Gums and starches, two baking industry staples, are being reformulated to meet growing baker and snack producer demands for ingredients that will enable them to reduce their ingredient costs, produce clean labels and create products that address consumer eating trends.
The Quincy, Mass.-based flour and grain-based products provider says it’s acquiring T.J. Harkins Basic Commodity Brokers Inc. and subsidiaries, a supplier of natural, nutritious and flavorful ingredients for grain-based foods. Harkins also supplies sesame and edible seeds, sweet spices, ancient grains, specialty grain flours and grain blends.
Though the bread market is a bit on the downswing, bakers are still on course with a bevy of new products, healthful ingredients, quality touches, artisan processes and more.
June 18, 2012
It’s golf season, and that means it’s State of the Industry time. Have things changed much since last year? The sluggish economy is still bearish and has had an effect on bakers, though they continue to iron out new products and spin old favorites.
Consumers are asking for a lot of bars these days. Some want bars to be a healthy, easy snack, while others demand that their bars act as a supplement to an active lifestyle. Many prefer a bar that can substitute for a meal or act as a diet aid. Either way, bar manufacturers are making products that satisfy all of these requirements, so it’s just a matter of picking which bar is right for the job.
When eating a favorite snack or bakery product, few people stop and consider all of the ingredients that give these products the taste and mouthfeel they enjoy. Consumers don’t care if the layer cake on their plate is moist because it’s made with a special flour formulation or that a gum blend makes the frosting smooth.
Maintaining traditional European bread baking processes using stone hearth ovens, European/Italian recipes, formulas and old-world flavor, Turano Baking Co., Berwyn, Ill., has been expanding its artisan-quality product line nationally. We celebrate the 50th anniversary of this growing company, which is smoothly transitioning into its third generation of family owned and operated management.