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Update on FACT Summer is coming to an end, and boy does it fly by when you’re as busy as we’ve been! FACT has some exciting new developments on the rise, including product testing with companies in the U.S. and Canada, and a new line of low-carb pastas and sauces. We’ve created these for one of our existing customers, and they are to be launched in late September in the regional East coast marketplace. This summer has shown us that big bakeries and industry giants have been early adopters to the burgeoning low carb marketplace, which is frankly quite shocking, but a good indicator of the potential longevity of this low-carb “trend”. More on both of these items below. If you aren’t familiar with us, FACT is an innovator and supplier in the functional baked goods arena. Our current product lineup – bread, muffin, cake and various other commercial dough premixes – form the core of FACT’s business. For the complete product listing, click here. I am pleased to say that we will be launching our own consumer line of mixes for sale over the Internet before Thanksgiving. This will include brownie, chocolate chip cookie, double fudge chip cookie, pancake/waffle/scone and blueberry muffin mixes, as well as an all-purpose bake mix for breads, pizza crust and other home-bake applications. Finally, we attended the International Baking Industry Exposition in Las Vegas this August. It was a great opportunity to touch base with both new and trusted ingredient suppliers and to look at developments in baking technology and science-based food research, both of which will assist us with our ambitious 2005 R&D initiatives. Spending time with our industry partners also helps us to keep our finger on the pulse of new baking trends. We would love to hear from you! If you have any questions, feedback or news of your own that you would like to share, please let us know and we will discuss it in this journal. Jacqueline Danforth, President |
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Big players adopting early The way it usually works, big bakeries and major food conglomerates enter a new market category once smaller initiators have taken a gamble on a new kind of product and come up aces. It’s a good way not to waste a lot of money, but entails giving up the advantages that come with being one of the first to enter a new market space. This spring, the traditional model was thrown out the window. A May 3rd 2004 Time Magazine article called The Low-carb Food Craze sheds some light on why early entry in the low-carb market is not a gamble. The author writes that “low-carb products are just now becoming a powerful segment of the food industry.” A total of 566 distinct low-carb products came on the market in the first quarter of 2004, up from 633 in the entire year previous. Products such as Weston Bakeries’ Entenmann’s Carb Couting ™, Continental Mills’ Krusteaz CarbSimple™ and Unilever’s 32-product Carb Options ™ lines all made retail supermarket introductions well ahead of the wave – before the recent low-carb trend was proven more than a fad. The Time article goes on to say that “what has shaken the food giants to act is surveys like the one from research firm Mintel International showing that 3 of every 5 low-carb dieters say they plan to limit carb intake for life”. What does that mean for FACT? Well, first off, it means that a lucrative market in the reduced carb category is here to stay. Second, with so many companies scrambling to enter the market space so quickly, and without sufficient R&D time invested, eating quality and functionality of many products launched this year has been sacrificed. The fact that some of the big players’ products have been pulled off the shelves supports our belief that the consumer is not willing to pay more for products with reduced carbohydrates but that have inferior taste. It’s not surprising that people are demanding quality in their food choices! This consumer response is a real positive for FACT. After all, Rome was not built in a day, and we’ve put years (literally!) of research into figuring out the exact proportions of science-based ingredients necessary to deliver delicious, healthy, reduced carb products. We’re poised to provide a solution for customers that need to improve their product quality and deliver on taste! Third, consumer and corporate interest are growing with respect to the impact of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels, and the role of dietary fiber. But whether you are looking for low-carb, high fiber or sugar-free, it’s all the same to us. Our products deliver on all counts. And last, the FDA has publicly announced that they intend to define and regulate the term ‘low-carb’, just like they did with ‘low fat’. All of these things put FACT products in a very good light indeed, indicating that we should be able to continue to increase our profile and customer-base within this developing marketplace. |
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Pasta Perfect New York-based, family-owned Bianca Pasta Inc. has seen the writing on the wall and decided to expand their portfolio with a new low-carb offering. Bianca is a regional fresh pasta manufacturer specializing in private labeling for various major East Coast retailers including Wegman’s, King’s and Giant Foods. Their products include stuffed pastas of all varieties and cut pastas as well as grilled flat breads and custom pasta sauces. Bianca is one of our oldest customers, and has been using our reduced carb pasta premix at their restaurants since 2002. Over the past 4 months we’ve been working closely with them to develop a new reduced carb fresh pasta product line for launch this month under the label of a large low-carb marketing company. The line includes 6 varieties of stuffed pastas and 4 sauces, and is due to launch regionally on the East Coast in September 2004. Bianca expects to extend the product line’s availability with national distribution in early 2005. This could signify great exposure and growth for both Bianca and FACT…we’re very excited! Stay tuned for more details later in the fall. |
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Is there dough in the Donuts? Of course there is! The donut category is well poised to make the leap to low carb/low sugar. FACT now has a new all-in-one donut premix in its product line up. You asked and we delivered! This summer we introduced our reduced carb, high fiber donut mix to commercial chains and clients. We are very pleased with the results. Presently we are involved in active plant trials with 4 accounts looking to introduce a sugar free donut to their customers in late 2004/early 2005. Our functional mix produces a superior quality donut with no sacrifice in taste. Each 64 gram serving (1 donut) is over 50% reduced in digestible carbohydrates, completely sugar-free and an excellent source of fiber (40% of the recommended daily allowance). We’ve also reduced the fat and calories for those following eating plans with other dietary restrictions. To accompany our new donut premix, we have a full line of no-added-sugar and sugar-free glazes and fillings. We’ll keep you posted as plant trials move to completion this fall! |
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