London-based frozen bakery brand 18-18° Flatbread launched recently, marking a UK-first for the sector in its use of Acoustic Extra Freezing (AEF) technology.
AEF is said to have been developed by professional engineers specialising in the nano-crystallisation of frozen food. It involves an innovative process that sees special sound waves resonating through products during freezing, which limits the size and growth of ice crystals and instead makes them form on the outside of fibre cells.
This prevents cell damage and dehydration of proteins, helping to preserve the nutrient composition, taste, and colour of the original product – the weight also remains the same once defrosted.
18-18° Flatbread is producing a range of three different flatbreads varieties including Cacio e Pepe (Pecorino cheese and black pepper); Goat’s Cheese, Fig & Honey; and Tomato & Oregano.
The 18cm pizza-esque flatbreads, which when stored at a temperature of -18°C offer a life of up to 18 months, have been created by young Italian-born chef Lorenzo Nigro of Archway Battersea restaurant. They are made with dough that has been rested for 24 hours and baked in a wood-fired oven at a dark kitchen in Southwark. From frozen, they require baking in a pre-heated oven for just three minutes.
With a slogan declaring that ‘Frozen is the new fresh’, 18-18° Flatbread said it is trying to break the stigma around how bad frozen food tastes. It claimed flatbread was the “fastest rising consumer need in 2023”, while citing Kantar data (52 w/e 17 July 2023) that says the frozen pizza market had grown by 17.8% in value up to £644m.
The company revealed it was currently pitching its product range for listings at major supermarkets including Waitrose and Tesco, and retailers such as Whole Foods Market, Planet Organic, and Bayley & Sage. It was also in the process of obtaining necessary accreditation documents for easier access to distribution channels.
Sales are to initially focus on busy areas in London “where people are in need of delicious and quick-to-prepare meals”, it said, with a longer term strategy of expanding to other big cities such as Manchester and Liverpool.
18-18° Flatbread cofounders Elizabeth Kondrashova and Dasha Mikhalchenko are also behind frozen gourmet ready meal brand LiiKO, which employs the use of AEF technology as well.
“We are excited to revolutionise the food and retail business, one product at a time, starting with 18-18° Flatbread,” said the cofounders. “Our freezing technology is a true innovation and we believe that it will be changing the frozen food business forever. We cannot wait to share our love for food and flatbread with the city.”
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