On the back of the success of its wholegrain white bread product Soft & Smooth, bakery firm Sara Lee last week launched five new products that "combine traditional taste with wholegrain nutrition."
The three new breakfast breads- Brown Sugar Cinnamon, Cinnamon with Raisins and Blueberry Crumble- and the two English muffin varieties- Original and Honey flavours- all contain no trans fats and are made with up to 45 per cent wholegrain flour, said the company.
According to Sara Lee, 2006 is the year that "wholegrain goes mainstream," as more consumers- who are not yet ready to go 100 per cent wholegrain- are attracted by products made with a combination of enriched white flour and wholegrain flour.
The company's new products are made with its "recipe for mainstream success," following record sales of its Soft & Smooth bread, which the firm said has become the best selling loaf in America since its launch in July 2005.
"Sara Lee has enjoyed great success with its lineup of wheat and wholegrain breads, but the biggest opportunity remains with the majority of consumers who buy white bread, plain bagels, traditional English muffins and other popular white-flour products," said Bill Nictakis, president of Sara Lee Food & Beverage's U.S. Fresh Bakery.
He added that the company is now building on its earlier success by "introducing similar products for the nutritionally important breakfast meal."
US sales of wheat, whole-wheat and wholegrain breads, buns, bagels and English muffins have increased over the past year, but the majority of sales are still white bread, white buns, plain bagels and traditional English muffins, according to supermarket sales data compiled by Information Resources, for the 52 weeks ended October 30 2005.
Although white products are still the biggest seller, sales of wheat bread, buns, bagels and English muffins increased by 7.8 percent in the past year, while sales of white bread, buns, bagels and English muffins decreased by 1.9 percent.
"Flour-blend products can help close a critical nutritional gap for people who have traditionally rejected whole-grain foods because they prefer the taste of enriched white-flour products," said Dr Julie Miller Jones, a wholegrain expert and professor of nutrition at the College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, Minneapolis.
"Whole-grain foods have never tasted so good, and that's going to have a positive impact on American diets in 2006," she added
Another US bakery Interstate Bakeries Corporation (IBC) also recently launched its White Bread Fans, marketed under the Wonder brand, which it claimed was the first 100 per cent wholegrain white bread to appear on the US market.
Indeed, the government dietary guidelines were updated last year, advising the consumption of three portions of wholegrains every day, something that has added a significant push to demand for wholegrain products.