into influencer-brand relationships, the ask often involved a recipe and a blog post. Now, the most common is an Instagram post, story or reel, but recipes still play a key role.

Buckle shared the sentiment, noting that content creation is the golden ticket to successful influencer marketing.

“Influencers are incredibly powerful and really shifting the conversation about what smart, strategic marketing looks like,” Buckle said. “But at the end of the day, content is king. It’s the thing that works. Social media is saturated with pretty pictures and a lot of empty posts.

If the content he or she is creating isn’t telling a compelling story or offering a meaningful takeaway, the results simply won’t follow. As an influencer, to be successful in this space, you must be on your A-game and ensure high-quality, high-caliber content.”

Konopak said that during the pandemic, lifestyle influencers — especially those in the food and baking space — have only gotten more popular. “There continues to be a renewed interest in at-home baking and cooking, and brands would be smart to take advantage of that. Influencers

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

© nazarovsergey on Adobe Stock

“I think offering recipe ideas for how to use a product is still really important, and I try to do so through my own lens because that feels much more personal, and my followers are more receptive to those types of posts,” Ramos said.

“And I always want to put out the highest quality content that I can, whether it’s in partnership with a brand or not.”

Product advertising has come a long way from storyboards all the way to influencer marketing.

can help give products broader context by sharing innovative ideas and making brands stand out in a more holistic way.”

King Arthur Baking Co.’s recent rebrand is an excellent case study for how a CPG brand can find success with a combination of UGC and influencer marketing.

The launch, which was slated for June 2020, was derailed by the pandemic, so the company pivoted its efforts, leaning into influencer partnerships and social media for consumer engagement. Kits were sent to influencers with swag, products and recipe ideas. “Surprise and delight” kits were sent to consumers at home and included a small origami crown of the new logo for snapping pics and sharing on social channels. And

52

a specially designed Instagram filter allowed fans to wear the logo crown digitally and share on social as well.

According to Hummingbird Creative Group, the week of the launch, social engagement increased 9 times, news stories about the rebrand generated 500 million impressions and social posts generated more than 36,000 (mostly positive) comments.

“At the end of the day, it’s about knowing your audience and what’s going to resonate,” Konopack said. “It’s about pairing brands with influencers who have a strong audience overlap to ensure both are hitting their target consumer. And it’s also important to remember that this is a very personal, human relationship, and one that requires a nuanced approach to ensure overall success.” CB

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Plant-Based Profits How bakers can capitalize on the ‘new normal’ of alternative ingredients.

BY HAR R I SO N H ELM IC K

© Abhishek Hajare on Unsplash

The term “plant-based diet” has been circulating in the US since the 1980s without any formal definition, but now it is one of the trendiest topics in the food industry. While it was originally used to describe a niche population following vegan diets, today “plant-based” has evolved to mean anyone who is actively trying to reduce the number of products they eat that come from animals. Plantbased eating is often grouped with buzzwords like “flexitarian,” “alternative” and “better-for-you (BFY).”

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

A quick walk through the grocery aisles reveals ever-expanding product selections of alternative meats, dairy-free alfredo sauces and even egg- and dairyfree baked goods, all trying to capture a piece of the plant-based food market that is expected to reap a 19.4% CAGR over the next six years, according to Grand View Research.

Underlying this rapid growth are trends that are gaining momentum, and plantbased products should be considered

54

as part of the new normal for doing business in a crowded bakery marketplace.

In a 2020 survey from Archer-Daniels Midland, 44% of respondents said they were actively pursuing a flexitarian diet — which limits the consumption of animal products — going hand-in-hand with the BFY market. Increases in plantbased eating are driven by a mixture of changing diets for three main reasons: health factors, dietary preferences and sustainability.

E M E R G I N G M A R K E T: A LT E R N AT I V E I N G R E D I E N T S

Consumers are concerned with high levels of saturated fats and cholesterol often found in animal products, and they are drawn to the fiber and disease-­ fighting polyphenols in plant-based products. People following a plant-based diet are also more likely to be concerned with their total protein intake, so product lines that feature plant-based protein are particularly important on the health front.

© Deryn Macey on Unsplash

For bakeries, an important segment of consumers who care about health factors include the 8.7 million Americans with allergies to egg and dairy, two of the hardest ingredients to remove from baked goods. However, taking out eggs and dairy is not enough to gain the halo of being plant-based. Even though many baked goods are already part of a plant-based diet, these products also need to be clean-label and ideally include a unique plant ingredient, such as cauliflower for pizza crust or spinach in wraps, to have the positive associations consumers are looking for.

Consumers have come to expect plant-based products that are as good or better than the original, oftentimes without the use of ingredients that would break their idea of clean label.

Dietary preferences as the result of religious beliefs, as well as shifts toward vegetarianism, are also driving the plantbased market, with 61% of females and 60% of males ages 18-34 reporting that that they sometimes or always eat a vegetarian diet, according to a 2019 Harris Poll conducted on behalf of the Vegetarian Resource Group.

The enormous increase in sustainability that comes from eating a plantbased diet is also driving this trend. A 2019 assessment from the University of Wageningen found that eggs and dairy require 4.5 lbs. of protein in feed for every pound of protein produced. The production of animal proteins also requires huge amounts of water and generates significantly more greenhouse gases when compared to currently available

plant-based alternatives. These factors are an area of public concern, as topics like climate change and water scarcity become increasingly top of mind, particularly with younger audiences.

Capturing a piece of the growing plant-based market means reformulating indulgent snack cakes and fillings without the use of eggs or dairy. However, with the recent improvements in technology around producing meat and dairy alternatives, consumers have come to expect plant-based products that are as good or better than the original, oftentimes without the use of ingredients that would break their idea of clean label.

This means that products need to maintain the chewy, creamy and fatty textures that milk and eggs provide without compromising on flavor or a clean label.

It may be challenging, but if replacements are chosen carefully, the substitution of animal products for plant-based options not only allows bakeries to capitalize on a new market, but it also gives them a chance to make new health claims in other trending categories including high fiber and high protein. This is because many of the best available egg and dairy replacers come from companies that have developed novel ways to process pulses, seaweed and even mushrooms to engineer new ingredients that provide sources of functional fiber and protein.

Pulses are legumes — including peas, lentils, chickpeas and other beans — which are not primarily used for oil. These plants conform to all the market drivers for plant-based diets including sustainability, health and wellness, and other dietary preferences. They are naturally sustainable, requiring less water than many other crops. They also fix nitrogen in the soil, reducing the need for fertilizers.

55

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Additionally, pulses do not have any known allergens. They have exploded in use in the past five years, spurring companies like Ingredion, Cargill’s PURIS and Roquette to dramatically increase their product lines of pea protein for use in meat and dairy imitation products. Today, pulses now make up one of the biggest shares of the $1.4 billion egg replacement market, quantified by Market Data Forecast. This has helped reduce the price of pea protein and spawned secondary markets for flavor maskers specific to hiding the earthy and beany flavor that pea and other pulse proteins can have.

Pea protein and other pulses including lentils have shown their potential in bakery applications. Due to their unique amino acid composition, pulses form complete proteins when partnered with wheat, which opens the door for “excellent source of protein” claims when using these functional ingredients in reformulating baked goods. Pulse proteins have also been found to help replace the emulsions and gels that eggs form in cookies

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

and cakes, maintaining the texture that consumers are looking for.

Pound for pound, pulses are the cheapest source of protein on the planet, and as production continues to ramp up for these products, they can reduce the final cost of baked goods in an environment where the price of animal-based products is often volatile or increasing.

Aside from their protein, pulses also have unique fibers which can be good replacers for eggs and dairy. Aquafaba, the wastewater from chickpeas, creates the best alternative currently available for the foaming seen in egg whites in applications such as vegan meringue and meringue powder.

On top of pulse fibers’ ability to make plant-based baked goods, they also add fiber, capitalizing on the trending gut health market.

Companies like PeaTos are using blends of pulse flour and protein isolate to make

56

high-protein and high-fiber chips, while Barilla, the world’s largest pasta maker, has launched pulse-based pasta with various shapes and textures made from red lentil flour and chickpea flour, as well as high-protein pasta with pea protein.

Because consumers are already comfortable with ingredients like pea protein, fava bean fiber and other functional ingredients on product labels, the pulse market in baked goods will surely increase. This high level of consumer acceptance, low cost of ingredients and high levels of sustainability make pulses an important cornerstone in any plantbased product lineup.

There are options other than pulses for replacing eggs and dairy in the bakery aisle though, and seeds including quinoa, flax and chia can all be part of a plantbased strategy.

Ardent Mills launched its Great Plains Quinoa program in 2017 and since then has expanded its quinoa lineup to include

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ingredients intended for extruded products, bars, biscuits and more. Like pulses, quinoa benefits from strong consumer acceptability, and it is a complete protein, which can help achieve “excellent source of protein” claims for new product lines.

