For some lame-brain reason, grains have the positive glow while some baked goods don’t. Fortunately, many wholesale bakers are doing a much better job at getting consumers to connect the dots to this simple concept.

Take, for instance, Holsum Butter-Krust Bakery’s “Holsum Grains Wholesome Heart” campaign for its new line of Butter-Krust Country variety breads. The promotion, outlined at The Long Co. meeting in mid-September, features stickers, shelf talkers and shopping cart signs that say eating hearty, grain-based bread is both delicious and nutritious.

A down-home, 30-second commercial that supports the merchandising efforts can be viewed at www.butter-krust.com.

Admittedly borrowing a page from U.S. Bakery, a fellow Long Co. member, Holsum Butter-Krust’s new line of breads also goes natural in more ways than one, leveraging the products’ natural goodness by naming the breads after natural landmarks in its market.

For example, the Sunbury, Pa.-based baker’s Adams County Orchards variety is a 100% Whole Wheat loaf made with Golden Honey and Apples. Similarly, the bakery offers a Penns Creek bread made with Golden Flax & Grains, a Lehigh Canal Oatberry Wheatberry variety and an Appalachian Trail Honey Oatmeal loaf. The campaign’s logo is an image of a heart as the centerpiece of the “Holsum Grains Wholesome Heart for a More Wholesome You!” theme.

Meanwhile, Portland, Ore.-based U.S. Bakery has been successfully leveraging the idea of natural throughout the Northwest with its Simply Natural line. Sold under a “Simply Natural, Simply Delicious” theme, the line includes products such as Crater Lake Whole Grain Oatnut bread. The promotion copy on its Web site notes that “the pristine natural beauty of Crater Lake and the purity of its water” inspired the creation of the product.

To further promote its product’s healthful images, U.S. Bakery, also known as Franz Family Bakeries to consumers, rolled out its “Slice of Life” logos that come in a heart and a star form.

The heart symbol indicates to consumers that the product is obviously heart healthy while the star logo signifies that the baked good has other nutritional benefits.

Both Butter-Krust and U.S. Bakery further confirm that the whole-grain movement has staying power and it is a definite trend, not a fad, for the foreseeable future. U.S. Bakery’s new line of 100% Whole Wheat bread, buns, bagels and English muffins are bringing in a substantial amount of incremental business this year.

The whole-grain movement is not only impacting sales at retail. Since the 2005 Dietary Guidelines were introduced in January, school lunch programs have begun asking bakers for 100% whole-wheat baked goods to try to get children to eat heartier grain-based foods at a younger age. Expect schools to give the whole-grain movement further momentum.

Yes, everyone seems to be getting into whole grains.

But by connecting the dots between grains and baked goods, bakers and snack producers can better connect with consumers.