bake - August 2012 - 29

keeping it clean
Clean label products are about more than what’s printed on the package.
BY JOANIE SPENCER PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSEPH STORCH When it comes to their food, American consumers are standing at a crossroads — they want convenience and longevity, but they also are looking for wholesome foods with clean labels. In Champaign, IL, there is no question which side of the road Pekara Bakery owner Ruzika Cuk stands. She opened her bakery 20 years ago to feed her own need for wholesome bread that had been lost to the convenience and shelf life of supermarket bread. “It was a hard field for bakeries,” Cuk says. “A lot of small bakeries closed, especially in small towns, because everybody started making quantity — not quality — bread.” With the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign just in her back yard, Cuk draws about half of her retail business from an educated client base who want to know where their food comes from. In fact, she’s hearing more customers ask where the products come from, rather than how long it will last. But that doesn’t mean she can’t sell to the other half — that doesn’t much care what the label says. Many of the customers who aren’t buying on the label are buying on taste. The best way she can get to these customers is by sampling. “We sample in the farmer’s markets; we sample in the store. Once they sample, that’s when they realize how important the clean label is,” she says. “And that’s how I get to them. That’s how I explain why we work on our breads for 48 hours — it has all this good taste, and we only use four ingredients.” More than the label Selling clean label relies on more than just a short ingredient list. In fact, it’s about more than the label at Food-educated customers For wholesale clientele, Cuk says it’s also about a 50-50 ratio for wanting clean label. While she still has a hard time selling to restaurants and catering companies, Cuk has a large wholesale account with an eight-store coffee shop that prides itself on providing clean-label products to an educated community. With a focus on clean-label products that include breads with only four ingredients — water, flour, yeast and salt — Cuk has been able to attract clientele at farmer’s markets and in her retail location, as well as a number of wholesale accounts including coffee shops and other retail operators.

bakemag.com | AUG 2012 > 29



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bake - August 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of bake - August 2012

bake - August 2012
Editor's Note - The elusive consumer
Contents
News Bites - Team USA Shines at Pastry Event
RBA Honors Kalupa
Ponsford, Faber Receive Top Award
Bunge Opens Culinary Center
Chefmaster Moves to New Plant
Fritsch to Show Wood-Fired Oven
Hot Bread Opens in Harlem
Connect to a Cause
Management - Make Your Mark
Tax Tips - A Family Affair
Labor Front - Worker's Compensation
Legislation - Californians Ask for Right to Know
Ingredients - Sweetening Naturally
Follow the Money
Keeping It Clean
13 for '13
Rise of the Panaderia
Center Cake
Fulfilling a Need
Transitioning to New Crop Flour
Chain News
Laminating with Whole Grains
Cafe - Novelty to Go
Products
Showcase
Classifieds
bake - August 2012 - Editor's Note - The elusive consumer
bake - August 2012 - 2
bake - August 2012 - 3
bake - August 2012 - 4
bake - August 2012 - Contents
bake - August 2012 - RBA Honors Kalupa
bake - August 2012 - Bunge Opens Culinary Center
bake - August 2012 - Connect to a Cause
bake - August 2012 - 9
bake - August 2012 - Management - Make Your Mark
bake - August 2012 - 11
bake - August 2012 - Tax Tips - A Family Affair
bake - August 2012 - 13
bake - August 2012 - Labor Front - Worker's Compensation
bake - August 2012 - 15
bake - August 2012 - Legislation - Californians Ask for Right to Know
bake - August 2012 - 17
bake - August 2012 - Ingredients - Sweetening Naturally
bake - August 2012 - 19
bake - August 2012 - Follow the Money
bake - August 2012 - 21
bake - August 2012 - 22
bake - August 2012 - 23
bake - August 2012 - 24
bake - August 2012 - 25
bake - August 2012 - 26
bake - August 2012 - 27
bake - August 2012 - 28
bake - August 2012 - Keeping It Clean
bake - August 2012 - 30
bake - August 2012 - 31
bake - August 2012 - 32
bake - August 2012 - 13 for '13
bake - August 2012 - 34
bake - August 2012 - 35
bake - August 2012 - Rise of the Panaderia
bake - August 2012 - 37
bake - August 2012 - 38
bake - August 2012 - 39
bake - August 2012 - Center Cake
bake - August 2012 - 41
bake - August 2012 - 42
bake - August 2012 - 43
bake - August 2012 - Fulfilling a Need
bake - August 2012 - 45
bake - August 2012 - 46
bake - August 2012 - 47
bake - August 2012 - 48
bake - August 2012 - Transitioning to New Crop Flour
bake - August 2012 - Chain News
bake - August 2012 - 51
bake - August 2012 - 52
bake - August 2012 - 53
bake - August 2012 - Laminating with Whole Grains
bake - August 2012 - 55
bake - August 2012 - 56
bake - August 2012 - 57
bake - August 2012 - Cafe - Novelty to Go
bake - August 2012 - 59
bake - August 2012 - 60
bake - August 2012 - 61
bake - August 2012 - Products
bake - August 2012 - 63
bake - August 2012 - Showcase
bake - August 2012 - Classifieds
bake - August 2012 - 66
bake - August 2012 - 67
bake - August 2012 - 68
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