Quinoa also contains functional fiber, which can be included to replace certain textures in baked goods, as well as reel in health-conscious customers. Chia and flax seeds are both growing markets in the US and globally and, due to unique carbohydrates, have shown benefits in increasing shelf life in baked goods while also giving a boost in fiber.

They can also be part of egg and dairy replacement strategies, as they have been shown to improve texture in cakes and cookies made without eggs and dairy. Flax is also high in omega-3 fatty acids, opening up the potential for market claims on what is expected to be one of the top trends in 2021 and 2022: foods that promote neurological health.

Chia and flax also enjoy high levels of consumer acceptability, and many people group them in the “superfoods” category, which includes ingredients that are particularly nutrient dense.

Some other superfoods such as seaweed have been used for years in the baking industry. They’re often applied in the form of their extracted components carrageenan and agar, but some food manufacturers are now looking at the many other benefits imparted by seaweed.

With as many as 1 million species to choose from, the applications of algae-derived ingredients include antioxidants, antibacterial ingredients, mold inhibitors and texturizers that can aid in replacing eggs and dairy or adding extra nutrition to products. Their bright green or sometimes red colors can also be used as natural sources of color.

Additionally, some species contain up to 47% protein.

Seaweed is also considered even more environmentally friendly than pulses.

That’s due to its incredibly fast growth, removal of carbon dioxide from ocean water and the air, and the fact that it does not require fresh water and fertilizer inputs to grow. These are factors driving the expected 9.7% CAGR for seaweed over the next six years, based on a report from Mordor Intelligence. Companies

like Dupont and Cargill are the largest producers of seaweed powder and blends. And aside from carrageenan and agar, baking companies are adding seaweed to crackers and other snack goods for an extra kick of umami flavor and to provide unique colors.

While the egg and dairy replacement markets are the most obvious opportunities to capitalize on plant-based additives, adding vegetables to traditional baked goods is another strategy to gain entry to this thriving market. Sweet potatoes, cauliflower, kale, bell peppers and more are all starting to work their way into the baked goods aisle in the form of a partial replacement for flour or even as part of a gluten-free product.

Consumers are increasingly drawn to low-carb and BFY options, and using a vegetable flour to add flavor and color can help catch the shopper’s eye.

These color changes are often sought out by those looking for plant-based options. “Going green” can help signal to consumers that a bakery is also making commitments to sustainability, and these positive associations with natural colors are becoming more popular.

The seaweed market is expected to experience a

9.7% © Silas Baisch on Unsplash

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

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CAGR over the next six years.

Source: Mordor Intelligence

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A LT E R N AT I V E I N G R E D I E N T S

GOING PLANT-BASED REMOVE

ADD

EGGS

PULSES

DAIRY

SEAWEED

VEGETABLES

If done strategically, bakers can capitalize on plant-based eating and trends including foods for neurological and gut health.

Veggie products have been ­particularly present in the frozen aisle, where c ompanies like Conagra and Green ­ Giant now offer pot pies and pizza crusts made with cauliflower. Developing strategies around these sorts of ingredients can be another strong entry point for companies trying to figure out how to get into the plantbased market.

Reformulating for the plant-based consumer can be challenging, but the time and effort involved is well worth the potential gain. Providing a diversified lineup of these types of offerings can help baking companies move toward sustainable and clean-label products that taste just as good as the original.

Ingredients like pulse protein, functional fiber from seaweed and whole flour from pulses can be part of replacing the eggs and dairy in baked goods, and they are already accepted by consumers. Adding

these ingredients can also help capitalize on other trending categories. Consumers are increasingly recognizing the role of food for neurological health, gut health and benefits from high protein.

Going plant-based can help commercial bakeries capitalize on the new normal, making healthy and sustainable p roducts that consumers feel good ­ about eating. CB — Harrison Helmick is a PhD candidate in food science at Purdue University.

His research includes uncovering new structure-function relationships of plantbased protein. Prior to his Purdue studies, he worked as a production supervisor and continuous improvement supervisor at Bimbo Bakeries USA. His research was conducted with the support of Dr. Jozef Kokini, Dr. Andrea Liceaga and Dr. Arun Bhunia.

©Garnar - stock.adobe.com

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

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On the comeback trail BARS DOLLAR SALES

DOLLAR SALES ($ IN BILLIONS)

% CHANGE VS. A YEAR AGO

$3.18

-1.8%

BREAKFAST/ CEREAL/SNACK

$1.69

7.4%

GRANOLA

$1.37

-7.4%

NUTRITIONAL/ INTRINSIC HEALTH VALUE

ALL OTHER SNACK/GRANOLA

$0.32

44.9%

Latest 52 weeks ending Aug. 8, 2021 Source: IRI

“Manufacturers and retailers need to stay in tune with consumer preferences and then optimize packaging, labeling, websites and messaging to reach sustainably focused audiences most effectively.”

Sally Lyons Wyatt | EVP and practice leader | IRI

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After months of stagnation, the world is steadily coming back into motion. This return to mobility is also a reflection of how bar consumption is being reestablished as people are returning to out-of-home activities such as school, work, sports and play. Largely bought and consumed for convenience, bars became somewhat obsolete as consumers were forced to curtail the activities that fuel on-the-go lifestyles, making 2020 a difficult year for the category.

But just as bars help fuel resiliency in busy lifestyles, these manufacturers also demonstrated their own tenacity by shifting more business online. In 2020, e-commerce exerted never-before-seen dominance as digital retailers had to quickly embrace a new way of business practically overnight.

Shifts in buying habits during the pandemic’s prime months caused e-­­ commerce to grow more than ever as consumers opted to take their food purchasing online. With people spending more time online for school, work and social hours, marketers found an a­dvantage in optimizing content to housebound consumers. Search engine-optimized ads attracted eyeballs, and through customized searches, consumers discovered the ability to align specific functional benefits and personalized diets with the foods they purchase.

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For some smaller and entrepreneurial companies, the shift to online helped lower the barrier of entry within the category. With more equitable digital resources, emerging players could better compete without the traditional costs of a brick-and-mortar launch, said Sally Lyons Wyatt, EVP and practice leader for IRI. Midsize and large companies also successfully leveraged the online space by staying in front of consumers with a range of web ads and social media engagement.

Top Nutritional/Intrinsic Health Value Bar Manufacturers and Current Dollar Sales ($ in millions)

Although online engagement and e-commerce show few signs of slowing, a return to mobility is once again a prime driver of growth within the category. IRI saw volume sales rise as vaccinations increased YTD 2021. That said, overall dollar sales for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 8 were $6.27 billion, a -0.7% change vs. a year ago. Unit sales were $185 billion, a -7.4% drop from the previous year.

GENERAL MILLS INC: $319.29

All segments except granola bars realized both dollar and volume growth YTD. Omnichannel (brick-and-mortar and e-commerce) dollar sales in the category grew 6.4% YTD 2021 with brickand-mortar accounting for 81% of dollar share, driving 2.7% growth, while online accounted for the remaining 19% dollar share at a 25.3% increase.

In what is consistently a very competitive category, there is no shortage of options for those looking for healthy or permissibly indulgent bars. Within the category, consumers benefit from a growing list of alternatives and options that align with their specific functional and/or dietary needs. Trends within the category include heat-and-eat; refrigerated; infusions; ingredients that are sustainable, functional, upcycled or with reduced carbon emissions, plantbased proteins, collagen and alternative sweeteners; and bars focused on OCTOBER 2021 Q4

CLIF BAR & CO: $764.22

QUEST NUTRITION LLC: $ 24 9 .1 2

THE SIMPLY GOOD FOODS CO: $301.61

KIND LLC: $271.78

Latest 52 weeks ending Aug. 8, 2021 Source: IRI

Top Granola Bar Manufacturers and Current Dollar Sales ($ in millions)

KIND LLC: $9 0.70

GENERAL MILLS INC: $581.52

PRIVATE LABEL: $106.89

MCKEE FOODS CORP: $ 1 0 7. 9 9

QUAKER OATS CO: $361.09

Latest 52 weeks ending Aug. 8, 2021 Source: IRI

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Honey bees are responsible for one-third of the foods we eat.

Almonds, apples, cinnamon, garlic, sunflowers and onions are just a handful of the 90+ fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices that require honey bee pollination. These products represent a fraction of the thousands of food and beverage products that would be impacted with the loss of honey bees.

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specific dietary needs, children and dayparts.

Top Breakfast/Cereal/Snack Bar Manufacturers and Current Dollar Sales ($ in millions)

As convenience maintains a dominant role in the consumption of bars, Food Navigator USA pointed to growing desire to use bars at multiple times during the day.

