Vandemoortele, a family-owned European bakery company, has launched its newest pastry product, a freezer-to-oven pinched croissant, at the National Restaurant Association Show in response to market demand and customer requests. 

Under the company’s flagship brand, Banquet d’Or, the new Banquet d’Or Bake’Up pinched croissant is designed as a customizable and versatile carrier. Made with the same authentic French recipe as the brand’s best-selling all butter croissants already in market, the pinched croissant has the added benefit of providing a canvas for consumers’ favorite sandwich fillings.

“We are always looking for ways to serve our customers’ needs, and this new pinched croissant delivers a solution they’ve been requesting without compromising flavor and quality,” says Raoul Dexters, general manager for Vandemoortele North America.

High quality and generously proofed to reduce the amount of filling needed, the pinched croissant is an ideal product for a deli or bakery lunch spot or for making grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches. Additionally, the Banquet d’Or Bake’Up curved all butter croissant, using the same recipe as the pinched croissant, ranked No. 1 against competitors in recent consumer testing.

Light, flaky, and with a signature buttery taste, the pinched croissant also has the advantage of being made using the patented Bake’Up technology, which aims to make commercial bakers’ lives easier by eliminating the hard labor and typical early morning start associated with serving authentic pastries. This process allows for a broad assortment of pastries—croissants, twists, filled rolls, and other styles—to go straight from the freezer to the oven with no proofing or defrosting required, giving retailers the option of providing freshly baked items all day long. 

“The Bake’Up process we’re using for this new product is truly remarkable in its ability to quickly provide the same quality and freshly baked product a skilled baker or pastry chef could produce with many more hours of labor. This is a gamechanger for customers looking for high quality products with significant time and cost savings,” says Johan Coppens, Vandemoortele culinary advisor and Masterbaker.  

Founded in Belgium in 1983 by the well-established, family-owned Vandemoortele food group, Banquet d’Or offers classic French bakery items made with European ingredients—real butter and cage free eggs—without requiring expert-level baking skills to achieve fresh, expert-level results. 

The company’s ever-growing portfolio includes an assortment of European bakery products that adhere to clean label standards, sourcing only ingredients labeled non-GMO and using no artificial colors or preservatives, among other guidelines. These bakery products are available in different finishing levels, according to the needs of the professional chef and foodservice end-user.