Bread and baked goods still a core component of breakfast menu as delivery moves to the forefront
As the breakfast menu continues to evolve and expand, it’s important to stay stocked up on those must-have staples such as breads, rolls and baked goods. But with so much of the market focused on home delivery, how well are breakfast style meals holding up on the journey to the customer?
To find out more about what’s trending and why, we spoke to representatives of the two major bread and bakery products suppliers – Darren O’Brien of Tip Top Foodservice and Aymin Diab of Goodman Fielder.
As Foodservice Bakery Innovation Manager at Tip Top Foodservice, Darren O’Brien keeps a close track on marketplace trends that impact its bread and bakery lines. He says the breakfast-brunch trade was growing strongly pre-Covid, and although breakfast sales went down while lunch and dinner went up as people went into lockdown, once consumers started to eat out again breakfast again began to boom.
“There were some interesting trends which happened around this time,” Darren tells us.
“Crumpets made a big appearance across both sweet and savoury options, and they were being used in quite creative ways.”
“You’d see beautiful builds using them as a base, and this was happening even in the finer dining areas. And of course they’re suitable for vegetarians and vegans so they can be used across the board for all your menu choices.”
Another innovation has been the use of Asian cuisine items traditionally served at lunch or dinner now being served at breakfast, such as steamed dumplings and dim sims, or Vietnamese Banh Mi (similar to a baguette) which makes a handy grab and go offering.
Darren attributes the popularity of these Asian cuisines to their spicy flavours – “I think they appeal to customers because they provide some stimulus, similar to a coffee, a bit of an up and go.”
Delivering on presentation
Darren adds that the lockdown-induced demand for home delivered meals has evolved to cafes providing relatively straightforward versions of their typical menu items, even those which might be relatively easy to people to make at home themselves.
“People want their avocado toast or open sandwich on sourdough or Turkish, or a basic breakfast meal.
“Rather than putting everything into a bun and making it look like a burger, which is what was happening at the start of lockdown because the focus was on grab and go, they’re now saying they really want their usual breakfast café offering and the response is to try to deliver that as closely as possible to what you’d pick up on premises.”
While he acknowledges that many hot breakfast foods are best consumed at the table – “so that they reach the customer nice and hot, toasties don’t travel well in a paper bag” – his feeling is that consumers are now willing to accept some level of compromise. “If they have to warm things up, they’re willing to do that, as long as they don’t miss out on their favourites. Having said that,
“Bread rolls and buns are certainly a good way of keeping fillings hot – of course you need to choose the right product for the job.”
“Something like a Turkish round roll will soak up all the sauces and fillings while still being resilient enough so it won’t disintegrate as it travels. And with such a focus on delivery, the various carriers are getting better all the time at transporting it and keeping it hot – there’s been a lot of innovation in packaging.
“At the same time that’s opening up a whole range of concerns regarding sustainability, and the role we can all play to help reduce plastic consumption and landfill – something that’s very much on the mind of suppliers and foodservice businesses alike right now.”
Breakfast burgers are still holding their own on the menu – “they’re so simple, just a question of putting some bacon, egg and a nice chutney with a vegetarian pattie and serving it up on a brioche roll. Brioche is a great choice for breakfast because it has that sweetness and buttery softness, and it’s perfect for burger builds.
“The texture of brioche is really good for soaking up liquid, so when you’re using a lot of sauce or if you have an egg with a soft yolk, the brioche will soak all that up and still hold its shape.”
Darren says breakfast meals like this are particularly strong sellers to construction workers or anyone who’s “working hard and looking for a protein fix.”
“Turkish bread is also going strong – round Turkish rolls which are stone-baked are great choices for bacon and egg rolls.”
Garlic bread has also seen a big jump in demand, served with the insides hollowed out and replaced with pizza-style fillings and cheeses, then cooked in the oven – “it’s a bit like the old sub, everything goes in and some people are being very adventurous about their choice of fillings,” Darren says. “It’s certainly a good way of keeping everything hot.”
Another popular breakfast choice is a fresh take on the breakfast bowl – rather than the traditional cereal and fruit, we’re seeing savoury breakfast bowls with all the ingredients put in and baked in the oven, then served with a side of bread. “It’s almost like the old British fry-up,” Darren says, “in that we’re seeing tomato, beans, bacon, sausage all cooked up and served with sourdough or Turkish. And again, it’s about holding the heat because it’s all been pushed through together, which works well for the delivery process.”
Offering something for everyone
Aymin Diab, Foodservice Marketing Manager at Goodman Fielder, says breakfast is presenting strong opportunities for a wide range of bread and bakery style products well beyond the traditional toastie or bacon and egg roll. “Artisan style breads are on the rise,” he says, “with consumers favouring sourdoughs, Turkish rolls or ciabatta. There’s also a big demand for more contemporary formats such as wraps. And of course breakfast also presents the opportunity for some indulgence around items such as raisin toast which still appeals as one of the simple pleasures.
“The aim should be to offer something for everyone. Breakfast has moved well beyond vegemite and toast and today consumers want to explore a wide variety of options.”
“So if your customers are looking for a high fibre healthier choice, a delicious artisan style bread, or something more contemporary like a wrap, you’re able to have an offering across all those spaces.
Aymin also acknowledges the rise in home delivery and its application to the breakfast market, emphasising “The two make or break criteria here are speed and quality.
“We ran a campaign recently for our burger buns which was basically a travel test – people want something that’s cooked fresh and is still hot by the time it gets to their premises and even if that takes 20 or 30 minutes it still needs to taste as good as if they were eating it in a café. So we created meals which are suitable for travel – because it’s not just a question of the bread or bun, it’s also the supporting ingredients, some will go the distance while others will get soggy or be detrimental to the overall taste experience.”
He argues awareness of this is the key to effective home delivery of breakfast style meals: “you need to look at the overall package you’re sending out to the consumer and make sure all the ingredients are working together and will withstand the journey, and that the packaging is up to par too.”
The other major trend Aymin and his team have identified is the move towards healthier for you meals at breakfast.
“Low sugar and low sodium has been growing for a long time, but now we’re seeing the emergence of plant-based menu items.”
“Bread, of course, is by and large a plant-based product and we’re now seeing a demand for recipe suggestions which utilise plant-based proteins on breads and baked goods so that you can offer those on your breakfast menu.”
These recipe suggestions and others are all available at www.gffoodservice.com.au. “We have a large database of chefs and people in the industry whom we reach out to with recipe concepts and to get insights on marketplace trends,” Aymin explains. “We’re always striving to stay as close to the source of inspiration as we can throughout our recipe development process, so that we can generate ideas that are practical and useful for our foodservice end-users.”
He adds that the healthier for you category has been growing for baked goods suppliers as Goodman Fielder for some time – “we recently launched Helga’s Digestive Wellbeing, which is a line of high fibre breads containing prebiotics to support digestive wellbeing, we also supply Wonder White which is high in fibre and is also packed with essential vitamins and minerals, and we have our Wonder Active which is low GI making it suitable for people who need sustained energy.”
Helga’s Gluten Free is another big seller which is popular not just with people who have a gluten intolerance but also those who simply want to avoid gluten in their diet. “Gluten free breads have come a long way in the last few years in terms of texture, taste and presentation,” Aymin tells us. “Today they look and taste just like regular bread and that’s really opened up a whole new market. So now we’re offering gluten free rolls as well and looking to see where else we can expand in this space. It’s beyond a trend, it’s now a health related option that I think is here to stay.
“And of course, not all foodservice kitchens have lots of storage space so we offer Helga’s Gluten Free in frozen as well as fresh – that’s part of making sure we have an offering tailored for every need.”