SMALL PLANET FOODS INC: $ 1 4 2 .74

Millennials, the primary consumers of bars, are driving interest in high-protein snacks that provide satiety and work as meal replacements, according to Glanbia Nutritionals.

Mordor Intelligence found millennials use snack bars as a meal replacement at least once a week. And USDA indicated that American consumers spend more than half of their food budget on convenient foods, including snack bars, with consumers scanning labels for ingredients that are recognizable, including organic and reduced sugar.

Euromonitor reported that consumers equate avoidance of sugar with a desire to increase general wellness and a feeling of healthiness. The long-term macro health trend finds 53% of consumers eating less sugar as a preferred method of weight loss. Bars with “no sugar added” claims have grown 21.4% in dollar sales. Products with “less sugar” claims show slight growth at 2.4%.

Growing awareness of the link between food and health is also promoting innovation around plant-based and protein ingredients within the category.

Bars aligning with a high-protein diet are driving dollar growth of 5.4%, and bars more friendly to plant-based diets are up 5.6% in dollar sales, according to IRI. Popular plant-based proteins include oat, rice, peanut and almond.

For consumers looking to do good for themselves and for the planet, there are

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

KELLOGG CO: $ 6 7 0 .1 9

PRIVATE LABEL: $188.72

GENERAL MILLS INC: $1 8 8 . 9 3 KIND LLC: $241.93

Latest 52 weeks ending Aug. 8, 2021 Source: IRI

a host of bars tailored to highlight key sustainability practices. Options touting sustainability attributes like recyclable packaging or B Corp. certification have increased dollar sales YTD, whether comparing sales to a year ago or 2019.

Bars promoting recycled ­packaging or certification by Rainforest Alliance are also growing dollar sales YTD vs. one year ago. While sustainability messaging effectively connects with consumers, not all sustainability claims are realizing growth.

“This doesn’t mean a decline would correlate to the sustainability message, but the message is not enough for these products to increase sales,” Lyons Wyatt stated. “Manufacturers and retailers need to stay in tune with consumer preferences and then optimize packaging, labeling, websites and messaging to

66

reach sustainably focused audiences most effectively.”

Looking forward, Lyons Wyatt predicted e-commerce will continue to drive growth for the category and for select bar segments in brick-and-­ mortar. Mordor Intelligence predicted the category will grow at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2016-2026.

Additionally, agility and differentiation will be key to how bar manufacturers will distinguish themselves in this largely saturated category and ­m aximize their growth potential. Using paid search, social media and shopping apps aligned to primary product attributes and ­n utritional benefits can further assist in building an online presence and ­d­riving c onsumers to specific bar brands, ­ Lyons Wyatt concluded. CB

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“Consumers are seeking comfort knowing that foods they buy are genuinely safe to eat and authentic, real and fresh,” said JoAnn Rupp, global insights manager at Corbion. “Clean-label claims, positionings and ingredients they recognize on the packages of the foods they buy give them some assurance that those foods are good for them to eat.”

Sixty-two percent of consumers agree with the statement, “I am what I eat; I pick my food carefully,” according to Ms. Rupp. To do this, they read packaging labels carefully, looking for greater transparency from brands.

The science behind fresh These consumer demands leave bakers with the task of extending shelf life and freshness markers like softness, resilience and moistness in a cleanlabel way. The natural anti-staling power of enzymes make it easier to walk this tight rope of clean label and longer-lasting baked goods.

“Enzymes help change the structure of starch to slow down the staling process and prevent recrystallization,” said Jesse Stinson, director, technology, Corbion.

F U 4 P i p b s 4 w s p a o

These natural proteins cleave long-chain starches into shorter chains, which retrograde more slowly.

This, in turn, delays staling and helps the bread crumb stay softer longer.

“Recent advancements in enzyme technology have also made it easier for bakers to ensure other aspects of freshness, including softness, moistness, resilience, tenderness and shelf life, allowing them to deliver a premium baked good product,” Ms. Stinson explained.

A freshness solution for every bread Bakery customers and consumers are looking for longer lasting freshness and friendlier labels with This model shows how different blends in the Ultra Fresh portfolio exhibit n freshness indicators of sio en t softness, resilience, ex life lfshelf-life extension e Sh and more.

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Resilience

As bread ages on the shelf, it begins to lose those three appealing characteristics: softness, resilience and moistness. This is due to starch retrogradation.

During the baking process, starches in the formulation, mainly amylopectin, absorb water, swell and gelatinize. This creates much of the tender eating quality in bread. However, after baking, the starch begins to lose some of the moisture it has absorbed, causing the starch granules to recrystallize. This process, known as retrogradation, is the main source of staling and

causes bread crumb to become firm, dry and brittle.

This process cannot be reversed, only delayed.

Enzymes can slow the process down.

Sugar Replacement

Freshness contributes a lot to the eating quality of a loaf of bread: softness, resilience, moistness.

And consumers expect that loaf to retain those characteristics longer. In fact, 70 percent of shoppers would like in-store bakery bread to stay fresh up to five days longer, and 90 percent would like commercial bread to remain fresh up to 14 days longer. In addition to wanting extended freshness, consumers are very aware of the food they are eating.

“ a m M b c b i a

ss ne ist o M

W p C f g s

Corbion also offers Ultra Fresh Classic 150 for value breads. This blend of enzymes not only provides a fresh solution but also contributes to a soft resilient crumb structure without gumminess.

With an experienced team of experts and a portfolio packed with clean-label anti-staling ingredients, Corbion enables bakers to delight consumers using functional ingredients from nature that consumers feel good about, while delivering the consistent, high-quality shelf life that fits todays lifestyles. corbion.com/ultrafresh CorbionFood

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When it comes to conventional breads, Ultra Fresh Premium 1650 not only improves freshness but it also improves softness and provides a smoother, softer crumb. It is suitable for high-moisture doughs such as English muffins and high-fiber breads. Ultra Fresh Premium 250 provides a balance of freshness, softness, resilience and moistness in both white and wheat breads.

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For premium breads, Corbion offers four solutions: Ultra Fresh Premium Advantage, Ultra Fresh Supreme 410X, Ultra Fresh Supreme 400 and Ultra Fresh Premium 220 with Organic Flour. Premium Advantage is Corbion’s most advanced freshness technology, providing a shelf life of more than 21 days for packaged bread. While improving shelf life and eating quality, this solution also enables formula sugar reduction. Supreme 410X contains the added bonus of mold inhibition, while Premium 220 optimizes freshness in extreme staling conditions such as refrigeration or freeze-thaw products. Premium 220 with Organic Flour offers bakers a balanced freshness solution that can be used in organic breads, rolls and buns.

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“We can tailor the enzyme solutions to address all aspects of freshness, including issues with softness, moistness, resilience, tenderness and shelf life,” Ms. Stinson said. “We can also customize our solutions based on the desired texture and tolerance to ensure consistent quality throughout production. Working side by side with our customers allows us to identify and implement the most fitting solutions for their specific application and consumer needs.”

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recognizable ingredients. With Corbion’s Ultra Fresh® portfolio, bakers can deliver on those demands while minimizing food waste, enhancing product quality and increasing stock levels at retail — critical needs during the current pandemic.

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enzymes noun Definition of enzymes Protein-based bio machines that speed up chemical reactions. They exist in all living organisms.

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gthen G? dough • Incre ase do ugh a b • Redu sorptio ce dou n gh mix • Incre in g time ase br ead vo • Incre lume ase br e ad qua • Redu lity ce bre ad s increa se she taling and lf life • Redu ce ing redien t cost s

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Checking all the boxes

A snack made of bread that’s tied in a knot. What could be simpler? While the origin story of the beloved pretzel remains a bit murky, this is a snack of historical proportions with longevity on its side. Even during the pandemic, all consumer segments drove growth in the pretzel category.

Sales of pretzels were $1.45 billion. This was a

4.9%

Top Pretzel Manufacturers — Dollar Sales (in millions)

boost vs. a year ago.

Source: IRI FRITO-LAY: $126.22

UTZ QUALITY FOODS: $131.08 SNYDER’SLANCE, INC: $521.80 DOTS HOMEMADE PRETZELS: $172

PRIVATE LABEL: $252.71

Latest 52 weeks ending Aug. 8, 2021 Source: IRI Market Advantage

A go-to snack during 2020, pretzels have elevated dollar sales vs. the pre-pandemic year 2019 and have not lost momentum. The pretzel also saw YTD growth in 2021 with “Sensible Super Mom” consumers driving most of the increased dollar sales, according to IRI data. This is visible in 3.5% omnichannel (online and brick-and-mortar) dollar sales growth. Ninety percent of sales were within total brick-and-­m ortar reflecting 2.6% dollar growth, and 10% of sales online with 13.5% growth.

