Milling & Baking News - March 26, 2019 - 28

Bread Product Perspective

EUROPASTRY/WENNER BAKERY

opened a bakery in 1998.
Originally named Udi's,
the company began baking
gluten-free bread in 2008,
said Etai Baron, owner and
chief executive officer.
"The story of our business
is that we had a fresh bakery,
and out of that we started a
new packaged goods company, which turned into
Udi's gluten-free and granola," Mr. Baron said. "The
national products company
became very successful, huge."
The gluten-free business was sold for
$125 million in 2012 to Smart Balance, a
business later renamed Boulder Brands.
Boulder Brands was acquired in 2015
by Pinnacle Foods, and the latter company was acquired last year by Conagra
Brands, Inc.
Smart Balance also acquired the rights
to the Udi's name.
"Udi was my father's name," Mr. Baron said. "Izzio is the name of our head
baker and a partner in the company."
Even as the company grew in the gluten-free space, Udi's/Izzio maintained a
foothold in the traditional bread market,
Mr. Baron said.
"Our niche was very unique long fermentation artisan bread that we sold only
in the local market, in Denver," he said.
"When we were successful with glutenfree, we decided to begin selling our other baked foods outside the market. We
were able to use what we learned doing
business with the nation's largest retailers, how to build a distribution system.
"We have been pursuing this expansion for the last four to five years. It's going well. We have a national presence."
Sara Kafadar, chief commercialization
officer and a co-owner of the business,
said Izzio about four years ago stepped
up its efforts to change its product line to
appeal to consumers more broadly.
"We embarked on a journey to work
with our local miller in Colorado," she
said. "We wanted 100% traceability to our
mill, to our specification and to our bakery nearly daily to capture the freshness
of the flour. It's becoming increasingly
important to shoppers to know where
their food is coming from."
Ms. Kafadar said a focus on clean label requires a focus on flour for bakers.
Izzio's flour has been supplied by Ardent
Mills L.L.C., Ms. Kafadar said.
"The largest ingredient in bread is
flour," she said. "It was very important
for us to provide the cleanest possible
flour to our customers. When we mill
it, we remove the enrichments and additives added to enriched flour. Those

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March 26, 2019
Milling & Baking News

knots with a major trend - the brioche,"
Mr. Alvarez said. "We launched an exclusive vegan hand-braided brioche category. We're introducing three products
- a hand-braided brioche knot, a brioche
hand-braided brioche bun and a handbraided brioche style braid."
The company is looking to meet the
evolving needs both for retailers and consumers, Mr. Alvarez said.
"Retailers are looking for convenience
at the store level - fully baked, already
bagged and artisan style," he said. "At the
store level, they want a one-touch product.
Open the case, put it on display and sell.
Our new vegan brioche products meet
these requirements and, additionally, has
clean label with a 10-day shelf life.
"The consumer is looking for this soft,
fluffy texture with a sweet touch as well.
Brioche is growing in retail and food service. Many food service operators have
brioche on their menus. We decided to
move forward and be aligned with market trends."
Still another new product introduced
under the Wenner Bakery label by Europastry in recent months is the Crystal
Burger Bun, which Mr. Alvarez said gains
distinctive characteristics from a process
of up to 80% hydration.
"It's a very light interior with an open
cell structure," he said. "It's a sourdough
product with clean label and G.M.O.-free,
already sliced."
The company said the formulation and
baking process give the bun a delicate
quality with a honeycombed crumb and
a soft texture.
"The fine, golden crystalline crust feels
amazing in the mouth," Europastry said.
Mr. Alvarez said the company expects
retailers to sell the buns principally in the
in-store bakery and deli for the production of premium sandwiches.
Izzio focus shifts to artisan
A company with a history of tapping
into emerging trends is Izzio Artisan
Bakery. Based in Louisville, Colo., northwest of Denver, Izzio was established
in 1994 as a sandwich company and

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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Milling & Baking News - March 26, 2019

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