instore - November 2017 - 30

special report

There's also, of course, the little matter of doing business in an era
when millions of consumers are watching their carb intake. Allen cites
a recent study which found that just 15% of the total calories Americans
consume comes from grains.

standards. You can't produce 30,000 pounds of baked goods a day
if you mix by hand or bake in a wood-fired oven, he says. But having
trained bakers on the floor monitoring every step of the process helps
guarantee standards are met.

"That's down dramatically," he says. But Allen has found that if people
cut back on carbs, they're not making their cuts at the high end of
the carb chain. "If they do, they trade up to better quality, and that's a
saving grace for our industry."

The right equipment doesn't hurt, either, Allen says. Companion uses
San Cassiano mixers, MIWE roll-in e+ ovens and proof boxes, makeup
equipment from Rheon and Bloemhof and a Contemar indoor flour silo.

When it comes to merchandising, Allen believes private label, not
branding, is the clearest path forward - at least for Companion. "La Brea
has obviously done a fantastic job with branding, and we commend
them. There's more value and equity in brands, but it's expensive. I'm
not sure we're in a position to do that." Private label, on the other hand,
is an appealing choice for Companion and its retail partners, particularly smaller-footprint ones.

Mediterra
Mediterra Bakehouse produces about 15,000 loaves daily in its
custom-built, steam-injected stone hearth ovens at its headquarters
in Pittsburgh, company owner Nick Ambeliotis says. Another 5,000
loaves are baked every day in its Phoenix facility, which is now in its
fifth year of operation.
But size alone doesn't determine whether or not a bakery is "artisan,"
Ambeliotis says. "I feel artisan is defined in the process, not the
volume," Ambeliotis says. "We currently use seven different starters,
some as old as 50 years and fed daily by hand from our staff."

Instore bakery
sales will approach
$18.4 billion
by 2020, 45%
more than 2010
-IDDBA

Machines help in the movement of doughs and a few other tasks at
Mediterra. "There is amazing technology in the field to handle high
hydration doughs," Ambeliotis says. "We love Koenig for make-up, and
Empire for ovens."
But for the most part, Mediterra's production is done by hand, with the
exception of its buns. "You use techniques to make the day flow easier
such as bowl lifts," he says. "We also use teams of people to perform
various functions, all of which are very important. There may be four
people preparing the ingredients to mix, then our mixers actually
perform the function. The process is automated and streamlined by
staff to segregate duties."
In addition to the baking process, determining whether something is
artisan or not also must take into consideration the ingredients used,
Ambeliotis says. "Slow mixing with cold water, very little or no yeast,
slow fermentation - techniques that are not used by many. The basic
fundamental is that you must always hand shape, ferment in small
batches and not compromise the process."

Allen says Companion has been able to grow while still bringing what
he calls "intention" to the baking process, thereby maintaining artisan
30 * NOVEMBER 2017 * instore

MEDITERRA

"More stores want to take ownership and do more private label. That's
where we see growth."

There's a lot of bad bread being sold these days, Ambeliotis says.
Mediterra and other artisan bakers are working hard to differentiate
themselves from the mass of commercial bakers, to make sure they're
not painted with the same brush. "We are not a part of that scene," he
says. "We grow our own heritage wheat organically, we use no conditioners or extenders. We slow-ferment everything and use ingredients
such as raw honey as opposed to sugar or malt. We mill our own flour
- it makes a huge difference."

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of instore - November 2017