Demand for egg replacers has been rife, with ingredients firms like Arla and Kerry Ingredients cashing in on increased purchases of egg replacement solutions.
Alexander Franzen, bakery business development manager at Tate & Lyle Food Systems, said they have had an influx of egg replacement requests over the last few months from the bakery sector.
“We haven’t had this level of demand for egg replacement systems before,”Franzen told BakeryandSnacks.com.
“We’ve always had the systems for mayonnaises and sauces – the question on egg reduction and elimination is not a new one,” he said.
However, “there is now a renewed focus on tailoring these to the bakery sector amid increased demands…we want to get better in the bakery sector,” he added.
Tate & Lyle’s Hamulsion stabiliser systems enable up to 100% egg replacement in end products.
Since January this year, Tate & Lyle has been investing in new staff, new technology and machinery to cater to this soaring demand from the bakery sector, he detailed.
Delicious demands
There are not many products that rely on substantial egg content, Franzen said, and “we are focused on application areas like sponge cakes, loaf cakes and muffins as these are all areas where fresh eggs are typically used a lot. The demand is coming from these segments.”
Predominantly demands are coming from the EU, particularly the UK and Western Europe, he detailed, in light of the legislative changes and volatile pricing shaping the European egg market.
Matching egg functionality
When replacing eggs in bakery, it is important to match the functionalities, Franzen said, such as the colour aspect, crumb structure, stability and shelf life.
An egg is not just one ingredient, he said, it is comprised of different chemical compounds with diverse technical functionalities in an end product and so it is about replicating each ingredient function.
Blends and full recipes are adapted to each customer, dependant on raw materials and machinery available, he said.
