BakeryAndSnacks Podcast

Today’s consumers want more than just convenience, freshness and great taste and texture from their food. They’re looking for better-for-you options that can help them take a proactive approach to their health.

Consumers’ attitudes, priorities and behaviours are shifting significantly, thanks to the coronavirus, providing unique prospects for forward-looking bakery and snack producers to bring a suite of trailblazing new products to market.

Bunge Loders Croklaan (BLC) has launched the Where Life Grows campaign – aimed at building a sustainable shea supply chain in West Africa and more, importantly, to empower the women involved in collecting the nuts – to celebrate the inauguration of its shea butter processing facility in Ghana.

Chris Hook, Free From director of Warburtons, says the demand for free from is clearly here to stay, but the expectations of anyone following a gluten-free diet – whether for medical reasons or just a lifestyle choice – remain demanding … and so they should be.

Consumer Eyes’ Ron Rentel says ecommerce is here to stay – even post-COVID – hence the launch of a series of live streaming trade experiences by the Chinese technology conglomerate to bring buyers and sellers safely together to meet in real time.

Cargill has reported it has made significant progress in achieving sustainable impact on land use, climate, water, farmer prosperity and human rights in the run up to the UN’s 2030 target.

The Craft Bakers Association (CBA) – which represents approximately 500 bakery businesses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – reports the sector has become very dynamic on the back of the coronavirus outbreak.

BakeryandSnacks has enlisted Chris Hook, business director of Warburtons Gluten Free, on its on its Editorial Advisory Board, which will enable the site to maintain its position at the coalface of news, regulations, new product development and technological development in the gluten-free sector.

Consumers’ shopping and eating habits have shifted, particularly as the world moves through the pandemic, pressurising brands to pivot strategies to keep up with the demands and challenges.

The US flour miller and ingredients provider has been deemed part of the nation’s critical infrastructure in providing food and has a crisis team that kicked into gear to cope with the pandemic to ensure that product continues to appear on grocery shelves.

Turmeric, pumpkin seeds and probiotics will be the new ingredient kids on the block – especially during these uncertain times when focus is on health and snacking has become more prevalent than ever – according to Cargill’s research to find out consumer preferences in choosing a snack.

Determined not to let the ongoing COVID-19 crisis shelve plans, BakeryandSnacks virtually hosted the debate on snackification, originally scheduled to take place on stage at The Ingredients Show in Birmingham, UK.

The International Artisan Bakery Expo (IABE) is set to open the doors for its second annual event on March 31, 2020 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, US.

Cargill has invested $6.4m to expand its North American Pilot Development Centre in Savage, Minneapolis, to assist bakery customers increase their speed-to-market with new products.

FrieslandCampina Ingredients Food & Beverages identified three major trends in its first annual Trend Report published earlier this year that could assist bakers turn tomorrow’s consumer demands into market propositions.

Coeliac disease affects about one in 100 people in the UK – of which half a million are still undiagnosed – giving gluten free producers an extensive, and loyal customer base. And it’s growing.

The PepsiCo Foundation’s signature nutrition operation Food for Good has worked with food banks and other hunger-fighting organizations to deliver more 100 million servings of nutritious food to children in need since its inception a decade ago.

From better-for-you to permissible indulgence, snack SKUs have ballooned in recent years. The Colorado investment firm tells BakeryandSnacks what makes a brand worthy of investment.

FEDIMA and AMFEP are hosting a series of webinars that delve into the safe guidelines for workers in the baking industry who are exposed to dust from flour and enzymes.

The baking and confectionery supplier will sponsor the Baking Expo’s first ‘Artisan Marketplace,’ where guests can taste and learn about sourdough breads and time-tested techniques in a European-style café setting. BakeryandSnacks chats to Puratos USA president Andrew Brimacombe to learn more.