instore - May 2016 - COM16

Product Category Spotlight:

Improving ﬂexibility
with baked goods
By Ryan Atkinson

hen Hill Country Bakery, after
years of making private label
goods, decided to develop and
push its own label, there was one big,
driving force.

"Everybody in the c-store channel, everybody even in the grocery channel sees
the need to improve snack cakes," says
Hill Country co-founder Steve O'Donnell.
"We decided to tap into that by developing the Coffee House Café brand. We've
had tremendous receptivity."
Through this new brand the company
is pushing products like its iced lemon loaf, which is iconic and popular
throughout the United States. Despite
the recent push for health-minded eating, baked and sweet goods are still ex-

periencing success. After all, consumers need treats and cheat meals at least
once in a while.
French Gourmet, based in Sparks, NV,
has been producing frozen doughs
since 1984 and has recently started
ramping up its efforts. The company
recently launched its secondary brand
- Smart Gourmet - in an effort to sell
its doughs to larger volume buyers.
"The whole brand is focused on what's
new, what's trending, what consumers
want from us and what we can develop
for them," says Jake Bush, business development manager.
French Gourmet covers the US from
coast to coast and also does business

in Hawaii, Canada, Guam, South Korea
and the Philippines. The company sells
frozen, pre-proofed dough that is ready
to bake from freezer to oven. Now, it
wants to focus more on retailers and
their suppliers. Part of success in that
realm, Bush says, is being flexible.
"To be able to be flexible and nimble and
quick in turning around a custom item
has been huge for us," he says. "It's really
what has gotten our foot in the door with
a lot of the new customers we're going
after. If we weren't able to develop new
items and be flexible, I don't think they
would want much to do with us."
Bush says French Gourmet, and particularly Smart Gourmet, prides itself in
developing new products based on customer feedback. That requires a strong
relationship. "You have to be able to deliver what they're looking for. We focus
a lot on new product development," he
says. "We work with our existing customers and work on ideas and kind of
throw them out there. A lot of it is just
putting it out there with customers you
already have that relationship with and
seeing what works."
French Gourmet's line of doughs includes
Mini Danish, a full line of butter and specialty croissants, puff pastry sheets, cinnamon logs, croissant triangles and Danish dough squares.
More recently, another new pair of baked
goods have brought success to the
company. The first combines two baked
staples - the everything bagel and the
croissant. All of the typical everything bagel ingredients are mixed into the dough,
which is then laminated.
"You're not just getting a butter croissant with the toppings, you're getting
a butter croissant with the garlic and
onions and seeds throughout the entire
croissant," Bush says. "You're getting
flavor in every bite."

PHOTO: FRENCH GOURMET

16 * MAY 2016

commissary INSIDER

The second is a line of savory brunch
buns that includes trending flavors
like jalapeño cream cheese and buffalo cream cheese. "People are wanting
unique flavors," Bush says. "And you have
to be able to develop and provide that to
reach them."

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of instore - May 2016