It was clear bread manufacturers would like to be selling bread at a higher price, but that wasn’t possible because of the price war, Polson told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
“We’re clearly trying to be as efficient as we always have been and trying to improve our productivity, but also work with retailers,” he said in this exclusive podcast at the FoB’s annual conference at the Royal Armouries in Leeds yesterday (June 2).
‘The benefits of bread’
“The thing the industry has done is it has been quite active in trying to promote the benefits of bread as part of a good healthy diet,” he added.
Despite a declining plant bread market and the supermarket price wars, Polson remained optimistic for the future of the bread industry.
By innovating away from sliced white bread and into areas such as bagels and thins, manufacturers could counter some of the decline, he added. Innovation would also boost consumer interest in the sector.