Pretzel sales over the 52 weeks ending Aug. 8 were $1.45 billion. This was a 4.9% boost vs. a year ago. Unit sales were 491.54 million, a 0.3% increase from a year ago. With dollar sales growth both in-store and online, pretzels continue to prove their place in the snacking hall of fame with ongoing mass appeal.

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The top five manufacturers that captured dollar share of the subcategory included Snyder’s-Lance, Private Label, Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, Utz Quality Foods and Frito-Lay. During this time, Dot’s Homemade Pretzels, which offers original and Southwest seasoned pretzel twists and pretzel crumble, saw a noteworthy 54.3% increase in dollar sales vs. a year ago, a 52.4% change in unit sales vs. a year ago and 11.83% current dollar share of the subcategory.

While the pretzel’s neutral base could benefit from the inclusion of on-trend whole grains, ancient grains and plantbased proteins, there are mixed results from these inclusions, according to IRI. Protein ingredients include soy and rice, which are growing in total dollar sales.

And pretzels containing ancient grains have elevated dollar sales vs. 2019 but in decline YTD 2021. Whole grain pretzels are also declining in dollar sales.

Some of the biggest pretzel trends today feature bold, savory flavors such as Jalapeño Ranch, Tangy Mustard and Cheddar Beer. But the pretzel also plays just as nicely with sweet flavors like caramel and chocolate (white, semi-sweet and dark) and is ­stretching its season-centric options beyond the winter holidays to capture the attention of pumpkin spice devotees in the fall. Filled varieties also make the pretzel the perfect carrier for savory additions of peanut butter and cheese.

In addition to flavor, the shelf-stable snack retains its versatility and variety through different shapes and sizes — twists, sticks and traditional loops, large and small — making it well received either stand-alone or within mixes.

Parbaked frozen pretzels are also seeing increased dollar sales of 5.3%, and snack and trail mixes, with and without the

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

inclusion of pretzels, are coming out of a 2020 slump and growing again in 2021.

Pretzels are snagging new consumers through slightly revamped formats tailored to m ­ ultiple dayparts, according to Trendhunter.com. Pretzel product spinoffs such as buns and rolls continue to draw favor as an easy upsell on burgers and sandwiches in fast casual and QSR environments.

In the center aisle, pretzels are breaking into the breakfast daypart with Pop-Tarts featuring a salted pretzel crust. And pints of pretzel-infused ice cream and dairy-based treats accommodate a sweet snack or dessert fix.

As consumers shift from primarily at-home snacking to more on-the-go options, packaging sizes are set to evolve yet again to accommodate consumers returning to school and the office. IRI shared that smaller ­package

Pretzel Dollar Sales DOLLAR SALES (IN BILLIONS) $1.45

% CHANGE VS. A YEAR AGO 4.9%

UNIT SALES (IN MILLIONS) 491

% CHANGE VS. A YEAR AGO 0.3%

Latest 52 weeks ending Aug. 8, 2021 Source: IRI Market Advantage - Integrated Fresh

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“It is important for manufacturers and retailers to stay close to consumer preferences and then optimize their portfolio to reach sustainability-focused audiences more effectively.”

Sally Lyons Wyatt | EVP and practice leader | IRI

sizes have seen value growth of 3.1%, while also witnessing a marginal decline in volume at -0.2%. Conversely, larger sizes are seeing growth in dollars (14.4%) and volume (5.7%).

during the pandemic, can offer a release of stress and boredom, while pleasure invokes enjoyment, reward and discovery. Ultimately, 51% of those surveyed agreed snacking is about pleasure.

These “sharing sizes,” which declined during the pandemic, are once again back in use as consumers look at snacks that will accommodate larger groups and on-the-go ­lifestyles. Based on sales trends, pretzels will maintain positive omnichannel growth, as ­e -­­commerce is set to outperform brick-and-mortar.

For 56% of millennial consumers and 56% of Gen Z, snacking also offers the o ­pportunity to try new global flavors, compared with 42% of Gen X and just 20% of Boomers. Awareness of how people’s personal values are aligning with a brand’s impact globally is yet another focus being driven by the younger generations.

Because snacks are often woven into established daily routines, the act of snacking remains vulnerable to lifestyle changes. The Hartman Group’s report “Changes in How We Snack” explored snacking as a dynamic consumer behavior. Of the 20% of consumers who said they’ve changed how they snack, 33% are seeking out salty snacks and 51% are looking for more sweet snacks.

Pretzels containing ancient grains are selling at elevated dollar sales versus 2019 but are in decline YTD 2021.

Source: IRI

“It is important for manufacturers and retailers to stay close to consumer preferences and then optimize their portfolio to reach sustainability-focused audiences more effectively,” concluded Sally Lyons Wyatt, EVP and practice leader for IRI.

The Hartman Group’s snacking report shared four pillars of s­ nacking drivers: nourishment, optimization, ­distraction and pleasure. Nourishment provides sustenance, wellness and the management of health.

Optimization offers the ability to enhance physical and mental performance.

Distraction, a major driver of ­ snacking

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

These e ­conomically powerful demographics are driving consumer demands for products with sustainable and recyclable packaging. These two particular buzzwords are part of what’s d ­riving growth in the pretzel category.

From a variety of packaging and size options to innovations in shapes and sweet and savory flavors, the p ­ retzels’ popularity is not waning anytime soon. CB .

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C AT E G O R Y I N S I G H T: B A R S

The bar’s tenacity

BY LIZ GOO DWI N

For those looking for a quick and tasty bite to eat, the humble bar answers the call. A snack that can be devoured during carpool, between meetings or en route to the gym, perhaps no other food is up to snuff when it comes to palatable convenience. But when day-to-day errands and work obligations ground to a halt during lockdown, consumers found they had time for a more complex — and perhaps messier — snack. But bars were still a faithful friend to many who wanted nostalgic indulgence.

As the pandemic landscape continues to morph, here’s what bar producers are seeing in terms of equipment needs and formulation challenges amid the rise of new ingredients and more.

© Alice Pasqal on Unsplash

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A bar’s recipe for a success requires equal parts good formulation and reliable equipment. Mark Lindsley, director of R&D at Downers Grove, IL-based Hearthside Food Solutions, said both elements are critical, especially when dealing with single extrusion, co-extrusion with fillings or even triple extrusion. Without a solid understanding of the base formula and how it performs in the oven and the right equipment, adding new flavors and ingredients becomes even more challenging.

“It’s like a perfect marriage of equipment technology and formulation,” Lindsley said. “Formulating

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is complex in respect to having it be thermally stable. And as it gets more complex, you need a highly trained operator — almost at an engineer level as far as competency — to be running that operation.”

As new ingredients debut and dietary demands from consumers skyrocket, a well-versed operations team that understands ingredients is essential.

Trends like high-protein bars, plantbased products and gluten-free offerings take time to navigate when product quality is a top priority. Mijeong Kim, process engineer at Reno, NV-based Nature’s Bakery, knows this firsthand.

“One of our biggest challenges comes with our gluten-free fig bars,” Kim said.

“We have high standards when it comes to making sure they maintain a certain taste and texture and that they’re as good as our whole wheat products. Our team also takes extra precautions in sanitizing and cleaning as well as separating ingredients between runs.”

Gluten-free is also a popular demand for Chicago-based Schulze & Burch Biscuit Co., a private-label and co-manufacturer of cold-formed, granola and cereal bars.

Some of the company’s products are naturally wheat-free, so there are no extra steps involved, but cleaning challenges still loom.

“We’ve got bars that are naturally non-gluten containing, but the big challenge is making sure the line is sanitized,” said Joshua Current, R&D manager at Schulze & Burch. “On the cereal bar side, when you’re looking at a grain-based product, wheat is typically the big one, oats being the second and then pulse flours, which are more difficult as far as texture and flavor replication.”

With so many SKUs in the mix — and each one requiring different equipment depending on the production type — changeovers and downtime are a killer when it comes to speed. And when allergens are involved, it only gets more complicated.

“Each processing type has its own set of considerations, but especially when you get into allergen cleaning, that’s a huge deal,” said Steve Egizio, director of technical services at Schulze & Burch. “It can require a 100% breakdown, so the time required to do the cleaning is long on labor hours and has a high risk of part damage. Finding a production system that’s efficient enough to keep costs down and is also flexible is one of the biggest impacts.”

Nature’s Bakery also holds itself to a high standard when it comes to facility cleanliness, especially with the variety of bars it produces. From baked-ins to oatmeal crumble bars to fig bars and more, it’s important to run a tight ship.

“We work hard to make sure our baking process is efficient and sanitary,” said Phil Stringer, senior process engineer at Nature’s Bakery. “We really take pride in having a clean facility, so we need equipment that is optimized to avoid any overspill.”

