The volatile butter market and the growing demand for healthier products urge manufacturers to stabilize ingredient costs and improve nutritional profiles. AAK UK’s Customer Innovation team has therefore co-developed butter alternatives together with a number of baking customers.
One close collaboration was with a leading manufacturer of pies and pastries. As butter prices had increased dramatically, this specific customer was seeking cost savings without compromising on the products’ buttery taste and texture.
The matching formulation
Our Customer Innovation Manager worked out different options which were trialed at the customer’s site. After some iterations a matching formulation was identified and the switch was performed. Now, our butter replacer is being used in the company’s new ready-to-roll pastry, resulting in a pastry with a buttery taste and texture, but with increased convenience and dramatic cost savings.
A race against the clock
Following an innovation day held for a British bakery, our team raced against the clock to supply a pumpable butter alternative for use in a new brioche recipe. It had to deliver a healthier profile, an exceptional ease of use optimized for the baker’s process systems, and significant savings—all in the space of less than four weeks. Our Customer Innovation Manager had to act quickly and prepare a couple of prototypes based on some existing solution—which worked out as planned during trials. Next step was to present the alternatives for the bakery and luckily they could find a close enough match enabling a solution within less than four weeks.
—Tracey Moss, Technical Sales Manager, AAK UK
—Jill Ellis, Customer Innovation Manager, AAK UK
