Baking & Snack - May 2014 - 52

DESSERTS

One sweet swine
When it comes to comfort food, it doesn't get
more comforting than pie. Unless it's bacon.
But what if it's both?
Two years ago, Denver-based Legendary
Baking, producer of pies, bars cookies and
other sweet goods, launched The Salty Hog as a
limited-time offer. The dessert - or if you dare
to call it a pie - started with a layer of salty
caramel and almonds, a layer of French silk,
a layer of chocolate cake and another layer of
whipped cream and topped it off with a halfstrip of caramelized bacon.
"It was one of those products where people
said, 'I'm not going to eat that,' but when you
tried it, it really knocked your socks off, said Tim
"
Kanaly, division president for Legendary Baking.
The company believes in tapping into creativity for product development, and brought
together industry experts along with plant managers, product developers and line operators
for the ultimate brainstorming session last year.
"We threw stuff at the wall, and no idea was too
bizarre, said Mark Van Iwaarden, the company's
"
director of marketing.
At the close of the session, which lasted a few
days, the group emerged with 56 pages of new
product ideas.
- additional reporting by Dan Malovany

adventurously," Mr. Brooks explained.
Just Desserts is currently toying with ethnic flavor
profiles that might not have been incorporated much in
the past but could secure a place in the future marketplace. "We think it's very interesting how spices and heat
are being incorporated into the baking segment in a way
that might still be new to North American and US consumers. We're doing a lot of exploration in that area, and
it's going to be interesting," Mr. Mendes said.

Indulging a little
When it comes to the decadence of it all, desserts, at
their core, are not about healthy choices. With the
trend toward minis, single-serving and flights, they
don't have to be. Through portion control, consumers
can allow themselves to worry less about the calorie
count and focus more on the culinary experience.
In fact, mini desserts topped US Foods' 2014 list,
and according to Technomic, 52% of women age 25-34
surveyed in the 2013 report said they would be more
likely to order a dessert if restaurants provided smaller
options.
One way for bakeries to stay relevant in the marketplace is to roll with changing demographics. American
households are shrinking with nearly half as many married couples as there were three or four decades ago and
more people living alone than ever before. "We offer
some smaller cakes that accommodate a smaller family
or a smaller occasion, which is an area where cakes can
become more relevant," Mr. Mendes said.
Cakes can make portion control convenient when instore bakeries serve up individual cake slices in single-

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