B A K E RY
Are clean-label bakers the new agents of change? One in two consumers check food labels for E-numbers, according to research by Innova Market Insights. This is a clear indication of the growing consumer demand for more transparency when it comes to how food is made and what it contains.
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ithin the bakery industry, the rise in clean-label claims indicates that this is no passing trend. DuPont
Nutrition & Biosciences is assisting bakers to overcome the clean-label challenge in bakery innovation: Its new toolbox for clean-label bread production is one of the outcomes.
CONSUMER WILLINGNESS TO PAY A PREMIUM PRICE While there is no global regulatory definition or understanding of clean label, Innova research shows consumers are willing to pay more for natural products with a simple ingredient list. Figures from Polaris Market Research show a strong increase in bread product launches with on-pack clean-label claims. This trend is forecast to continue until at least 2026. “Although the interpretation of clean label is complex and varies from country to country, the common denominator is that the label lists ingredients which consumers recognise. They
Clean-label bread launches is a global growth market
want to know what their food is made from, how much water is used in production and any health benefits on-pack,” says Emeline Commun, bakery marketing specialist. For manufacturers, the challenge is to understand consumer needs and which ingredients they will accept, while finding a balance between taste, texture, volume and cost. The COVID-19 pandemic has added to the
“Reformulating to a cleaner-label recipe inevitably adds an extra layer of complexity to the bakery process”
complexity, causing consumers to reprioritise their purchasing criteria. In some cases, this has meant relaxing their focus on clean label for a while. “The current situation could lead to a substantial, long-term change in consumer perceptions of clean label. The bakery industry must be ready to adapt to new consumer needs,” Commun adds. DuPont’s Label-friendly Bakery Toolbox addresses clean-label challenges in yeastraised baked goods and changes in consumer expectations, navigate these opportunities, and adopt the best solution for its formulation and processing methods. Reformulating to a cleaner-label recipe inevitably adds an extra layer of complexity to the bakery process. Dough handling and
Food Review | September 2020
the transition to a clean-label formulation by meeting bakers’ most pressing need – to maintain product quality and a consistently stable process. As part of the toolbox, DuPont also presents the newest solutions to mitigate the challenges of clean-label formulations and
tolerance may be affected, along with sensory quality in terms of freshness, softness, volume, crumb colour and bread resilience. To highlight the challenges, DuPont has identified five stages in the clean-label spectrum, starting with traditional bakery products made with emulsifiers, such as DATEM, SSL and monoglycerides, and mould inhibitors, such as calcium propionate. At the other end of the scale are formulations based purely on kitchen cupboard ingredients, like flour, yeast and salt. The scale also indicates the impact of clean-label reformulation on product characteristics, highlighting the trade-off between a cleaner label on the one hand and process tolerance and product quality on the other.
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The label-friendly Bakery Toolbox takes all these factors into consideration, smoothing
to ensure that bread quality is back up to the expected level. Price continues to be a big driver for consumer food purchases, especially in the current context of COVID-19, where consumers are looking for more affordable products. Bakery products have the multiple ability to provide value for money, as well as pleasure, comfort and, to some extent, protection via nourishment. The pandemic is also causing consumers to think about how their lifestyle impacts the planet. In that light, the clean-label trend is an opportunity for manufacturers to become agents of change. •
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