Baking & Snack - December 2013 - 14

'Game on' for Flowers' new brands
While confident Wonder, Home Pride and other recently acquired
brands will be a success, they have not been back on the market
long enough to meaningfully assess how they are performing in
the market, said Allen L. Shiver, president and CEO of Flowers
Foods, Thomasville, GA.
In a November conference call, Mr. Shiver commented on the
company's acquisition earlier this year of key bread brands and
other assets of Hostess Brands LLC. In many ways, it's like a football game in the first quarter.
"It's very early in the game," Mr. Shiver said. "We literally have
only been back on the market a few weeks. We are encouraged, and
each market is a different story. We are very confident in the long
run that Wonder, Merita, Butternut, Home Pride, those brands
are going to be very significant parts of our overall product line.
We will be able to do a better job next
quarter giving you some

specific number on how they are performing."
Mr. Shiver explained why assessing the reception of the Wonder
reintroduction is taking some time. "Retailers reallocate their
space at set times during the year," he said. "Working with their
schedules, we are continuing to expand our newly acquired brands
back into the marketplace."
A continuing challenge for Flowers has stemmed from higher
volume at its plants since November 2012 when Hostess ceased operations. The problem continued in the third quarter of 2013, but
Mr. Shiver said improvements have been evident in recent weeks.
Three additional production lines started up during the quarter,
and 49 production shifts were added across the company "to support our sales increase," Mr. Shiver said.
Also during the quarter, a Modesto, CA, baking plant was acquired. "That is now providing buns for that state," Mr. Shiver said.
"We also announced that we will soon be producing bread at
the Henderson, NV, bakery." Production there should commence before the end of the year, he noted.
Commenting further on Flowers' growth in California,
Mr. Shiver said the company's market share has grown to
12.2% from 1.8% thanks to its acquisition of the Sara Lee
business there.
"If you look at the category for the quarter, dollars
were up about 2% and volume was down about 1%," he
said. "The way I look at the category, you have to be very
clear that it's a huge category. It's a $31 billion, $32 billion
category. The recent trend has been down slightly. But
again, the consolidation that is taking place within the
industry far outweighs any type of slight downtrend in
the overall baked food categories. I'm still very bullish
about the future. With the size of the category, the slight
downward tick is not that significant."
- L. Joshua Sosland, Milling & Baking News

FDA takes serious look at acrylamide
Baked foods, together with potatoes and coffee, are a centerpiece
of new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance aimed
at reducing acrylamide in the food supply. The draft document,
which will not be binding on manufacturers even when finalized,
was issued by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
in November.
While it has been longer than 10 years since scientists announced the discovery of acrylamide in heated foods, FDA said
much still remains to be learned about the subject. The agency
suggested its findings and recommendations could be subject to
change in the years ahead.
Acrylamide forms in food from a chemical reaction between
asparagine, an amino acid, and reducing sugars, such as glucose
and fructose, FDA said. Part of what is known as the Maillard reac14

/ Baking & Snack / December 2013

tion, the process leads to color, flavor and aroma changes in cooked
foods and occurs when cooking, frying or baking are done at high
temperatures.
In the case of grain-based foods, the presence of asparagine "in
excess" rather than reducing sugars drives acrylamide formation,
FDA said. Between different cereals, asparagine content is highest
in rye, followed by wheat, corn and oats, and then rice.
To reduce acrylamide, the agency explored replacing ammonium bicarbonate as a leavening agent in cookies and crackers.
Citing advice from the Snack Food Association, FDA said using
alternative leavening agents "is one of the most effective mitigation techniques in cookies for smaller member companies, due to
reasonable costs and limited impact on quality."
- L. Joshua Sosland, Milling & Baking News

Baking & Snack - December 2013

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