instore - May 2017 - com - 8

Product Category Spotlight:

Cookies catering
to cravings
By John Unrein

akers have had success reducing
sodium, sugar, fat and chemicalsounding ingredients over the past
few years, but now they may wish to
focus on increasing another element -
taste. "What a great job we did as an industry," said Ryan Smith, vice-president
and general manager of bakery for Kerry
Americas Region, a taste and nutrition
company. "We reacted quickly. You can
see the last 10, 13, 14 years. You can see
how hard we've all worked to go out and
respond to the consumers."

calcium propionate and mono- and diglycerides. "But somewhere along the
way, we forgot about the world of taste,"
Smith said at the recent American Society
of Baking's BakingTech 2017 in Chicago.

Often leaving ingredient lists were DATEM, sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL),

"They are really different than what was
being formulated in the past. They are

Food formulators should know all the
ingredients (some new to industry) that
may assist in adding back taste. He gave
sugar-reduced cookies as an example.
Sugar modulator systems have improved,
such as stevia extracts being paired with
flavor modulators.

much more effective," Smith said. Also
in reduced-sugar cookie applications,
emulsifiers void of partially hydrogenated oils are available. Soluble fibers may
build back bulk, viscosity and mouthfeel. Of clean label, he added, "Don't
think about it anymore as a destination."

Convenience & Indulgence
Michael Strauss, director of marketing for Cookies United, says grab-andgo products are the biggest trends in
cookie production right now. "People
want and need pre-packaged goods
now more than ever," he says. "Customers are willing to pay a premium
for that conveniently pre-package
item. Another trend is, of course, innovation. People crave something new
and exciting, and when you put these
two trends together you have a winning product."
Cookies United has tapped into these
two trends with a new CakeBite product line. This traditional bakery favorite is now available for the first time as
a pre-packaged item. "Not only do we
have triple layer pre-sliced cake product that tastes amazing, but the packaging allows us to be incredibly versatile
depending on the market it's being sold
in. We have singles, four packs, and
club packs."
Strauss says that Cookies United also
has the ability to create new and innovative products with a wide range of
equipment. "We also have the highest
of standards set for our bakery. Being
certified SQF level 2 means everything
is always working at its absolute best
from an ingredient standard to food
safety standard."

CAPTION: SUGAR MODULATOR SYSTEMS HAVE IMPROVED AND ASSIST IN ADDING BACK TASTE TO COOKIES.
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

8 * MAY 2017

commissary INSIDER

William Toler, president and chief executive officer of Hostess Brands, Inc.,
recently announced the launch of the
Hostess Bake Shop for the instore bakery (ISB) category. The potential for
Hostess in the ISB category has been
highlighted by Hostess executives on
numerous occasions since the company acquired Superior Cake Products in
June 2016. Still, details of how Hostess
would build out the relatively modest
Stockbridge, Mass.-based business had
been scant.

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