ROLL CALL

CAROL KROSKEY

CHICAGO -- As the majority of the population ages, the number of consumers who are on moderately or severely restricted diets is expected to grow. As a result, in-store bakery departments that want to continue to serve their customers' needs should take a closer look at the types of products stocked on the shelves.

Overall, consumers have a lot of different opinions when it comes to what constitutes a healthy diet. For example, the American Dietetic Association conducted a survey that showed consumers' attitudes toward nutrition are changing somewhat, thanks in part to the Food Guide Pyramid. But shoppers still have a long way to go to eat healthfully, the ADA says, because 72% still believe that foods are either simply good or bad.

That's a big myth, said Betty Nowlin, a registered dietitian in Los Angeles. "You can have your cake and eat it too," she noted. "Just not the whole cake and not every day."

The ADA's 1997 Nutrition Trends Survey noted that about 61% of consumers view grain foods, such as pasta, bread and rice, as very healthful. It also found that only 13% of Americans think they should eliminate all fat from their diets, down from a high of 17% in 1991. And more people responded that they pay only slight or no attention to labels (36%), up from 29% in 1995.

The number of people who say they pay close attention to labels has dropped to 27% from 33% in 1995.

So, if an in-store bakery department wants to put together a display of "healthy" bakery foods, there's really a wide range of products from which to choose.

For example, at Steele's Markets, Fort Collins, Colo., bakery director Barb Harner doesn't especially go out of the way to create targeted displays of "healthy" bakery items in the in-store bakery departments.

"We offer about 300 different bakery items, and we make about 85% of them from scratch at our central bakery," she said. "We do like to merchandise the products in a way that tells the customers what's special about them. So, on the items that are naturally low in fat or sugar, we make sure we point it out by using signs in the showcases and self-service areas, and by using labels to get the message across.

"We have a database in our office that lists the nutritional profile of 500 different ingredients," she continued. "The office computer is hooked up to the label printer in the packaging area, so it can input the data into the nutritional analysis part of the labels we put on the product. That way, customers not only know what ingredients are in the product, they also can see the nutrition profile. Then, they can make up their own minds whether or not they can afford the fat or calories of that product."

Harner noted that some bakery products just naturally fit a "healthy" profile. For example, she says, most breads -- especially sourdough-type hearth breads -- are low in fat and cholesterol. And although they might not be low in calories, breads are nutritionally dense, offering long-lasting energy from their carbohydrates and protein.

Houston-based Randall's Food Markets uses a two-pronged approach to "healthy" bakery foods in its in-store departments. First, the in-store bakeries in each of the Randall's stores have a permanent, specific area set aside for the display of low-fat, sugar-free and similar "healthy" products.

While breads certainly fall into this definition, Randall's reserved area merchandises mostly dessert and snack items, such as sugar-reduced or sugar-free pies or low- and no-fat muffins.

Because of the difficulties of getting the right balance between taste and fat or sugar reduction, Randall's bakers prepare the items for the "healthy" section using already prepared mixes or frozen products.

On the other hand, the bakeries offer what could be considered "healthy" bagels. Because their doughs use little or no fat, and often no sugar, bagels have a healthy nutritional profile.

At Randall's, made from scratch on the premises, the bagels start with unbleached, unbromated flour and contain only "natural" ingredients in the rest of the dough. Randall's flagship store in Houston even has a separate "bagel shop" within the bakery area, where customers can see the bagels being boiled.

In fact, "natural" and "organic" might be the next big wave, considering that oat-bran products petered out long ago, and low-fat items seem to have run their course. Datamonitor's newest consumer-goods report, U.S. Organics 1998, notes that the U.S. market for organic foods and beverages is growing faster than expected, despite a lack of national standards for "organic" products.

The study shows that the organic foods and beverages market grew more than 26% to $4.5 billion in 1997. John Gilmore, Datamonitor's consumer goods analyst, said that, although traditional retailers such as supermarkets, convenience stores and warehouse clubs have begun to feature an increasing number of organic foods, some 60% of total organic-food sales still come from specialty retailers, including Boulder, Colo.-based Wild Oats Markets and Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market.

Whole Foods' definition of "healthy" foods doesn't focus so much on fat or calorie reduction as it does on the benefits of eating natural -- and preferably organic -- products.

"Our customer base is a combination of five different types of people," said Bobby Turner, facility director of the company's Chicago Whole Foods Bakehouse, the central bakery that supplies its Chicago-area ISBs. "First, they're educated. Second, they're people who want to, and who make a conscious effort to, eat healthy. Third, some of them do have special dietary needs. Fourth, they don't eat to live, they live to eat. And finally, they enjoy the artistry of food."

While Whole Foods' emphasis is on natural and organic, that doesn't mean that products aren't reformulated to be "healthier" within that definition.

For example, considering that some people who suffer from wheat allergies can tolerate products made from spelt flour, the company carries breads made from this close cousin of wheat. And because of some consumers' concerns over the potentially unhealthy effects of consuming hydrogenated shortenings and margarines, butter, canola oil, or some combination of butter and natural oils may be substituted in a product formula.

In many of the Whole Foods bakery departments, an extensive bread display is the bakery's focal point. Among bakery staffers, that display philosophy is known as "bread in your face." But to help customers choose a product from what might could be a bewildering range, each variety is clearly labeled with a description that lists the products' ingredients.

In addition, a product's special qualities, whether "dairy-free" or "vegan" are also highlighted so customers can choose the product that fits into their "healthy" diet.

One of the down sides of a concentration on organic products is the relatively short supply of organic flour and other organic ingredients used in bakery foods. Until more farmers see the benefits of becoming "certified organic" growers, the specialty markets may have nothing to fear from their larger competitors.

As the segment continues to evolve, food manufacturers have begun exploring the potential of nutraceuticals or "functional foods." Such foods are designed to offer health benefits beyond basic nutrition. For example, the Kellogg Co. of Battle Creek, Mich., recently announced a new line of products to be marketed under the Ensemble label.

The line, which includes breads and cookies, contains soluble fiber from whole oats or psyllium husks. The products won't be available in stores until March, 1999, but Kellogg plans to roll out the products nationwide by the end of that year.