KANSAS CITY, MO — What consumers say and what they do are often quite different, especially when it comes to the desire for living a healthy lifestyle. Most people state a preference for better-for-you foods, but their actions often reveal that they can’t help but indulge. That means baked goods can get a bad rap when it comes to their reputation.
Because of this, product labels play a vital role for baked goods.
During the BakingTECH virtual conference, which kicked off on Feb. 16, Alexandra De Los Reyes, associate product manager for Puratos Corp. discussed with attendees the difference labels really make.
“How can the baking industry improve the consumer diet?” she asked, noting that the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified four key pillars that apply directly to baked goods. WHO pointed to having a high-fiber diet first, followed by a reduction in sugar, fat and salt intake.
“These things can contribute to a healthy diet, which will also contribute to a healthy lifestyle, and that will make all bodily functions work better, including the immune system,” De Los Reyes said. “It’s important to know that what we eat and drink can affect our body’s ability to prevent, fight and recover from infections, but no one single product can make this happen. It’s really about a balanced diet.”
Still, intentions and actions don’t line up. To dig deeper into this phenomenon, Puratos has conducted its “Taste Tomorrow” global research project since 2016.
“It’s important to know that what we eat and drink can affect our body’s ability to prevent, fight and recover from infections, but no one single product can make this happen. It’s really about a balanced diet.”
According to that research, the biggest purchase drivers were taste, health and freshness when purchasing baking ingredients. That said, the product attributes making the biggest difference in the marketplace are craft, ethical lifestyle and transparency, De Los Reyes added.
She also noted that experiences, personalization and convenience can also provide a nudge in a purchase decision, but there’s not a “one size fits all” solution.
Puratos intentionally delayed its 2020 research until after confinement directives were lifted in order to discover how the pandemic was truly impacting purchasing attitudes and behavior for bakery products.
The company discovered that the decision drivers varied greatly by region. For commercial baking companies, that means a product could perform one way in a specific region and fare quite differently in another, depending on cultural and socioeconomic factors in the area.
“It’s important to think about what your consumer base is interested in and also be able to identify what ‘healthy’ means to that group,” she said.
For example, organic is important to consumers in the Northwest, while consumers in the South are increasing bread consumption. “We really need to think about our consumers bases as individuals and identify what will be most helpful to them to be their healthiest and best self.”
BakingTECH will continue through Feb. 18, and registered attendees can access presentations on-demand through the event’s portal. Visit www.asbe.org to access the portal.