Photo courtesy of Nature’s Bakery

When it comes to flavor innovation, it’s all over the board for bar producers.

Some see the demand fall more into the better-for-you and high-protein categories, but many manufacturers also see a strong demand for the classics.

Nostalgia and permissible indulgence were powerful forces in the pandemic’s peak, and they’re still holding on tight, according to some.

“High-protein systems were and still are a big challenge, but all that work we were doing pretty much vanished overnight with COVID because nobody wanted them anymore,” Lindsley said. “People just wanted what tasted good. And in some food systems, protein has begun to resurface, but we’re not really seeing any of that yet. We’re making classic

Nature’s Bakery produces clasic bar flavors with a healthy twist.

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

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C AT E G O R Y I N S I G H T: B A R S

bakery products that taste good, but those healthier days might return.”

Current echoed Lindsley’s sentiment, saying the classics were still holding strong and, if anything, people want their snacks to turn back the clock.

“Our flavor requests are usually pretty static with popular options being chocolate, trail-mix type bars or peanut butter, as well as strawberry and more seasonal flavors,” he said. “We’ve also been looking at breakfast cereal-style flavors, almost going back to childhood.

I have seen a lot of innovation in that space with people taking big flavors and expanding on them.”

For Nature’s Bakery, familiar baked favorites — made with wholesome ingredients — are also a focus, with flavors like pumpkin spice, brownie and banana chocolate chip. But with these, there’s a lot to juggle, especially when incorporating new product development into a rapidly growing operation.

“Our sales are going up and up and up, so we have to ensure the operational capacity matches that,” Kim said. “Our food scientists come up with great ideas and prototypes, and the challenge comes when we have to manage a variety of ingredients on the plant floor and maintain a unique taste profile while keeping the product consistent.”

And as innovation keeps pushing forward, companies need equipment that can handle both classic and new ingredients that may be outside the box.

“One of the innovations happening in the baking industry is going after those novelty ingredients like plant-based proteins, different sugars and different fibers,” Stringer said. “It’s important to have processing equipment that can

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

handle those ingredients or smaller-scale pilot equipment to do rapid prototyping.

It has to be affordable, efficient and effective with ingredients that smaller companies are using.”

And of course, supply chain issues further complicate changing trends.

Experimenting with new ingredients already takes time, but now it’s even more challenging when bakers can’t get their hands on those raw materials because of delayed deliveries or cost increases.

It’s impacting everyone, but especially those who use niche ingredients.

“Our purchasing group does a good job with contracts to keep us going, but the pandemic has been tricky for all ingredients,” Current said. “It seems like every week something is running short, so sometimes it’s based more on logistics than related to costs skyrocketing.

Especially when you get into specialty ingredients, the costs are already up, so any hiccup in the supply chain adds to it.”

As bar producers navigate hurdles from every direction, having flexible equipment is a must.

Whether it’s in packaging or sanitation, equipment that is reliable and adaptable is key.

“A lot of suppliers are keying in on changeovers and sanitation, and I don’t really see that demand going away,” Egizio said. “I remember when we used to do changeovers on weekends or an off-shift, but there are few opportunities for that anymore. Now you’re losing an hour of production a day, so equipment that can handle those faster changes with built-in flexibility is key.”

There’s also a need for product consistency. For those at Nature’s

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“Each processing type has its own set of considerations, but especially when you get into allergen cleaning, that’s a huge deal. Finding a production system that’s efficient enough to keep costs down and is flexible is one of the biggest impacts.”

Steve Egizio | director of technical services | Schulze & Burch

Bakery, the science matters when it comes to ensuring product quality.

“We want to positively impact the consumer experience with each bite and each innovation,” Stringer emphasized.

“Having access to technology that ensures product consistency from physical aspects to ingredients are key in optimizing the consumer experience and baking snacks they can always count on.”

Although the world of food trends has taken a beating, the bar presses on as a dependable snack. Whether it’s providing a childhood favorite flavor or meeting a new dietary trend on the go, the bar will remain a cornerstone in the foundation of American snacking. CB

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C AT E G O R Y I N S I G H T: P R E T Z E L S

Twisting a classic

BY LIZ GOO DWI N

Photo by Israel Albornoz on Unsplash

A beloved snack staple, the pretzel is a favorite in the hearts of many consumers.

In the world of classic snacks, the pretzel is held dear.

Hungry at a county fair or a ball game?

Having a sweet or salty crunchy craving? Need an excuse to dip something in cheese? A pretzel is there to satisfy.

But as COVID-19 turned food trends on their heads, the pretzel category has also faced new demands, challenges and opportunities. Hard and soft pretzel producers are facing the new world of snacking head-on.

Although the pandemic pushed the pretzel industry into new territory, the shift had been in motion for years.

Health-and-wellness trends and new flavor combinations are evolving at breakneck speed, and it’s certainly changed the game for experienced pretzel producers. Justin Spannuth, VP and COO of Blandon, PA-based Unique Snacks, said that the new snacking landscape can cause a bit of whiplash, but it also presents new areas for success.

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“People want innovation of any sort as long as it’s new,” he said. “They want sustainable, organic, non-GMO, and a lot of those needs that exist now weren’t here 10 years ago. So, we’re focusing on getting new products in front of people, and there are a lot of nuances to it.”

Unique Snacks, formerly known as Unique Pretzels, has its hands in many pots of the hard-pretzel world, including its signature original “Splits,” sprouted pretzel shells, sprouted original Splits,

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chocolate-coated pretzels and “chocolate crunchies,” which are chocolate bites stuffed with peanut butter and pretzel morsels. And the pressure to add more products that meet different needs is on.

Meeting those needs can be a tall and complicated order, especially for trends like gluten- and grain-free. Although Unique Snacks isn’t producing glutenfree items yet, as the team talks with others innovating in that space, it’s always learning something new.

“Of course, we need mixers and ovens, and as we get bigger as a business, we need to scale our equipment up,” Wessel said. “But when it comes to German ­p retzels and the caustic soda application, that machinery is more specialized.

And a lot of times it’s coming from overseas, so lead times are longer and the cost is higher.”

Caustic soda, more commonly known as lye, is a high-pH solution applied to pretzels and similar products such as bagels that results in the brown, tangy and crunchy exterior with that soft interior. But since the pH is so intense, it can be dangerous for employees to handle; that’s why Wessel places a high priority on critical safety training.

When it comes to health-and-wellness and flavor trends for Milwaukee Pretzel,

Photo courtesy of Unique Snacks

“I’ve spent 20 years understanding baking technology to achieve a high-quality product with wheat and gluten, and now 90% of products have alternate ingredients because people don’t want wheat and gluten,” Spannuth said. “From trying to understand these new ingredients and how they work in different environments to understanding what those product bases taste like and how they change things like topicals, you’re always learning.”

still had to overcome some production hurdles.

For soft pretzels, the demand for innovation is less based on flavor or ingredients than shape. From bites to braids to sticks, soft pretzel producers are on a quest to find the latest and greatest contortion.

This is especially true for Milwaukee Pretzel Co., a Bavarian soft pretzel manufacturer with products in foodservice, e-commerce and frozen grocery.

“People always ask us for a pretzel version of this and a pretzel version of that,” said Matt Wessel, owner and president of Milwaukee Pretzel Co. “They want circles, stars, braids. But we have to look at it both in terms of what we can make and what we can make quickly enough to justify selling.”

Although Milwaukee Pretzel has evaded challenges in its flavor innovation, it’s

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

Unique Snacks understands the pain points that often come with product innovation, so it often relies on equipment technology to help.

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C AT E G O R Y I N S I G H T: P R E T Z E L S

Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Pretzel Co.

“From trying to understand these new ingredients and how they work in different environments and understanding what those product bases taste like and how they change things like topicals, you’re always learning.”

Justin Spannuth | VP and COO | Unique Snacks

Milwaukee Pretzel Co. produces pretzels of all shapes and sizes, including it’s 1-lb “Bavarian Beast.” .

the team is sticking to what it knows.

The pretzel formula is tried and true, and there’s not much interest in altering what works. Although health and wellness trends aren’t the primary target, this product does come with a hidden benefit: Bavarian pretzels have no added sugar.

“We don’t put sugar into our pretzel dough, and a lot of American doughs do that to create a sweeter pretzel,” Wessel said. “Ours is savory and has a rich flavor profile. We don’t overly promote the ‘no added sugar,’ but we definitely let people know it’s a sugar-free product.”

Although Unique Snacks is more focused on ingredient and flavor innovation, ­S pannuth can relate to an “if it ain’t

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

broke, don’t fix it” mentality. With all the challenges that follow innovation, sometimes it helps to stay in your lane, even if it means passing on a new SKU. “As a brand, you have to know what your strengths are,” he said. “You’re never going to solve every problem. Making a kale chip because that answers one issue just doesn’t fit my brand, so we have to stay within our area and answer as many requests as possible.”

