Healthy Grains for Health and Profit. What are you doing about it?
The increased health benefits of the ancient grains are becoming more main stream as they become more widely accepted. This is bringing increased challenges to standard bakeries, manufacturers and restaurants who are either losing market share to this fast growing sector, or missing out on the profits that results from adding these grains to their profiles.
Often R&D is at a loss to know where to obtain the products, or even know their functions. Most do not understand that quinoa and chia flour can be added to standard mixes with only minimal changes to recipes and the manufacturing line, allowing for a fast a flexible inclusion of these grains.
What is more, production of these products has raised significantly in the last two years in particular, making these products much more affordable and palatable (literally) to the mass production market place. Who would have thought McDonalds would include quinoa salad on it menu, or Delta Airlines replace rice in its economy class meals, yes economy, with quinoa? This new main stream is more than an acknowledgment of perception, it is because this is what the market enjoys and wants.
How does this apply to your bakery or business?
Firstly what products are included in this mix of so called ancient grains, or superfoods (a term I hate, all food is super if used right)!
Let’s list a few: quinoa, amaranth, chia, Kaniwa, teff and millet.
All these products can be milled into flours for inclusion into bread products, popped for health bars and cereals and added as whole grains to bread mixes (some only if pre-cooked which is also available). They are also provided cooked and frozen for ready meals or extruded and flavoured for standalone snacks. The use of these grains is extensive; chia burgers, chia flour in the rolls, grains in the meat (they help it bond), vegetarian quinoa burger, and chia grains sprinkled on top of a roll, to name just a few uses. Think Ancient Grains, and open the mind to close the sale!
