Opinion: Aligning Mission with Innovation

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Opinion: Aligning Mission with Innovation

28 Nov 2024

YuChiang Cheng

YuChiang Cheng is the CEO of Hero Bread, a producer of low-carb and zero-carb bread and baked goods. It’s a position that allows him to live out his mission of making healthy choices accessible to all. He is an experienced entrepreneur and investor and has held executive roles with companies such as Topgolf, Virgin Games, World Poker Tour, MGM Mirage, World Golf Tour and Wheel of Fortune.

This column is part of our Last Word series, which invites noted professionals to provide closing thoughts at the end of each issue of Commercial Baking. See the full issue here.

KANSAS CITY, MO — When you want to be the future of flour, the opportunities for product innovation are endless. At Hero Bread, all innovation starts with our journey to help make humans healthier and happier by evolving the experience of baked goods. Bread used to be a source of energy and joy, and we want to bring that back.

When expanding from sliced bread to buns to baked goods, where does one begin? We have learned to innovate with authenticity and heart … but no, or low, net carbs. From our Hawaiian rolls to our cheddar biscuits, each new product takes trial and time to perfect in our test kitchen. We explore every possible ingredient combination. We want it to taste just like the mainstream product.

Take our croissants, which have a 20,000-person waitlist. A croissant is associated with a moment of delight, yet few baked goods feel more indulgent than dozens of layers of buttery flakiness. At Hero Bread, we take traditional baked goods and replace them with healthier versions while putting taste and nutrition on the same level.

A large portion of the consumer population has traded nutrition and health for convenience and price. People don’t have to make that trade-off. We are on a mission every day to provide healthier choices.

We want to drive wellness from the plate up … even if it’s while devouring a product through which consumers would least expect to discover wellness.

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