Baking & Snack - December 2020 - 12

Mondelez launching
gluten-free Oreos

Weston invests in growing
bagel, donut business

Mondelez International, Inc., Deerfield, Ill., in January plans
to introduce Oreo Gluten-Free cookies and Oreo Double Stuf
Gluten-Free cookies as permanent additions to the Oreo portfolio. The cookies will be available wherever Oreo cookies are sold.
A GFCO (Gluten-Free Certification Organization) certification
will be on all cookie packages. An Oreo representative declined to
say what type of flour will be used in the cookies.
" We made it our mission to ensure the new recipe delivered
a comparable snacking experience to the original recipe, while
meeting the needs of 'snackers' with a gluten intolerance or gluten
sensitivities as well as GFCO standards, " the representative said.
The Oreo brand has flourished as people stay at home during the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Oreo cookies had $850 million in US retail sales of during the 52-week period ended July 12,
which was up 20% from the previous 52-week period, according to
IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm. Oreo Double Stuf cookies had sales of $345 million, up 17%.
- Jeff Gelski, Milling & Baking News

Weston Foods, Toronto, a subsidiary of George Weston Ltd., recently invested more than $96 million to install high-speed bagel
and donut production lines at two different bakeries.
" Our bagel and donut business is growing across North
America, " said Luc Mongeau, president of Weston Foods. " With
these new lines, we are perfectly positioned to capitalize on that
growth. With increased capacity and additional capabilities combined with our consumer trend insights, we are truly partnering
with our retail and foodservice customers to provide them with
great-tasting products their guests are looking for. "
The new traditional hearth-baked bagel line has been installed
at Weston's 220,000-square-foot Toronto-based bread, rolls and
bagel baking plant. According to Weston, the line produces traditional fermented, boiled and hearth-baked bagels. The line has
" extensive " packaging options, Weston said, and the ability to produce bagels of varying sizes and additional capabilities that will
enable future product innovation.
Earlier this year, Weston installed a flexible yeast and cake
donut line at its Lebanon, Tenn., facility. According to Weston,
the high-speed line can produce a variety of yeast and cake donut shapes, including rings and holes. The Lebanon facility, built
in 2016, is a dedicated donut facility that has grown over time.
Originally housing just two lines, the current 205,000-square-foot
facility now has five lines.
- Eric Schroeder, Food Business News

Moody's: Next 18 months
difficult to predict
Home food consumption is expected to decline over the next 18
months as consumers return to more normalized spending patterns before returning to growth in 2022, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service.
Moody's said it expects sales and earnings within the packaged
foods industry to slide beginning in the first quarter of 2021, falling
short of the surge in retail demand that took place early in 2020.
Despite the expected decline, Moody's maintained its stable outlook for the packaged foods industry. The residual benefits from
the pandemic, especially for large packaged foods companies, also
will factor into solid earnings growth for 2022 and beyond.
After peaking in the second quarter of 2020, operating margins
are expected to narrow.
" During the grocery buying surge between March and June,
packaged foods sector margins expanded by as much as 50 basis
points, reflecting benefits from operating leverage and reduced
spending on promotions, new product launches and advertising
that more than offset coronavirus-related costs and sharp declines
in foodservice earnings, " Moody's said. " Looking to 2021, we expect
operating profit margins will give up almost all of these gains -
tightening about 50 basis points, reflecting retreating volumes as
consumers return to restaurant dining and higher trade spending. "
Moody's said it also expects structural advantages will allow
bigger competitors to retain share gains.
- Josh Sosland, Food Business News

12 Baking & Snack December 2020 / www.bakingandsnack.com

In Memoriam
J. Allen Baird, the former head of Mrs
Baird's Bakeries, Inc., Fort Worth, died
Nov. 10 following a four-week bout with the
coronavirus, according to the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram.
Mr. Baird was chairman of the board from
1993 to 1997 and was president of the comBaird
pany for several years before that. When he retired, he stayed on
as a senior consultant to the company, which was sold the following year to Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV. At the time of the transaction, Mrs Baird's was the largest family-owned baking company
in the nation.
Mrs Baird's was established in 1908 when Ninnie Baird began
baking in her home for the residents of Fort Worth using a fourloaf wood-fired oven. Seven years later, she had acquired a used
40-loaf oven and began distribution by bicycles and horse-drawn
wagons driven by her sons. When Bimbo bought Mrs Baird's, the
company was the top seller of bread in Texas, operating 10 baking
plants in eight Texas cities run by 3,400 employees.
- Josh Sosland, Food Business News

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Baking & Snack - December 2020

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