Baking & Snack - May 2024 - 28

ANTHONY & SONS BAKERY
It's vegan, kosher, clean label and was formulated to be
certified with the Plant-Based Project.
Inventing something unlike anything else on the shelf
invigorated Anthony & Sons.
" We've been baking for 40 years, and we developed
something completely new, " Baldo Dattolo said. " It
brought new energy into our company. And it's created
traffic in the plant. We had five tractor trailers leave in
one day. We've gotten into 5,000 retail stores in one-anda-half
years. "
With that kind of reception, Anthony & Sons is expanding
The Avocado Bread Co. to include bagels and
ciabatta sandwich rolls. The products join the current
lineup of sliced bread, dinner rolls and a take-and-bake
baguette.
" We developed the avocado line extensions by thinkDough
pieces are
hand-scored before
baking, a step that
preserves an artisan
touch on Anthony &
Sons' breads.
Baldo Dattolo said was a bit long for the R&D team. The
bread provided the team with several challenges.
" The trick to formulating the bread was keying in on
the right amount of avocado because the healthy fats
in the avocado make the bread's texture soft, " Baldo
Dattolo said. " And then to make it different, Ben thought
it would be a good idea to add the guacamole spice, so
our product development team created a custom mix of
the right spices. "
Rizzitello noted that as the first avocado bread to market,
the signature flavor has set the standard for future
copycats.
" The flavor makes the product unique, and because
we're the first company to come out with it, we've established
the flavor profile, " he said.
The first product to launch was a 24-oz loaf of sliced
bread that contains 21 grams of whole grains per slice.
KEEPING ANTHONY & SONS
RUNNING, CLEAN AND UP TO
PAR IS A FULL-TIME JOB
Anthony & Sons Bakery leaves
nothing to chance. The company has
invested heavily in R&D, quality assurance
and its maintenance department
to ensure that it can support
its innovative spirit and produce the
highest quality products.
The bakery is certified SQF Level
2 as well as kosher-certified and nutfree.
When sesame was declared
28 Baking & Snack May 2024 / www.bakingbusiness.com
ing about what would go well with avocados, " Baldo
Dattolo said. " Sliced bread and bagels were obvious, and
then we developed the ciabatta bun to be a natural fit for
burgers with our foodservice customers, which that side
of the business we're hoping to grow. "
Rizzitello pointed out that they also looked to different
eating occasions and customer needs when extending
the avocado bread line.
" When we came out with the sliced breads, we were
gearing toward the avocado toast for breakfast, but then
we were marketing toward how many dayparts could the
sliced bread be used in, " he explained. " Then for a bread
basket, we thought the dinner rolls would work, and then
our retail customers started using them for sliders. Once
we started developing our take-and-bake program, we
thought it would be nice to include an avocado bread for
the fall season. And now we're rolling out the bagel and
ciabatta bun not just for retail but foodservice as well. "
After years of focusing on the in-store bakery customer,
Anthony & Sons is ready to turn its attention back to
the ninth major allergen last year,
Anthony & Sons moved all products
containing sesame to a dedicated
line and included an allergen declaration
on its packaging. Quality
checks are done routinely on each
production run throughout the day,
and sanitation is conducted after
every production run.
The bakery's maintenance team
staffs six to eight people who work
under Dan Harris, the chief engineer.
While maintenance is constantly
underway, the bakery schedules
downtime for regular maintenance
Saturday to Sunday. Anthony &
Sons also has an on-site machine
shop, which came in handy during
the supply chain challenges of the
pandemic.
" We can build some of the parts
that we need, which was really helpful
during the pandemic, " said Baldo
Dattolo, president and chief executive
officer. " The supply chain has
gotten a lot better, so we don't have
to rely on that as much. When we
do have a part break down though, I
always order three at a time, so we
always have them on hand. "
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Baking & Snack - May 2024

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