Gluten-free growth is creating new markets: Edme
The trends in bakery were reflective of wider market patterns in food, but gluten-free in particular was showing little sign of slowing down, according to Mike Carr, sales director at ingredients firm Edme.
In this exclusive interview with FoodManufacture.co.uk, Carr said he was seeing increasing demand for gluten-free outside of the bread bakery market, into other areas such as batters and coatings.
The “protein trend” was also one to watch, Carr claimed.
Work with key customers
“We’ve done a lot of work in [the gluten-free] market and with key customers within that market to develop a range, so that they can provide a batter or coating to chicken or fish that enables their consumers to buy those products,” he said.
“Leading on from the gluten-free flours is the protein trend, which is quite prevalent at the moment. It is a key area that we are examining, currently looking at different recipes or different flowers that we can add high level of protein,” Carr added.
Based in Manningtree, Essex, Edme supplies grain-based ingredients to food producers. Many of the ingredients it makes are based on malted grain, the majority of which is supplied by sister company Crisp Malt.
One recent product development highlighted by Carr is a “soft-sprouted” wholegrain that is said to be easier to consume than conventional varieties.
‘The sprouted grain trend’
He said: “We have a range that we launched last year called Wholesoft, which capitalises on the sprouted grain trend that we saw coming from the States.
“We spent a bit of time working on the process, because we wanted a product we could take to the trade that was as natural as we could make it.”
Meanwhile, read why David Thompson, chief executive of parent company Anglia Maltings Holdings, believes malt has a bright future in this exclusive interview with Food Manufacture.
