Editor’s Letter: December 2013

If the recent trends at IBIE are any indication of where the bakery
industry is headed – and I believe they are – then I have high hopes for
the next frontier of baking.

If the recent trends at IBIE are any indication of where the bakery industry is headed – and I believe they are – then I have high hopes for the next frontier of baking.

The biggest observation I drew from this international exposition of all things baking was the gravitation towards genuine nutrition, sustainability and simpler solutions.

By genuine nutrition, I mean a cold-hard-facts approach to the nutrition table. Numerous times exhibitors pointed to the features of their products that elevate their nutritional profile and satiety, while reducing calories and bad-for-you elements. The consumer has a need for truly better food, and bakeries have a need for the ingredients to make it. Many of our industry suppliers have stepped up to the plate, invested heavily in research and development during these recent years of health information chaos, and brought products to the market that are genuinely healthier and can greatly improve the quality of our food supply.

There were also oodles of robotics at IBIE, pointing to a future of increased automation. I witnessed a machine put together a hamburger – bun, patty, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mustard – lickety split. However, the technologies most thrilling from my perspective were those that repurposed energy from the baking process or reduced the equipment’s carbon footprint in some way. There seems to be a genuine commitment to a sustainable future in the industry. 

I also was introduced to more one-stop-shop solutions: products that eliminated steps for bakers and saved storage space in their bakeries. The industry is looking to make things easier for bakers without sacrificing quality, and that’s always pretty exciting.

All in all, much of what I saw at IBIE was genuinely ingenious: there was no shortage of innovation. The show’s timing fits in wonderfully with the close of our Innovator of the Year awards, gold sponsored by Fuller Landau chartered accountants and business advisors, silver sponsored by Paragon Glaze Consulting, and bronze sponsored by Speedo flavours. Bakers Journal would like to congratulate Rivi Horwitz of Rivi’s Guilt Free Cookies on earning this year’s title, and Antonella Cellini of Artsy Baker on being named runner-up.

Ironically, these two bakers share similarities in their logo that could not go unnoticed. However, their businesses are quite different in their pursuits. Horwitz is a longtime champion of a healthier cookie through no added fats that still tastes good. Cellini is an artist extraordinaire who turned a search for better fondant into her own brand for grocery shelves and bakeries that also suits people with ingredient concerns.

Both innovators share a passion for children. Horwitz wants to provide kids with a better cookie, a sweet treat that is healthier – an “everyday cookie,” as she calls it. Cellini’s endeavours symbolize the delight of a child’s birthday cake and the assurance that all children, regardless of diet sensitivities, can enjoy that thrill. Kids need both of these bakers; and they need the suppliers who take seriously their role of providing for the next generation. The job of nourishing and delighting Canada’s children is no small one, and Bakers Journal is proud to be part of an industry that has risen so passionately to the task.

As we close out another year in baking, I’d like to thank our readers and industry partners for allowing us to be part of your decadently exciting world. We wish you all the best in the busy holiday season, and we’re looking forward to seeing you in the New Year.