When it does make sense to venture into new territory, the equipment has to keep up. Spannuth said the bakery’s Reading Bakery Systems oven, which it purchased in 2013, is still going strong.

But technology is changing, and conver-

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sations are underway about what improvements have been made and what makes the most sense to invest in.

“We are focusing on understanding what the new capabilities are and the innovation on the engineering side and what exists right now in the pretzel space that we want to attack,” Spannuth said. “If we can expand some points that are typically bottlenecks on innovation and use another oven for another baked product, that would be great.”

Beyond new product development, innovation on the bakery floor is critical when it comes to workforce challenges. From IoT to dough dividing, machines can be the best answer to a lack of manpower.

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C AT E G O R Y I N S I G H T: P R E T Z E L S

“Some of the biggest innovations are really trying to alleviate the workforce shortages,” Spannuth said. “With machines that utilize IoT and talk to each other, snack producers and other commercial bakers can integrate equipment. It all comes back to data and trying to maximize your efficiency.”

For Milwaukee Pretzel, a lot of its production is still by hand: twisting included.

Since the company is only seven years in the making, it’s still at the beginning stages of automation. But Wessel has seen the potential of fully automated lines in other bakeries, and although his team won’t ever let go of its dough heads, he does think that, as the operation grows, there’s a lot to gain by investing in new machines.

It certainly puts another thing on the list to think about, but it’s great.”

At the end of the day, Wessel hopes to merge the artistic touch of a baker’s hand with a factory that’s fit for Mr. Wonka himself. That way, the robots can do the more tedious work, and the fun can be left to the humans.

awesome,” he said. “Particularly on the lye application side since the caustic soda can be dangerous to work with. And with the pretzel transfer that’s so disruptive to the dough, that would be gratifying.

Not only is it better for the product, but it would also be a nice reduction in a type of work where the employees would rather focus on something else.”

“We love employing people, but if we could somehow have that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory experience, where you see a product go from dough creation to packing, that would be

With all the explorations in flavors, fillings, shapes and sizes, pretzels are reaching new heights. But no matter the innovative ways to switch up this snack, it will always be a classic. CB

“Using automation more and more every year makes the process easier, faster and more consistent,” Wessel said.

“You’ll never fully eliminate the human component to it, but those large, automated facilities we’ve been in just take your breath away. And we’re looking at things that would take dough to a finished product state and do things faster and more consistently than what our staff can do.”

“Everybody can dream that there’s going to be speed and versatility at the same time with packaging, and sometimes it feels like a pipe dream,” he said. “But we’re also focusing on the base of the material that we’re using. I’m a part of One Step Closer, an organization trying to find compostable and recyclable materials that lessen our carbon footprint.

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Pretzel Co.

Spannuth also dreams of the day when speed, versatility and efficiency will live in harmony, especially on the packaging side. And it would be even better if the packaging were sustainable.

Soft pretzel innovation is typically more shaped-based, and these baked snack producers are on the hunt for the latest and greatest contortion.

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BUSINESS INTEL

To Compete …

Or Not To Compete A roadmap for understanding a complicated covenant.

BY C HAR LI E ROS EB RO U G H

“Well, it’s a free economy.” That’s what people without technical know-how might say about covenants not to compete.

These clauses are aimed at preventing ex-employees from participating in the industry for a period of time following their employment.

Then again, those people may be the ones with a finger on the pulse as the national appetite for these types of covenants is fading. Some states, including Oklahoma, North Dakota and California, now have legislation limiting their enforcement, and President Biden’s administration has recently urged the Federal Trade Commission to ban or limit them.

A non-solicitation clause allows an employee to remain active in the industry but prevents him or her from soliciting employees, past customers, vendors or referral sources. It may look like this: During the term of your employment, and for a period of one (1) year immediately thereafter, you agree not to solicit or contact any employee or independent contractor of the Company on behalf of another business.

With all this added attention, corporate employers, especially those in the food industry, are left wondering: What is the future of covenants not to compete?

First, it’s crucial to understand that this is an umbrella term. It refers to a set of contract clauses, executed between an employer and an employee, which limits the employee’s ability to work with a competitor after their current role ends.

In detail, there are three common clauses that find their way into covenants not to compete: non-competition clauses, non-solicitation clauses and trade secrets/ confidentiality clauses.

A non-competition clause prevents an employee from accepting a job with a competing company.

The clause may look something like this: Employee expressly agrees and covenants not to compete directly or indirectly with Employer within a 500-mile radius of any of Employer’s marketing outlets either during the term of Employee’s employment or for a period of five years thereafter.

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Generally, employers use these provisions for employees in sales positions or executive-level employees with strong customer relationships.

Provisions addressing trade secrets and confidential information are most common and frequently find their way into standard severance agreements. Here’s an example: Upon termination with the Company, all papers, documents, customer lists, and similar items containing Confidential and Proprietary Information, including copies thereof, shall be returned to the Company.

These clauses protect employers from sensitive documents hopping from one company to another.

In addition to contract provisions that prevent the disclosure of trade secrets, all states contain statutory protections forbidding employees from taking or divulging trade secrets to new employers.

But are they enforceable?

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BUSINESS INTEL

“Covenants not to compete are particularly important in the baking industry.”

You may have heard someone say, “You signed a covenant not to compete? Don’t worry, those aren’t enforceable.” To some extent, that’s true. The problem is, one vague exception swallows the rule: Covenants not to compete are enforceable so long as they are reasonable. So, what makes one reasonable?

customer relationships and targeted bids — the “bread and butter” of the baking industry. For that reason, employers and employees should take extra caution to ensure compliance.

On the employee side, it is important to understand the contents of the contract and the information to which the employee has access. Every employee contract varies, whether it’s the type of covenant not to compete (non-compete vs. non-solicitation) or in the length and location of enforceability.

A covenant not to compete is reasonable if it has reasonable time restrictions, reasonable geographic restrictions and if it protects a legitimate business interest.

A reasonable time restriction refers to how long the covenant not to compete remains in effect. While there is no predetermined number of years that a court will find reasonable, typically anything from one to three years will be enforced.

For that reason, the first thing each employee should check is the precise language of the agreement.

Second, employees should “know what they know.”

Courts have held that knowledge such as how the company produces certain products, formulas and designs for certain muffins, and cost positions are all considered trade secrets, which may be protected.

A reasonable geographic restriction refers to the locale in which the employee cannot compete or solicit.

Some covenants not to compete contain no geographic restriction and may be enforced across the country.

Others may be enforced only in the employer’s county or city. There is no default reasonable geographic restriction; instead, courts will look at the interest needing protection and attempt to correlate that with the appropriate area.

On the employer side, enforceability is key. An employer should review what types of restrictions are commonly enforced in his or her venue and review the type of information that constitutes trade secrets or a legitimate business interest. Frequently, courts will enforce covenants not to compete that apply to competitors dealing in the same market.

A legitimate business interest is what the employer would like to be protected. The most common interest is the employer’s relationships with its customers. Courts usually determine an employer that invested time and money in its employees’ customer relationships can protect those relationships by preventing the employee from capitalizing on them with a new company.

The landscape of competition in the commercial baking industry is becoming increasingly complicated, especially in this era of mergers and acquisitions.

Understanding covenants not to compete — and their enforceability — is more important than ever for creating a collaborative, innovative environment. CB — Charlie Rosebrough is an associate with Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP in Kansas City, MO. His practice includes business litigation, class action and complex litigation, employment litigation, and policy litigation. Rosebrough handles matters at all stages from initial client counseling to preparation for appeal. He’s a graduate of the St. Louis University School of Law.

When these factors are combined — reasonable restrictions and a legitimate business interest — courts frequently enforce these types of restrictions.

Covenants not to compete are particularly important in the baking industry becuase they are used to protect formulations, designs, promotional strategies,

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#BestWeekInBaking #bakingTECH

The premier educational and networking event for baking professionals

Grab Your Lanyard!

BakingTECH returns to Chicago as an IN-PERSON Event for 2022 New in 2022, the agenda will feature full programs attracting professional bakers in the Retail Bakery/Emerging Wholesale Bakery and Industry/Commercial Bakery segments!

Conference tracks: Ingredient Technology Engineering Marketing/Sales Artisan Baking Retail bakers transitioning to wholesale and scaling to increase production.

Re-connect and establish relationships at the MarketPlace table top tradeshow, which is expected to bring in 170+ ingredient and equipment suppliers, and service providers.

Keynote Speakers: Alan Beaulieu, Renowned Economist, will provide an economics update on emerging trends that are impacting the baking industry.

Didier Rosada, Master Baker, will be providing insights on automation in the industry.

