2 May 2022
Expanding the product range is a must for all players in the bakery sector, including retailers and industry. Based on our recent Taste Tomorrow consumer research, you have the best chance of success when making small changes to consumer favorites. Try to further innovate the familiar crowd-pleasers. The classics will always hold their ground in the world of bakery, so consider capitalizing on your traditional bread and bakery products with these 6 tips.
People like to taste new flavors and innovations, but they also crave tradition, routine and familiar food they can count on to be delicious. 75% of consumers like traditional tastes, our Taste of Tomorrow research across 44 different countries shows. You can meet their needs by reinventing your classics because the dominance towards traditional taste exists besides an openness towards exploration.
When trying new types of food, 67% of people would still like to have a familiar element. For them, bread and bakery products reinvented with one of these 6 tips are perfect:
1. Add power ingredients
Health sells when it comes to food items, so it’s always a smart move to make a healthier version of your bread classics. An easy way to upgrade your products is by adding so-called power ingredients. Consumers perceive these ingredients as beneficial to both the taste of bread and their personal health. Grains and seeds are the most sought-after power ingredient in bread. Between 70% and 80% of consumers believe they heighten flavor and healthiness, so a sprinkling of flaxseed, sunflower seeds, sesame or oat flakes is a good idea.
When you’re specifically on the quest for a healthier version of your bread, developing a wholemeal or wholegrain version is the way to go. Bear in mind that 8 in 10 consumers perceive wholegrain bread as healthy, but they score significantly lower on taste. The same goes for fiber. With an increased focus on gut health, most people know fiber-rich bread is good for you, but they don’t think it will improve the flavor of their sandwiches.
2. Get in shape (or size down)
One way to create innovations based on your classic breads is to give them a new shape. Bake square pitas or rectangular pretzels, or change the classic triangular club sandwich into a round or square one. If donuts can be square, you can bake square bagels as well. Or follow the example of Kobe Sausages in Budapest. They serve small sausages in multigrain bread cones and also introduced a square bun specifically shaped to hold three sausages. They are a great example of how reshaping classic bread can give the consumer a completely new food experience.
You can also go mini. Adapting the size of your bread products is a smart way to please people who are mindful of their diet. Our recent Taste Tomorrow consumer data show that 60% of consumers who want to eat healthier prefer not to compromise on taste, they rather consume less or have smaller portions. So stick to your original recipe, but develop an extra small version that can be marketed towards consumers who are controlling their portion sizes.
3. Create colorful bakes with veggies
In patisserie, we’ve identified vegetable-based pastries as a huge trend. Incorporating pumpkin, purple sweet potato or carrot makes cakes healthier and often gives an interesting color. Why not apply this trend to bread? Using sweet potato or carrot in bread gives a beautiful orange tint and a little sweetness to your loaf. The results can be mesmerizing, like the colorful buns made for Flower Burger. Black carrot creates a vibrant purple loaf and beets make a lovely pink burger.
4. Combine classics
Consumers enjoy trying new types, shapes and textures most when they have a familiar element, our global consumer survey revealed. That’s why hybrid baked goods continue to be popular. Over the last few years, many well-known pastries have been given a new twist. From bruffins and cruffins to macaronuts and wonuts, the list keeps on expanding. You can also hybridize breads. Why not try and make a banaan (bagel and naan combined), a raisin bag (raisin bread bagel) or a banut (bagel with donut-like sweet topping)?
5. Opt for new grains
Are you already familiar with teff, okara powder and highland barley? Those grains and flours are becoming popular substitutes for traditional white flour. Teff is an Ethiopian ‘supergrain’, packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and prebiotics, while the dietary fibers in okara powder and highland barley should improve gut health.
We’ve seen an increased interest in new and special ingredients that often have health benefits as well. Hazelnut and rice flour are gluten-free for instance. While the use of new grains and flours isn’t a simple one-to-one replacement, it does bring novelty. The texture and flavor of your bread classic will alter by mixing up the flour content, but the change offers lots of marketing possibilities around health and dietary themes. Especially interesting now that nutritional information is increasingly visible on packaging.
6. Go sourdough
During the pandemic, sourdough became one of the most talked-about subjects on social media. And while global social and search volumes show that engagement with sourdough is declining since the pandemic, it remains above pre-pandemic levels. So differentiating by developing sourdough bakery foods is still a smart move. Sourdough products are in demand now there’s an increased interest in fermented foods that restores gut health. 63% of consumers agree prebiotics are a trusted way to improve gut health and digestion.
Puratos shows that sourdough works well in laminated and other rich baked goods, such as sourdough croissants. So explore sourdough options besides bread and benefit from the higher price point that the high-end image of sourdough allows.
Want to create a new product that ticks all the right boxes and meets the needs of today’s consumers?
Have a look at our 2022 trend forecast for bakery, patisserie and chocolate based on our newest consumer data.
