Modern Baker has partnered with Hovis and Marks & Spencer for the launch of Superloaf 5.0 – a mass produced version of what it previously dubbed the ‘healthiest loaf ever made’.
The 400g seeded and sliced loaf (rsp £2.30) will roll into 400 of the retailer’s stores as well as Ocado from 8 April. At least three other major multiples are expected to list the loaf from September.
Superloaf 5.0 is co-manufactured and co-packaged by Hovis. It’s made using the Chorleywood bread process which posed a variety of technical and practical challenges to overcome.
Unlike Superloaf 2.0, which was unveiled in 2021 and featured ingredients such as barley flour and tapioca flour, the latest version uses standard white flour. This, Modern Baker co-founder Leo Campbell told British Baker, was so it’s “much more accessible in terms of flavour and texture” to consumers.
“The fundamental difference is that the previous version involved quite a lot of artisanal production, the current one is made on high-speed machinery,” he added.
Simarlarly to 2.0, the Superloaf NPD is based around optimised fibres – the benefits of which include slower glucose absorption, reduced-calorie load and optimised gut microbiome activity, Campbell said.
“Superloaf 5.0 has been developed entirely starting with human biology at cellular level and that is the lens through which the product has been designed,” he said.
Modern Baker takes a “health-plus” approach, Campbell noted, meaning its development is more about the ingredients added in and what benefits they offer as opposed to a “health-minus” approach of taking ingredients out. As such, Campbell explained the business had to “step out of the HFSS, traffic light and Eat Well plate structure because it doesn’t savour better nutrition”.
“The industry is driven by calorie dense solutions whereas we are all about nutrient dense,” he added.
As well as Superloaf, Modern Baker also produces a six-strong artisanal range which is available in Ocado, Whole Foods Market, Planet Organic, Selfridges and independent retailers. The range includes organic sourdough loaves Super Spelt and Seedy Seedy, as well as activated charcoal loaf Social Sourdough, and Double Chocolate & Hazelnut Sourdough Biscuits.
Future potential
Modern Baker has big ambitions which include taking Superloaf into new markets and venturing into new categories within the bakery market and further afield.
“We already know what version 6.0 and version 7.0 will look like. There is a lot of momentum around evolving the concept now we have our first mass market Superloaf up and running,” he said. “We are looking at other routes to market for our nutritionally dense solution and that includes foodservice and in-store bakery as well as other branded options.”
Modern Baker’s potential partners going forward are food manufacturers and businesses that can “see beyond HFSS” to a point where “food nutrition starts to become the currency”, he added.
Campbell praised the M&S Food team for their support throughout the process as well as their overall approach as they “really want to be seen as taking a leadership role in nutrition”.
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