News

Ulrick & Short announces ”unique” bakery ingredient

2 Nov 2015

According to British-owned clean label ingredient specialist Ulrick & Short, a unique new sugar displacement product - named Elemis - is set to turn the manufacture of baked goods and breakfast products on its head.

According to British-owned clean label ingredient specialist Ulrick & Short, a unique new sugar displacement product is set to turn the manufacture of baked goods and breakfast products on its head.

The company’s latest ingredient, named Elemis, is said to enable manufacturers to reduce sugar by up to 30% in cereals, snack bars, cakes and muffins – amongst other products – with no effect on product quality.

Replacing sweetness, said the company, is relatively straightforward with the use of artificial sweeteners and natural sugar substitutes, but replicating the functionality of sugar has always been more challenging. Consumers are, Ulrick & Short believes, without doubt looking for reduced sugar options in their staple meals, and breakfast cereals have taken a PR battering recently for generally high sugar content, even in lines purporting to be ‘healthy’.

Volume sales for the top cereal brands are up by 1.6 per cent over the past year but value is down 3.4 per cent, the company notes – meaning that the products have only retained their sales by cutting prices or offering promotions on a regular basis.

One of the few exceptions to this trend, it continues, is one of the leading household name ‘diet’ cereals which was responsible for its parent brand’s biggest RTE (ready to eat) loss during 2014/15. The line has since been overhauled, including the addition of a new reduced-sugar product fortified with vitamins and minerals – and already that product’s value sales are up.

Similarly, the bakery market in the UK alone is predicted to grow by 9% by 2020. Given the choice, Ulrick & Short claims that consumers will select products perceived to be lower in sugar as long as they can be confident that the eating experience will be unaffected. That, says the company, is where Elemis comes in.

“Not too long ago it was fat that was seen as the healthy eater’s nemesis,” said Ulrick & Short Director Adrian Short. “Now it’s the turn of sugar. Here at Ulrick & Short we have always tried to stay ahead of the trends, developing replacement clean label ingredients that manufacturers can be confi dent will exactly replicate the intended taste and functionality within their products.”

“Breakfast on the go is booming, up 13 per cent over the last year, and bakery manufacturers are always looking for the latest development that will give them the edge in a crowded marketplace. Elemis is the perfect solution for any number of cereal or bakery based products, from snack bars to buns – and even those with fillings. We’re predicting

big changes in these sectors and we’re confident our ingredients will play a key part in the revolution.”

The announcement of Elemis follows the company’s launch of a full range of Delyte fat

reducers and replacers, suitable as substitute ingredients for the majority of fats, including butter, oil and milk solids. Delyte ingredients are said to be suitable for a massive range of products: in bakery for cakes, ganache, fillings and icings; with sauces both sweet and savoury such as béchamel or caramel; for hot and cold dips and marinades; even ice cream

and other chilled or frozen desserts and more.