Dr. Morgaine Gaye, Food Futurologist, will share her insights into how people are changing the way they shop, eat and cook, and what it's going to mean for the baking industry.

Register Today: asbe.org/bakingtech2022

Commercial Baking Channel Our multimedia collection is full of videos, podcast episodes and more, where you can get a deep look — and listen — into the exciting shifts happening in the baking industry.

TechTalk with Jason Hogue, BluePrint Automation James Hogue, Southeast sales manager for BluePrint Automation (BPA), shares how the company’s carton loading solutions may eliminate bottlenecks in a bakery operation, without compromising on versatility. www.blueprintautomation.com

TechTalk with Mark Podl, Doran Mark Podl, CEO of Doran, explores how the c ompany’s formula controls, bulk indicators and ­ software suites can improve production ­accuracy and efficiency, and set a bakery up for success. www.doranscales.com

TechTalk with Keith Seiz, the National Honey Board Keith Seiz, ingredient marketing representative for the National Honey Board, talks all things honey.

The natural sweetener movement is gaining steam, and it’s prime time for bakers to tap into this sustainable, clean-label ingredient. www.honey.com

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COMMERCIAL BAKING CHANNEL

TechTalk with Rocco Fucetola, BluePrint Automation Rocco Fucetola, VP of sales and marketing for BPA, breaks down the benefits of the Spider 100V. This stacking and loading solution automates the ­p roduction of naked products like pancakes, waffles and more. www.blueprintautomation.com

Corbion’s tutorial on fermentation in baking In this “Insights in Action” video from Corbion, learn how different products and ingredients are created or affected by fermentation in the baked goods industry. www.corbion.com

TechTalk+ with Jeff Zeak, Reiser Jeff Zeak, national development manager for bakery at Reiser, shares how the company’s solutions help bakers overcome the unique challenges around the production of gluten-free products, from bagels to bars. www.reiser.com

The Troubleshooting Innovation podcast Dave Van Laar’s experience in the baking industry spans decades and includes roles in production, engineering, QA and marketing. This six-episode podcast features his expertise on challenges and solutions around innovation.

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COMMERCIAL BAKING

Solutions Dough Conditioning Corbion’s Pristine 3000 is a dough-conditioning innovation that allows bakers to create dough with the overall strength and tolerance needed to stand up to high-speed commercial processing. It also reduces the need for adding costly vital wheat gluten and can produce dough with optimal machinability even with protein-deficient flour. www.corbion.com

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SUPPLIER SOLUTIONS

RoboStack System Capway’s RoboStack System is an automatic handling system that replaces the manpower required to stack or unstack pans, lids, trays or peel boards on production lines. It is compatible with many styles of existing pan cart systems and provides flexible operation with minimal changeover time. www.capwayautomation.com

DymoMix Pre-Hydration and Mixing Zeppelin’s DymoMix pre-hydration and mixing system adds consistent moisture through falling dry materials, creating a homogenous dough within seconds. The system, which can be used as a standalone unit or with a batch or continuous mixer, is designed to reduce energy use and cost. www.zeppelin-systems.us

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COMMERCIAL BAKING

SUPPLIER SOLUTIONS

Intelligent Flowwrapper Cavanna Packaging has equipped its packaging system equipped with intelligent XTS transport systems that can pack 4,200 cookies after they have been compiled into slugs. The highly flexible system allows for cookies to be round, rectangular or square, and they can be packed at speeds up to 130 packages per minute. www.cavanna-usa.com

All-Natural Pumpable Grease Synova, a Bundy Baking Solution released a medium-viscosity grease that is pumpable at room temperature. It is ideal for baked goods with high sugar content and increases pan lifespan using beeswax, which keeps pans cleaner longer while maintaining superior release capabilities. www.synovaoil.com

We ASK We LISTEN We PARTNER

FLEXIBILITY, INNOVATION AND PARTNERSHIP... THE BLUEPRINT DIFFERENCE. VISION VI ION GUIDED ROBOTICS ROBOTIC | CASE CA E AND TRAY PACKING | TURNKEY PACKAGING SYSTEMS Y TEM Your company objectives and process are unique. Listening to and processing your needs are therefore the most important aspects of our initial work. We at BPA want to make a difference; a positive impact on our customers and the world we live in.

blueprintautomation.com

Auto Changeover Case Former BluePrint Automation debuted the BoxFormer 300 built with an ergonomic design and the ability to erect various styles of trays including open, wrap-around, stack and corner post. With its innovative forming station it can erect two case sizes at once and includes automatic changeover with no need for replacing parts. www.blueprintautomation.com

Box Motion Sanitary Wrapper Formost Fuji presents its Box Motion Sanitary Wrapper to provide a high-quality tight seal for even the most difficult items. The box motion model offers a smooth transfer of product into the end-seal unit and allows for taller products, longer dwell times and additional seal pressure when needed. www.formostfuji.com

Complete Mixing Automation

Escher has specifically designed their bottom discharge mixers for continuous batch production. This compact system of two or more mixers allows smaller, more frequent batch sizes of 250 to 1,300 pounds of dough.

By utilizing bottom discharge spiral mixing technology, finished dough is automatically unloaded and transferred to production lines for seamless, constant production.

Schedule your demo today and put our claims to the test.

doughtech.com 1-800-896-3706 sales@doughtech.com Dough production experts offering: Mixing, Dividing, Rounding, Intermediate Proofers, Bread Moulders, Make-Up Equipment and Silos

CONTINUOS BATCH PRODUC TION

SUPPLIER SOLUTIONS

Digital Control and Processing Accuracy Handtmann provides smart solutions with performance tracking apps that allow for precise accuracy and control. The technology provides exact weight management that virtually eliminates waste and improves overall performance while increasing routine response times to reduce downtime. A total of nine software applications are available and can be used alone or in various combinations. www.handtmann.us

Pouch Form | Fill | Seal Benchmark Automation offers the Southern IM7-16 PowerPouch Packaging System to form, fill and seal packages. It can pull film into a V shape and use side seal bars to heat, seal and cool the sides of pouches to minimize wrinkles. The pouches can then be cut for transfer and fed into a bag clamp conveyor as they’re indexed through various stations. www.benchmarkautomation.net

SPRAYING SOLUTIONS ◊

◊ ◊ Debris Tolerant

◊ Mist containment

Clean-Label Enzymes J&K Ingredients brings an enzyme-based solution that allows bakers to reduce their need for vital wheat gluten in bread, rolls and other baked goods. The product, Verdi Tolerans, meets clean-label standards and is concentrated to minimize usage levels and maximize bowl cost savings. www.jkingredients.com

Rotating Rack Oven with Digital Control Baxter released the OVG520G2 rotating rack oven, complete with a digital touch screen programmable control. The Smart Touch control allows for an easier baking operation and increased productivity, efficiency and bottom line. The oven is also Energy Star certified. www.baxtermfg.com

There is no need to sacrifice quality for cost.

L AUR A A ND RON A LD R IJK A A R T

More than make-up lines, Rijkaart are experts with pie, laminating and bread lines, too.

doughtech.com 1-800-896-3706 sales@doughtech.com CROI S S A N T S

DONU T S

CI A B AT TA

PIE S

Rijkaart’s philosophy is to work toward the best solution for the best price, and it has been that way since 1963.

We value customer feedback, flexibility and integrity with all our customers. It’s these guiding principles that makes all of us at Dough Tech proud to partner with Rijkaart.

Dough production experts offering: Mixing, Dividing, Rounding, Intermediate Proofers, Bread Moulders, Make-Up Equipment and Silos

SUPPLIER SOLUTIONS

Pressure Feed Vessels for Ribbon Blenders ROSS ribbon blenders, custom-built for multi-phase mixing, now come with an optional pressure feed vessel. While minor liquid ingredients must be thoroughly blended into powder or other solids, a pressure feed vessel enables 100% discharge of the liquid through a spray bar and into the blending zone, ensuring even mixing and consistent batches. www.mixers.com

Topload Carton Former Syntegon’s Kliklok ACE topload carton former was designed and built for ergonomics, improved access, reduced maintenance and future-proofing with speeds up to 240 cpm. With a stainless-steel open-channel frame, it is applicable in multiple spaces including fresh bakery, packaged bakery, cereal / granola bars, and cookies and crackers. www.syntegon.com

BAKERY AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS PICK AND PLACE

ROBOTIC SCORING DOUGH HANDLING & MAKE UP LINES | RACK & PAN LOADING | PROOFING OVEN LOADING | CONVEYORS | INSPECTION SYSTEMS | PACKAGING www.abiltd.c om • 905-738-6070 • sales@abiltd.c om

Intelligent Controls for Optimization Reading Bakery Systems’ RBSConnect provides an innovative, custom-designed control system. RBSConnect facilitates better communication, operations coordination, and data collection and analysis. With preventive maintenance data, key performance indicators, alarm history and trending through real-time information, bakers can discover potential problems and replace parts to avoid costly downtime. www.readingbakery.com

Streamlined Packaging Processes Harpak-ULMA announced its partnership with FANUC America, integrating leading-edge robotics into product loading and case packing to create fully automated, product-to-pallet packaging solutions. The merger of the systems with advanced robotics and software technologies offers bakeries operational value and highlights the flexibility, accuracy and efficiency of packaging ­automation. www.harpak-ulma.com

COBOTS, ROBOTS & AUTOMATION Robotic Packing . Smart Conveyors . Robotic Decorating . Tray Management Equipment automation built to help you with: BAKER-BOT Versatile, userfriendly Cobot.

