IBIE 2022 09 18 - 6

IBIE SUNDAY
CONSUMERS LOOKING FOR WELLNESS
BENEFITS IN SNACKS
CONSUMERS ARE LOOKING for more
than just tasty treats in their snacks.
They're looking for healthy attributes,
and the No. 1 benefit they are
seeking these days is energy, said
Suzy Badaracco, president of Culinary
Tides Inc., who spoke Saturday
at the IBIEducate session " How
Health and Wellness Trends Influence
Snacking and Bakery Trends. "
" Whatever they do choose as a
snack, they'll feel less guilty about
it if they feel it has some benefit for
them, " she said. " So whether it gives
them energy or it's healthy or it's
lighter, they'll feel less guilty about
that. Energy directly is the No. 1
benefit that keeps coming up in research. "
No.
2 is cognitive function,
which is an umbrella for foods that
can help with stress, poor sleep,
anxiety and depression caused by
all the troubles consumers have
lived through the last few years, including
COVID-19 and inflation.
Ms. Badaracco explained that
because cognitive function is a relatively
new benefit being sought in
food, consumers are not sure what
ingredients or minerals to look
for, so they must rely on packaging
messages. Educating the public
takes time, although consumers will
eventually learn what they're looking
for. She pointed to the yogurt
industry, which helped educate the
public about probiotics.
" The yogurt industry is a great
example of how they made that connection
with consumers of digestion
and probiotics, " she said. " The
yogurt industry did that amazingly
well in about a year. "
The biggest media consumer
driven issue in health and wellness
is obesity followed by cognitive
function, Ms. Badaracco said.
" Interestingly, immune function
is not one of the top two concerns
right now, " she said. " It was
during the height of COVID, but now
it's not. Obesity is No. 1 because after
two years in lockdown, we're all like,
'Oh, I have to get back to work. I have
to get back to conferences.' " *
- Michelle Smith, Baking & Snack
Business of Baking for beginners
RPIA Group educates aspiring retail bakers on how-tos of business strategy.
MORE THAN 100 retail bakery owners
and managers profited from
learning how to build a successful
business model while attending the
Business of Baking for Beginners
event, conducted on the first day of
IBIE on Saturday, Sept. 17.
" Your job is to be a leader, not
a doer, " said Randy McArthur, national
technical sales at Dawn Foods
and a founding partner of the RPIA
Group, which formed in 2001 to help
bakers gather and create a sense of
community. " If you are not teaching,
you are not growing. A great plan
needs a great team. "
Further, Mr. McArthur pointed
out the RPIA is joining forces
with the Retail Bakers of America,
which is managed by Bernadette
Shanahan-Haas, the RBA's director
of operations. " RPIA is handing off
to RBA, " Mr. McArthur said. " We
are very excited about our future. "
Rick Crawford, managing partner
of the RPIA Group, outlined a host
of innovative services from RPIA, including
a new program that involves
group purchasing resources.
" This is a way to get discounts
on products without changing vendors, "
Mr. Crawford outlined. " The
average cost savings can be 16% to
24%. "
Another new project is the
RPIA dipping program that is
geared for retail bakeries expanding
into ice cream. The project incorporates
discounts for a variety
of ice cream parlor products and
flavors, including slush bases and
syrups, sundae toppings, and milk
shake and beverage syrups.
Looking forward, Mr. McArthur
recommended other important
assets for retail bakers including
QuickBooks online, nutraCoster
software by SweetWARE, and Cybake,
a bakery management software
system used by retail and wholesale
bakers to control their operations,
improve
efficiency and increase
sales.
The successful business model
for retailers is changing rapidly
and increasingly involves online
business.
" Technology is a definite drivSheila
Dills (left), owner of Sheila Anne Pies in Tulsa, Okla., discusses bakery business strategies with
Randy McArthur, national technical sales at Dawn Foods and a founding partner of the RPIA Group, during
the Business of Baking for Beginners seminar at IBIE.
6 | September 18, 2022
er in the way people today access
food, " Mr. McArthur said. " There
are so many ways now that people
want to take delivery of the bakery
products you make. It all starts
with a plan. " *
- John Unrein, bake
decorating
with buddy
Buddy Valastro to share
his secrets to success.
BUDDY VALASTRO, CELEBRITY chef and
owner of Carlo's Bakery, will share
some of the secrets to his cake
business success during a Monday,
Sept. 19, session titled, " Decorating
with Buddy, Master Baker of
Carlo's Bakery. "
Mr. Valastro returns to IBIE
on the Revent Celebrity Stage in the
RBA Bakers Center to demonstrate
his top tips on decorating. One popular
idea is to recapture childhood
memories and embrace the energy
and spirit of youth through special
promotions that are designed to
increase bakery repeat sales and
enhance brand recognition.
For example, Mr. Valastro
helped Klondike celebrate its 100th
birthday in a big way earlier this
year by creating a once-in-a-lifetime,
10-tier birthday cake inspired
by the ice cream brand's diverse
frozen treat portfolio. The massive
cake included representations of
Klondike's classic bars, sandwiches,
shakes and cones.
Mr. Valastro has used his cake
decorating skills in partnerships
with other significant brands over
the years, including TGI Friday's
and Goldbelly. All of this helps to
grow his own cake brand.
One year ago, Mr. Valastro
launched his own virtual brand,
Buddy V's Cake Slice, in partnership
with Virtual Dining Concepts.
He selected his most popular cake
flavors for the new delivery-only
brand. Buddy V's Cake Slice currently
features five choices: Confetti,
Vanilla Rainbow, Fudge, Red
Velvet, and Black and White Fudge.
Cake slices are individually
packaged at Carlo's Bakery as soon
as the cakes are out of the oven,
cooled down and frosted; quickly
frozen for shipment to ensure peak
freshness and deliciousness. The
cake slices are distributed to restaurants
across the country and
made available for online orders
through the Buddy V's Cake Slice
website, third-party delivery carriers
and his app. *
- Brian Amick, bake

IBIE 2022 09 18

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