Bakery products which were, till a few years ago, taboo for most of the sick patients in India, particularly to those suffering from cardiac diseases, are no longer considered to be strictly prohibited items.
This is mainly because the Indian bakery sector has undergone a sea change. It has, in keeping with the customer demand for healthy products, is replacing trans fats with healthy options. One can also see the supermarket shelves lined with sugar-free and gluten-free products pertaining to the bakery and confectionery sector, across urban India. Pastry chefs and bakery ingredient manufacturers in India, in keeping with the customers’ demand for healthy products, have started making products that even a cardiac patient can consume.
The bakery industry has been catering to the growing demands for healthy options by developing new products, ingredients and processing methods to spruce up the products’ health benefits while retaining flavour and taste at the same time. The trend has percolated to India too.
In the 21st century India, as the consumers are becoming more health-conscious they are demanding healthy food options, and consequently, the Indian bakery industry has been undertaking fortification of bakery products in order to cater to the demands of the health-conscious Indians.
Healthy bakery products in Indian context, presently include four important parameters. A healthy bakery product should have low sugar and salt content, and less trans fat and saturated fats, or/and they should be well endowed with whole grains, vitamins and minerals wherever possible, or/and they should have locally produced ingredients. Besides, they should preferably satisfy the allergen concerns, holistically.
The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has called for the country’s bakery sector to focus on better ingredients to keep up with changing consumer trends. The apex nutrition body has asked the manufacturers to use micronutrient fortification to replace calorie-dense high glycemic and relatively low nutrient products.
Health Wave Gaining Momentum
People are nowadays preferring to consume low calorie, low fat, and high fibre products. Health- conscious people prefer to consume fortified bakery products. Numerous healthy products have been launched in the bakery segment and are gaining popularity at a high rate.
Consumers want more diversity, innovation, better taste, and more convenience in food products. They want fresher and more natural food. In consequence, consumers in India are looking to increase the quality of their bread, pastry, patisserie and chocolate, namely by searching for fresher and more natural food products. For that matter, consumers are looking for more information on ingredients and the way of baking and want more control over food products.They actually want to see the cooking process and have their baked goods ready on the spot; as fresh as possible. When it was baked is a question of utmost importance these days
What we are witnessing these days in the Indian bakery industry are a couple of trends tied to what people are calling healthy indulgence. At present, the Indian bakery industry — and perhaps the entire Indian food sector — is seeing a continued interest in mini options, which include bite-sized cookies, brownies and muffins. They facilitate customisation and portion control, thereby helping to keep the calories in check. The ‘free-from’ trend is also gaining ground in the in-store bakeries across urban India. It includes bakery products which are free from gluten, allergens, trans fats and animal products. They are hot items in these times, as are organic and non-GMO products.
Shift Towards Whole Grains
Health topics, currently of interest to consumers of baked goods in India include more whole grains, fortified vitamins and minerals, and organic bakery products. The most recent focus has shifted to whole and alternative grains, high fibre and gluten-free products. The use of whole and multi-grain flour is a new trend among many consumers. In addition to whole grains, bakers are responding to consumers’ increasing demands for fibres, antioxidants and Omega-3 fatty acids.
While in recent years (due to the popularity of some low carbohydrate diets) a great deal of attention was focussed on reducing the carbohydrate content in bakery products, most recently attention has shifted to whole and alternative grains, and towards creating good tasting, gluten-free products.
The use of whole and multigrain flour is a seemingly new trend to many consumers. However, they are actually ancient baking practices. Many bakeries now specialise in whole grain and multigrain products, including varieties of artisan breads.
Whole grains are healthy. It is good for health to have at least three servings of whole-grain food products each day, as they contain several health benefits. Studies show that by partaking whole grains people are expected to have fewer digestive problems, they are less likely to gain weight, especially around the waist, and they are less likely to suffer from heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
Whole grains have similar amounts and sometimes more disease fighting chemicals than many typical fruits and vegetables. Moreover, whole grain intake can improve digestive health and help with weight management.
