Handling increasing production costs while maintaining product quality and meeting consumer demand for sustainable bakery products is a tricky balance to achieve. Yet, optimising process and formulations can help bakers on each of these fronts, argues IFF.
Bakery producers today are seeking to balance production costs with product quality in the face of ingredient supply issues and recent global economic instability. In parallel, consumer demand for healthier and more label-friendly offerings is rising, along with their expectations for more sustainable business practices and products.
Optimising processes and formulations can help bakers navigate these challenging market conditions to remain competitive, efficient and appealing to consumers. Managing productivity and protecting cost margins is key. Indeed, some challenges can also be seen as opportunities for business growth or to capture new market share. But how can you achieve this while ensuring quality and consistency?
Protecting cost margins by managing productivity and maximising yield
Managing costs starts with reviewing the whole production chain – from getting the most out of raw materials without affecting dough quality or handling, to reducing production waste. Here, enzymes present a ready-to-use solution to ensure greater cost efficiencies, less waste, easier handling and a consistent quality output. Bakeries can:
● Improve yield – By incorporating more water into your dough to increase yield with xylanases. These enzymes promote gluten network strength for better water absorption, thereby increasing dough weight, as well as machinability and overall yield.
● Reduce waste – The right combination of dough strengthening enzymes boosts recipe dependability and tolerance to shocks, production stoppages and other processing parameters. This results in more stable bread volume and appearance, and therefore less waste.
● Ensure better handling – Oxidases support the formation of cross-links within gluten for a stronger and less sticky dough that’s easier to handle.
“Xylanase, lipase and oxidase enzymes make the optimal mix for reducing production waste, with synergistic modes of action that help increase dough strength for more reliable production outcomes”
– Gilbert van der Wal, Senior Application Specialist, Baking Enzymes, IFF
Growing business through expansion and impactful new product development
The rising consumer need for increased wellness, convenience, and sustainable and ethical baked products can open new growth opportunities for industrial bakers. Whether your goal is to meet consumer needs by creating more sustainable, label-friendly products, reduce added sugar or enhance nutrition, removing or substituting existing ingredients without impacting product quality, texture, taste or production costs is not always easy.
Increasing geographical reach can also help bakeries grow and capture new market share. When geographical reach expands, fresh-keeping becomes key to counter longer delivery chains along the way.
Enzymes help bakery companies unlock new differentiated products, innovate with new recipes for evolving consumer preferences, and develop more robust dough for improved shock tolerance to expand market reach. The results include:
● Better-for-you bakery products – Added protein and fibre often disrupts gluten’s natural stability, but xylanases, lipases and oxidases help preserve dough strength and stability throughout processing for better bread yield and quality.
● Reduced sugar – Amyloglucosidase breaks down starch to release glucose, making it possible to reduce added sugar by up to 20% without altering the sweetness profile.
● Fresher for longer – Anti-staling amylases increase bread softness, moisture and resilience throughout the desired shelf life to keep staleness at bay.
“Amylases promote product freshness. This not only minimises the volume of unsold stale bread that gets returned or wasted; it also means manufacturers can expand their distribution models to new geographical areas without compromising on sensory qualities or consumer experience”
– Aurelie Gammelin, Global Product Manager, Baking Enzymes, IFF
Making your brand shine through consistent product quality
Brand consistency, even in the face of changing industry conditions and variations in raw material quality, remains critical to ensure consumers continue to enjoy the baked goods they know and love. Enzyme solutions enable a consistent output and superior consumer experience. They help to:
● Maintain quality – A carefully selected mix of dough strengthening enzymes, such as xylanases, lipases and oxidases, helps to ensure processing stability and a more robust dough, even in wholewheat and other challenging or novel applications. This leads to better bread volume, appearance and consistently high-quality baked goods that deliver a great consumer experience every time.
Address your bakery business priorities with IFF
With changing times ahead for industrial bakeries, IFF’s leading biotechnology expertise and extensive industry experience can help bakers to create and excel with stable, high-quality and efficient production.
The company’s team is passionate about finding new innovative solutions to meet the challenges facing bakers today and into tomorrow, and to help drive the industry forward. IFF continues to support bakery producers by bringing cutting-edge enzyme technologies to the market, as well as offering formulation and full product design capabilities to help them solve challenges and bring their products to market faster.
Its science-backed enzyme solutions address a wide range of bakery production challenges and evolving consumer needs to manage productivity and costs, enable business growth, and give consumers the comforting, great-tasting baked goods they know and love. Offering flexibility for each baker’s unique dosing needs, the company’s versatile enzyme formats range from singles and blends, to concentrated and diluted formulations.
To get in touch with IFF and explore how its experts and advanced enzyme solutions portfolio can help your business, click here
