FEATURE


FLOUR FINDS MORE POWER I


t has been a difficult time for bakers and millers with rising costs posing many challenges, but those who have


been willing to put the work in have seen it pay off. Some have even managed to look forward at what trends are on the horizon and create products that fall in line with these. James Smith, Sales Director at UK


firm EDME, agrees that commodity prices are having the biggest impact on flour with the fluctuations of the past 18 months proving to be disastrous for some millers. “Instability in Northern Africa has added to the volatility and


the competition of ethanol plants has proved to add complexity to long-term purchases,” he said. “Erratic weather patterns have also caused major issues with


traditional growing areas seeing more regular crop failures. “Flour prices have had to move dramatically in line with raw


material and energy prices so prices have moved up and down to keep track causing a lot of uncertainty and therefore risk.” EDME is working with its customers to address cost issues by


sharing information with them to help guard against the impact of dramatic cost movements and offering long term deals to help to offset risk. Smith said: “We’re also re-engineering recipes, looking for


logistical savings, getting closer to our customers to understand their own costs and ensure no duplication of work or cost.” To keep costs down EDME has been looking into long-term


4


deals, reduced packaging, logistics, waste management as well as product development and re-engineering to use less, or use more of a less expensive, ingredient. “Customers are now taking a longer


term view as they look to manage risk and even out volatilities. Logistical and waste management improvements are good as they have both have an environmental and cost benefit,” added Smith. He says premium bakery products are


seeing an increase as they provide margin for the bakery, with consumers prepared to pay a bit more for an indulgent either at home or with a cup of coffee instead of eating lunch or dinner out at restaurants. “However this is normal,” he said, “Re-invigorating a product is


part of its lifecycle and is needed to keep a brand alive for longer. As well as looking to upgrade bread offerings many bakers are looking to offer product diversification to things like wraps, sweet bread and more continental style products away from the standard sliced loaf.” Having the same quality of flour on a consistent basis is also a


struggle for bakers, therefore companies like Novozymes started to produce enzymes to even it out. Flour is often supplemented with alpha-amylase when its


native level is too low. In bread making, alpha-amylase is needed to produce fermentable sugars for the yeast to produce carbon dioxide gas to leaven the dough. The sugars produced by alpha-


European Baker Magazine - Digital Digest • www.worldbakers.com 4


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15