Labor shortages.

Repetitive stress injuries.

Managing operational costs.

Product consistency & throughput.

Dull, dangerous and dirty tasks.

CAKE LAYERING SYSTEM Smart conveyor that stacks iced layers of cake.

DECO-BOT Dual robotic decorating system.

ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION FOR FOOD & BAKERY

apexmotion.com | 1-778-298-8292 info@apexmotion.com

SUBSCRIBE Fresh insights on trends and innovations ISSUE Q1

ISSUE Q1 FEB 2021

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Ad Index The following advertisers appear in this issue. We encourage readers to reach out to these companies through the listed website or email for further information. This index is provided as a service to readers and advertisers, but Commercial Baking does not assume any liability for errors or omissions. Please send any updates or corrections to info@avantfoodmedia.com.

American Bakers Association

90

Brolite 51 w w w.bakewithbrolite .com s .delghingaro@broliteproducts .com

ABI 102

Bundy Baking Solutions

w w w. abiltd .com inquir y@abiltd .com

w w w.bundybakingsolutions .com info@bundybakingsolutions .com

PEPSICO’S LAURA MAXWELL

www.comercialbaking.com

COMMERCIAL BAKING

w w w. americ anbakers .org info@americanbakers .org

Inaugural Issue

15

CLIF BAR & COMPANY THE BIG REVEAL

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AMF Bakery Systems

12-13

FEBRUARY 2021 1

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Apex Motion Control

Sifting through the noise Print magazines Digital editions

103

93

Multimedia

We practice digital responsibility; we respect your inbox.

Ashworth 79

Cavanna Group

w w w. ashwor th .com sales@ashwor th .com

w w w.c avanna .com sales@cavannagroup.com

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8

18-19

49

CBF 73

w w w. a xisautomation .com info@a xisautomation .com

w w w.cbfbaker ysystems .com cadams@cbfbaker ysystems .com

BakeMark 108

Corbion 68-69

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w w w.corbion .com foodus@corbion .com

Baxter 4

Doran Scales

w w w.ba xtermfg .com tim .welsh@ba xtermfg .com

w w w.doransc ales .com sales@doranscales .com

Bettendorf Stanford

29

Blueprint Automation

104

Dough Tech

59

99

w w w.doughtech .com info@doughtech .com

w w w.bettendor fstanford .com jatkins@bettendor fstanford .com

w w w.blueprintautomation .com sales@blueprintautomation .com

OCTOBER 2021 Q4

Capway Automation w w w.c apwayautomation .com sales@capwayusa .com

Website Newsletters

Cain Food Industries

w w w. asbe .org k vanamburg@asbe.org

Axis Automation

43

w w w.c ainfood .com sales@cainfood .com

w w w. apexmotion .com info@apexmotion .com

American Society of Baking

Burford Corp. w w w.bur ford .com info@bur ford .com

w w w. amfbaker y.com sales@amfbaker y.com

98

Douglas 97 w w w.dougmac .com info@dougmac .com

AD INDEX

E.T. Oakes

67

Formost Fuji

76

23

Peerless Food Equipment

37

Fred D. Pfening Co.

100

Promach 10 w w w.benchmarkautomation .net benchmark . sales@promachbuilt.com

Handtmann 16

Rademaker 81

w w w.handtmann .de/en Patrick . M cG ady@H andtmann .us

w w w.rademaker.com sales@rademaker.com

Harpak-Ulma 53

Reading Bakery Systems

w w w.harpak- ulma .com info@harpak- ulma .com

w w w.readingbaker y.com info@readingbaker y.com

7

Reiser

70

w w w.reiser.com sales@reiser.com

IBIE 89

Repco 57

w w w.bakingexpo .com info@bakingexpo.com

w w w.repcoworld .com/baker y info@repcoworld .com

Intralox 5

Rijkaart (Dough Tech)

w w w.intralox.com customerser vice. baker y@intralox .com

w w w.rinc .eu info@doughtech .com

2

Shick Esteve

32-33

Kaak 31

The Henry Group

w w w.kaak .com jlaros@kaak .com

w w w.thehenr ygroup.com sales@thehenr ygroup.com

Multivac/Fritsch us .multivac .com matt. zielsdor f@multivac .com

75

VMI 27 w w w.vmimixing .com/en sales-suppor t@vmimixing .com

w w w.kwiklok .com sales@k wiklok .com

82

Paul Lattan 816.585.5030

w w w. shickesteve .com info@shickesteve.com

3

101

paul@avantfoodmedia.com

w w w.jkingredients .com sales@jkingredients . net

Kwik Lok

www.commercialbaking.com/advertise

41, 62

w w w.dhenr yandsons .com info@dhenr yandsons .com

J&K Ingredients

Download the media kit

25

w w w.goe - amhfab.com info@goe -amhfab.com

Henry & Sons

ADVERTISE

w w w. pfening .com sales@pfening .com

w w w.geminibaker yequipment.com sales@geminibe.com

GOE Amherst

65

w w w. peerlessfood .com sales@peerlessfood .com

w w w.formostfuji .com sales@formostfuji .com

Gemini Bakery Equipment

National Honey Board w w w.honey.com honey@nhb.org

w w w.oakes .com info@oakes .com

Zeppelin Systems USA

816.605.5037

87

zeppelin-systems.com/us/industries/food-industry info@zeppelin - usa .com

105

Steve Berne steve@avantfoodmedia.com

It’s time to perform rather than just spend.

COMMERCIAL BAKING

THE LAST WORD FROM JULIE MILLER JONES

The New Value Proposition Humans have had a relationship with bread for centuries, from the Bible calling it the “staff of life” to cultures using it in reference to currency. This once-unbreakable bond has certainly had its ups and downs in recent history, with the past 20 years seeing bread vilified by health-food fanatics, lauded by Oprah Winfrey and, most recently, hoarded by consumers during the pandemic.

so it’s more important than ever that the industry reasserts how essential bread is for the 99% of people without celiac.

New research has shown that intake of all grain foods — from whole, enriched to refined grains — provides adults with 30% of the dietary requirements for iron, calcium and folic acid. That’s almost double the contribution to caloric intake. Grains are also on par with the recommended amounts of magnesium and dietary fiber. And if you look at the detractors, grains provide 14% or less of the total sodium and saturated fat and 7% or less of the added sugars in the recommended daily intake.

There has also been a movement away from processed foods, both those that we would like people to choose more infrequently (such as soda and indulgent desserts) and others that we believe people should continue to eat … including bread.

The truth is, bread hasn’t changed. But its image has, and it’s time for the baking industry to capitalize on its renewed awareness by touting the nutritional benefits of this cross-cultural culinary staple. When consumers criticize bread, we must remind them that grains are, in fact, a miracle food that has nourished populations for millennia and, during times of crisis and comfort, will always give us a nutritional bang for our buck. CB

While there’s plenty of rhetoric on both sides, I wholeheartedly argue that contending “humans did not evolve to eat grains” is absolute hogwash.

For starters, discoveries of stone mills with grain remnants alongside cave paintings and of grain DNA in the calculus of Paleolithic-era human teeth disprove the assertion that eating grains is something new. But the unfortunate fact is that trends — especially catchy food fads that regularly and rapidly rise under the guise of scientific theories — can easily permeate a society and achieve staying power. I have family members who suffer from celiac disease, and I fully understand how seriously gluten affects them.

— Julie Miller Jones is a board-certified and licensed n­ utritionist and a member of the Grain Foods Foundation’s scientific advisory panel. She received her bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and a PhD in home economics/ food science and nutrition from the University of Minnesota. Currently, Jones is professor emerita of nutrition at St. Catherine University in St. Paul.

But I also know gluten isn’t harmful to the vast majority of people. Many don’t question some self-appointed experts,

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don’t lose that

lovin’ Filling Do your customers love your fillings?

Fill your creations with the best of the best, trust BakeMark the leading bakery supplier with the largest fillings portfolio.

Grow your business today www.bakemark.com information@bakemark.com