Innovation & differentiation

Become a market pioneer with dynamic, on-trend pastry and cake fillings and that match your ambition.

Japan is years ahead in cake innovation. Value is part of the Japanese culture and cakes such as steam cakes, Dora Yaki and Manju cakes are highly valued as souvenir gifts.

Japanese cakes are often filled with local flavours such as red beans and mung beans. Elsewhere, their friendly and amusing shapes make them a perfect product concept for children. The success of this idea has been demonstrated by one of our customers, who wanted to bring consumers flavours they know and love (like chocolate or cherry) in a novel and playful way.

Our customer, a market leader in sweet goods production, discovered the concept at IBIE and asked us to adapt the fillings to meet their requirements for taste, shelf-life and labelling.

In response to our customer’s brief, we developed Cremfil and Vivafil chocolate, cream and fruit fillings, specifically adapted for the sophisticated production equipment required to create Japanese-style cakes.

In close collaboration with machinery supplier Masdac, we developed all-round production solutions, enabling our customer to become the first to market with an innovative, tasty and fun cake concept.

Increasingly, people want to explore international flavours. Our authentic fillings help you to differentiate your products and satisfy consumer demand and curiosity.

By being close to our customers and consumers, we can turn technologies and research into new opportunities to help bakers boost their business.

A large cake producer wanted to extend its line of fruit pies, which were available in just two flavours. Together with the customer, we agreed to test five different flavours of Topfil fruit fillings, from mainstream options to surprising combinations such as orange and sea-buckthorn.

The test was conducted in our unique and fully-equipped mobile sensory analysis lab, Sensobus. We visited a location and identified consumer preferences on the spot. Our researchers analysed the sensory input of respondents and were immediately able to tell our customer which fillings would be most suitable for their consumers.

The two fillings with the highest purchase potential were selected and launched just one month later. And guess what? Consumers chose Topfil orange and sea-buckthorn as one of their favourites!

Consumers often look for healthy options, such as preservative-free products, natural colours and flavours, kcal reduction and cleaner labels.

People are attaching more and more importance to the quality of their food. They demand products that provide both taste and nutritional value, giving pleasure while helping to maintain health and wellbeing.

Even in chocolate there is a shift towards ‘Better For You’ products. Industrial bakers are opting for chocolate fillings with enhanced nutritional profiles. These developments are often the result of pressure from governments imposing specific nutritional standards for products aimed at children.

A famous coffee chain with a worldwide presence planned to re-launch their chocolate muffin. With reduced fat levels, it was intended to meet consumer demand for indulgence, health and convenience.

In response, we developed a Cremfil Ultim Chocolate with 25% chocolate but only 9% fat. As the un-filled muffin contained 22% fat, this chocolate filling succeeded in improving the product’s pleasure potential as well as its nutritional value.