Today’s trends in sandwiches, wraps and rolls

While the past 18 months saw a drop in trade for many product lines, one category which managed to weather the storm was sandwiches, wraps and rolls – not surprising as they are ideal for grab and go meals and home delivery. Now, with dine-in business picking up, we spoke to Darren O’Brien, Bakery Innovation Manager at Tip Top Foodservice to identify current marketplace trends.

“In analysing this category it’s helpful to break it down into three components – the food carrier, which is the bread, wrap or roll itself, the fillings, and the cost,” Darren says. “Currently sourdough is leading the way in the carrier component and demand is still growing. A year ago we were saying it’s a common choice on the menu, but now it’s actually a must-have – in the past two years our sourdough products have grown 500 per cent in sales, which is enormous.

“Cafes in particular have been moving from their traditional bread choices towards sourdough, and more varieties have come in to meet the demand. We used to sell 90 per cent of our sourdough as white and around 10 per cent as rye, but rye has now increased to around 20 per cent and we’ve also introduced a multigrain sourdough which makes up another 20 per cent of sales. I think the growth is because people want the more complex flavour profile, and also because it’s called out everywhere, it gets into people’s heads. Once that happens, your business can’t afford not to offer it.”

Gluten free is also continuing to gain new consumers – not so much due to an increase in those who need to avoid gluten for medical reasons, but through people simply giving it a go as a lifestyle choice. “The challenge for us as suppliers is to keep investing in technology and changing our recipes to ensure our gluten free products look and taste and feel the same as the regular variety. That is being driven by the foodservice operator, because when they serve a table of three and one person wants gluten free, they don’t want the gluten free option to stand out as something different. 

Darren says Vietnamese style rolls are growing in popularity – “we’ve recently done a lot of research with regular to high end cafes and have found they’re doing iterations of the Banh Mi style, adapting it and making different versions using a variety of fillings. Cafes are using other breads for it, from a burger bun or just slices of bread to make up a Banh Mi sandwich; in typical Australian fashion, we’ll take everything from everywhere and mix it up!

“Turkish bread is also massive at the moment and has been for quite some years. We now have an oval-shaped Turkish sandwich which is our biggest seller and has been growing at over 30 per cent per annum over the last two years. Again, people are moving to it from other products – they’re going away from ciabatta and onto Turkish, which has a distinctive texture and flavour and the added benefit of being quite a light airy bread.”

A trend first reported across the US and Europe and now hitting our shores is the use of croissants with a wide variety of fillings other than the traditional ham and cheese or jam. “We’re seeing regular sandwich fillings in croissants, bacon and eggs in croissants in the morning and even croissants with burger fillings,” Darren reports. “This is the next evolution of what was happening with brioche a few years back, where people were putting hamburger patties into it; then it was donuts and now it’s croissants being used as an indulgent wrap around for a regular filling. We’ve recently launched a croissant which has less of a traditional crescent shape and is more like a bun – we’ve turned the edges in somewhat – which makes it easier to cut it and put a meat pattie or large amount of filling inside and enables it to hold its shape.

“We’re also seeing brioche being used not just for burgers but for premium sandwiches – again elevating the indulgence side of the meal – and this is especially the case with seafood fillings such as lobster rolls, Moreton Bay bugs or Balmain bugs.

“Again it’s the typical Aussie mashup – prawn sandwiches are really popular in the UK and this is like an Aussie spin on that, where you have lobster with creamy dressing, lettuce and spring onion. The brioche bun is ideal for that because it’s soft enough o bite through and its sweetness and buttery texture is an ideal complement for the seafood.”

The humble crumpet is also undergoing a revival on the menu. “For some reason they’ve really taken off in the last 12 months – they’re being used for all sorts of things from eggs benedict to bacon and egg crumpets and even to build a burger or sandwich filling around. And the cooking methods are changing – rather than toasting them, some people are frying them in melted butter and then plating them up. They’re finding a fresh spin on an old school product and creating something upmarket on the menu. I think it ties in to consumers becoming nostalgic for the indulgence of childhood – and if you can serve up crumpets with premium fillings and toppings in a spectacular presentation, that then becomes a meal which customers feel they have to try!”

Moving onto fillings, Darren says flavour fusions are becoming popular – “Like taking a regular chicken sandwich but using a buffalo chicken filling, that spice and sauce on soft white thick sliced bread. Southern style marinated chicken is also trending as a filling as is roast pork – those flavours which would normally be centre of plate are now being placed between bread.

“Asian flavours and sauces are also big right now – from buttermilk sauces to chilli flavours or mushrooms  fried in miso sauce and served on sourdough, people are bringing in those ingredients and complementary spices to enhance the flavours of what would otherwise be an ordinary sandwich. And of course plant-based meals are continuing to grow, with new sandwiches like an FLT instead of a BLT – using ‘facon’ which is plant-based bacon.

“Customers looking to cut down on their animal protein intake are seeking plant-based meals which are satisfying and mushrooms are an ideal fit – big field mushrooms are almost the size of a burger pattie and make a great alternative to meat which you can build around. Asian and Mediterranean flavours work very well with them.”

With ingredients costs rising across all markets and the foodservice sector being heavily hit due to supply chain pressures and the increased price of fuel, Darren says the cost-effectiveness of sandwiches, wraps and rolls makes them a great choice to expand the menu. “They cost less to put together than many other meals – you don’t need a big lump of protein, you can make do with less filling and they’re quick and simple to prepare, keeping your labour costs down. And you can elevate them to a premium meal simply through the ingredients choice and style of build.

“Another key point is that bread is filling, so it can keep consumers satisfied and give them a sense of value for money. The filling is the highlight of the meal but the bread is what fills them up. And of course they’re also made to order for home delivery and takeaway because they can withstand the rigors of the delivery process.”