When shopping for bread in retail stores, consumers—whether they’re hunting in the perimeter or the center store—are looking for a number of things. In addition to good taste and texture, and an appealing texture, consumers are flipping those packages over to scan the label for ingredients they want, as well as ingredients they want to avoid.

During the September 28 webinar Clean Label Bread Insights—sponsored by Kemin Industries—Nancy Jo Seaton (Seaton Food Consultants president and owner) walked through a number of consumer preferences and behaviors impacting bread production. The broad range of topics included what they truly want in bread purchases, what they understand regarding “natural” ingredients and formulations, and how bakery operations can deliver.

“As we start to put together recipes, whether it's a form of more of a wholesale baking application, or it's the in store bakery, we want to make sure that what we declare on that ingredient label is as wholesome sounding as possible,” Seaton advises.

The discussion also touched upon:

• Defining key terms such as “healthy” and “all natural”
• Balancing shelf-life extension with taste, texture, and keeping labels clean
• Other ‘free from’ attributes consumers are interested in (including gluten-free, dairy-free, and others)
• Playing with the size of products, to balance value and reduce waste

The Clean Label Bread Insights webinar is available on demand until September 28, 2024. Access the archived presentation here.