It may be mentioned that the milling and refining process removes most of the bran and some germ, along with the majority of fibre, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals. Interestingly, in humans, phytochemicals can help to protect against chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, type 2-diabetes, and even cancer.
Need for Low Trans Fat
Besides the usage of whole grain and multigrain, there is also the demand for decreasing use of trans fat in bakery products, in the Indian bakery industry. Oils and fats are an essential part of any Indian diet. They provide texture and flavour to the food apart from other benefits. The quality and quantity of oil/fat used in the recipe is very important.
One needs to use healthy fats with good functionality and shelf life in bakery products. Now it has become necessary to declare the content of trans fats and saturated fats on the labels of packaged food along with other nutritional information. Oils and fats manufacturing companies are now gearing up to market low trans or trans-free products. Nowadays, many food manufacturers have undertaken extensive developmental efforts to reduce or even eliminate trans fats in food.
Replacing Sugar
The bakery consumers in India are also demanding, besides whole grain products and low trans products, sugar-free products. And this demand is not restricted to diabetic patients. The sugar content of bakery products is another concern for health-conscious consumers. Baked goods are often high in sugar, and sugars are often used to compensate for flavour that may be lost when fat content is reduced. Low calorie and substitute sweeteners like Sucralose, FOS, Asulfame K, Aspartame, Polyols, Trehalose are often used to reduce the sugar content and reduce the elevation of GI in baked products. Depending on the product, substitutions of fruit purees, fruit and spices may also be introduced which would curtail sugar content without forgoing taste.
It may be mentioned that sugar substitutes are nothing else but a food additive which duplicates the sugar in taste; usually with smaller amount of food energy. These substitutes provide the same taste when used in place of sugar, but add up a very less amount of calories in your diet, as the sugar substitutes do not get accumulated in your body like sugar but get excreted out of the body with waste materials.
However, you need to be circumspect while choosing an alternative to sugar. It is because many sweeteners, which are widely termed as ‘healthy’ are not so in reality. The sweeteners can be put in categories as follows: artificial sweeteners, alcohol sugar, natural sweeteners, and dietary supplements. Some of the natural and artificial sweeteners which you should use to replace sugar in your diet are honey, date sugar, maple syrup, cranberries, brown rice syrup, stevia, and fruit juice among others.
The Gluten-Free TrendGluten is another ingredient that is becoming taboo with health-conscious consumers of bakery products. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley or any of their crossbreed varieties and derivatives.
In baking, gluten is the binding agent within the flour that prevents the baked goods from crumbling. As such, gluten is found in many processed and packaged food products.
A few years ago, gluten-free products were virtually unheard of except in specialty health food stores. Now, it has become difficult not to spot some gluten-free products featured in regular supermarkets and hypermarkets, across big cities of India! In some cases, whole rows are dedicated to gluten-free packaged food, along with other specialty food such as diabetic and lactose-intolerance food products.
India is expected to emerge as the second-fastest growing market for gluten-free food products in Asia-Pacific, after China. The market for gluten-free food & beverages has undergone a considerable change in the country, from being considered as specialty niche products to becoming mainstream products in India and especially in the Indian metros.
With recent increases of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, the idea of a gluten-free diet has been recently researched by physicians from all sides of the nutritional spectrum, including weight-loss specialists, bariatric physicians, and dietitians.
A gluten-free diet, in case you are affected by gluten intolerance, can have a number of health benefits, which include, according to a health website, improving cholesterol levels, promoting digestive health, and increasing energy levels.
To sum up, we can say that yes, people in India are definitely becoming health-conscious, and the Indian bakery industry is ready to serve the needs of these consumers. Nowadays, there are significant numbers of consumers in India who want to eat better and are trying to make better and healthier choices. They want great tasting products but they also want better nutrition and easier ways to stay healthy. In this context, baked goods delivering functional ingredients, while maintaining great taste, will have a bright future in the Indian bakery industry. This increasing demand for gourmet and healthy bakery products in the Indian bakery industry can make the lives of entrepreneurs working or venturing in this industry quite challenging and exciting.
