Healthy whole grain products are finding their way into supermarket bakeries.
Retailers told SN they've introduced whole grain versions of artisan breads, bratwurst buns, even cookies and other sweet items. Some chains plan to increase the selection and have a whole repertoire of whole grain items in research and development.
Two retailers based in Minnesota's Twin Cities, Lund Food Holdings and Kowalski's Markets, are leading the way. Lund, which operates 22 Lunds and Byerly's stores, doubled the size of its muffin display and put three whole grain varieties in the spotlight, with excellent results, officials said.
"Our whole grain muffins are doing wonderfully," said Paul Supplee, director of bakery operations for Edina, Minn.-based Lund. "In fact, the entire muffin category has grown immensely. It's up 50%-60% in sales since this time last year."
Supplee credits the addition of several new varieties, demos and a two-table display for the sales boost, but he also said consumer interest in whole grain muffins has helped the entire category.
"We've put more attention on muffins in general because consumers have always perceived them as healthy," Supplee said.
Whole grain artisan breads and rolls also are hitting sales projections. Lunds and Byerly's stores tripled the number of whole grain SKUs in the bakeries, from four this time last year to at least a dozen. One of the newest items is a whole grain "kids" bread.
"We've never had a kids bread under our brand before, and this one's doing OK considering the competition from the commercial aisle," Supplee said. "There's a lot of brand loyalty to Wonder and Sara Lee."
To garner the attention of the 8-to-14-year-old
crowd, a sheet of temporary tattoos is enclosed with the packaged, whole wheat white bread. There's also a colorful sticker on top of each loaf.
"These loaves look and taste like regular white bread. They're made from the 'new' white wheat flour," Supplee said.
He explained that white wheat has always been around, but not much has been grown until recently.
"Farmers tended to grow red wheat which has a particular taste kids pick up on. White wheat is milder."
Similarly, the bakers at St. Paul, Minn.-based Kowalski's are paying close attention to the taste profiles of whole grains, a new but growing category for the chain. A year ago, Kowalski's had no whole grain products in the bakeries. Now the retailer has five, with about 30 more items on the drawing board.
"That's why we're doing 60/40 and 70/30 formulations," said Steve Beaird, bakery director for nine-unit chain. "We have to keep the taste profile. They're mostly whole grain. They're wonderful tasting and we've gone from practically no fiber to 2 or 3 grams.
"We think whole grain is the right way to go and we'll move quickly. It's a little slower than we want because, at the same time, we're looking to get hydrogenated oils out of the products."
Kowalski's introduced whole grain bread in April and then launched hamburger, hot dog and bratwurst buns with a similar formulation the week before Memorial Day.
"They're selling as well as we expected," Beaird said. "We also just introduced a whole grain oatmeal raisin cookie."
A QUESTION OF TASTE
Progressive independents with their own production bakeries have an advantage - they can experiment with formulations to produce an appealing taste and texture. Yet many retailers who rely on mixes and parbaked products are still up in the air about adding whole grain items.
"I wish I could say we have added some whole grain products, but we haven't found anything we like," said John Chickery, bakery director at Riesbeck's Markets, St. Clairsville, Ohio.
Likewise, other small retailers, even large sandwich chains, such as Subway, told SN they haven't been able to find products with a satisfactory taste profile and texture.
Meanwhile, Kowalski's is bulking up on whole grains. Coming next will be a 100% whole grain bread, a reformulated white whole wheat bread and several sweet items that may include cream cakes and brownies as well as more varieties of cookies. Some products are scheduled for rollout shortly after the week of July Fourth, Beaird said.
Kowalski's has hired a public relations agency to get the word out on the new lineup.
"It's a companywide effort to talk about our organics and all-natural products, and certainly our whole grains in the bakery will be part of the message," Beaird said. "When you have Wal-Mart getting into organics and Whole Foods expanding like it is, we need to let people know we've been [providing healthy foods] for years."
As Kowalski's ventures into sweets, other chains are staying with bread and rolls.
At 48-unit United Supermarkets, Lubbock, Texas, bakery director Tammy Kampula said the chain added whole grain breads earlier this year in response to requests from shoppers.
"Requests have been primarily for breads," she said. "We haven't had a lot for other categories."
Will consumers accept whole grain versions of their favorite desserts? Supplee at Lunds and Byerly's has his doubts.
"I'm not so sure the indulgences, the items people see as a treat, will go well in a whole grain formulation," he said.
"We'll have all the everyday things in whole grain, like muffins and bread and rolls and maybe scones, but I'm judging by what happened with the fat issue," he said. "We offered a low-fat cheese cake, and people just bought the full-fat one. When it comes to an occasional treat, they're not necessarily looking for the healthiest version."
A Whole Grains Council spokeswoman offered a different perspective.
"People will come to expect all baked products to be whole grain," said Cynthia Harriman for the Boston-based nonprofit organization. "There's even a whole grain cinnamon bun mix."
Harriman said she sees vastly improved commercial formulations with good flavor profiles. "We've also become more sophisticated about how to move the consumer to a whole grain product, a little bit at a time," she said, adding that products that are partially whole grain can lead the way.
"If you've been eating white bread [made from refined flour] all your life, you're not going to like 100% whole grain bread right away."
That's why retailers, like Kowalski's with its 60/40 and 70/30 formulations, are doing what they're doing. It will take time, but Harriman sees the move to whole grain as inevitable.
The time seems right, with more planting of white wheat, declining wholesale prices for whole grain flour, and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's new guidelines regarding whole grain labeling.
GROWTH OPPORTUNITY
At the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association's trade show in Orlando, Fla., industry experts advised retailers to take advantage of the sales potential whole grain products offer.
In addition to improving their merchandising, retailers could do more to educate consumers about the health benefits of whole grains, Joanne Slavin, a registered dietitian and professor at the University of Minnesota, told attendees at a seminar.
"Consumers are confused about exactly what a whole grain, or a whole grain product, is," Slavin said. "They're also often confused about what constitutes a serving, and what the labeling means. We could make it easier for them."
