Baking & Snack - August 2018 - 28

GLOBAL LANDSCAPE

suggested Bjorn Tiemann, managing director, sales
and marketing B2B, Brezelbackerei Ditsch. The Mainz,
Germany-based company serves 28 countries in foodservice, in-store bakeries and coffee shops.
In Japan, he said, Ditsch has been selling pretzels for
15 years, including a filled pretzel stuffed with salted butter. "Pretzels used to be an ethnic snack," Mr. Tiemann
said. "Not anymore. We have a lot more products than
traditional pretzel twists. They're the perfect snack."
During iba, attendees will likely run into Ditsch's
snacks. The vertically integrated business has 280 shops
throughout Germany and Switzerland where its pretzel
twists, sticks, buns and rolls can be found in train stations and other high-traffic areas.
In the US, Ditsch recently completed the acquisition
of Pretzel Baron and its Cincinnati bakery. Their pretzels in America are slightly different, which prompted
a lighthearted debate between Mr. Tiemann and Gary
Gottenbusch, CEO, Ditsch USA, during IDDBA's show.
"Everybody in Europe thinks they have the best product in the market, but the US is a little bit different," Mr.
Gottenbusch said. "There might be slight variations in
flavor or texture. The pretzel might be more bitter or less
sweet or more or less dense or chewy in different markets. We're producing the true authentic European pretzel with a softer, slightly sweeter American spin."
Gary Gottenbusch (left) and Nutrition by nation
Bjorn Tiemann of Ditsch are Another mega-trend is the oft-mentioned, omnipresbringing new varieties of ent health-and-wellness movement, but on a global
pretzels to the US and new
basis, it's much more than that. It's clean label, organic,
markets around the world.
non-GMO, no artificial ingredients, GRAS status -
Sosland Publishing Company

the whole kaboodle that's defined in different ways by
various countries. For example, bioengineered foods are
pretty much a non-starter in Japan and most European
nations, and many more countries have stricter definitions of what constitutes clean label than the US does.
Ms. Gollo cautioned that focusing on organic and
non-GMO products could be a money-losing proposition in some markets. "In most of Latin America, people
are not willing to pay more for organic because they
are price-conscious, and they do not know what GMO
means," she said.
Ms. Gollo admitted she struggles with the definition
of clean label, which is not a consumer term. "What is
clean label?" she asked. "Is it only natural ingredients?
Not more than five ingredients? Is it organic? The truth
is that each company has its own definition of what
clean label means. And Grupo Bimbo also has its own,
that may vary according to the market we´re playing in."
That doesn't mean non-GMO or organic can't provide
a profitable part of a portfolio, especially for bakeries
targeting millennials and more affluent, health-minded
consumers. At the IDDBA show, Rietmann, a Saarlouis,
Germany, mix manufacturing company, touted its
"Protein Bread" that offers 30% protein, 4.8% carbs and
15% fiber per serving. The non-GMO protein bread
mixes were featured in sandwich loaves, but they can
be used in ciabatta, artisan breads and any type of loaf,
excluding some flatbreads such as pita, noted Santiago
Urti, representative Spain, US and Latin America. "We
see protein everywhere," he said. "People are more educated. They like to know what's in their food."
Other highlighted varieties included a gluten-free
mix, a quinoa loaf with a significant source of minerals
and a chia bread with a good source of protein, fiber, antioxidants and calcium. "We are a world-wide company,"
Mr. Urti said. "We probably wouldn't be displaying any
different products if we were in a show in the Middle
East or Latin America. The breads are pretty much the
same everywhere because they're healthy and trendy."

Common causes
For Robb MacKie, president and CEO, American Bakers
Association, the global landscape for the baking industry
spans beyond consumer trends to as far as the eye can
see. At iba, dozens of their member company representatives will serve as "ambassadors" for the International
Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) and the US baking
industry as well.
"Who better to tell a story of why they are going to the
baking trade show than bakers themselves?" Mr. MacKie
pointed out. "A lot of bakers go to iba to look at equipment from US and European suppliers, and that gives
them an opportunity to have conversations, particularly

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