Kara Brand Launches Innovative Sliced Bread

A unique Half & Half bread, combining wholegrain and white flours has been launched to the Out Of Home (OOH) market by Kara, the foodservice brand of Fletchers Group of Bakeries.

The launch of the healthier half-white, half-brown bread provides the foodservice industry with its first major branded 50:50 bread which has the taste and texture of a white sliced loaf, but carries the nutritional benefits of whole wheat.

Kara’s Half & Half bread provides a great new concept for the foodservice industry and responds to a 20 per cent increase in retail market demand for 50:50 style bread by young adults – and 30 per cent growth in demand by young families over the last twelve months according to Tesco data by Dunnhumby.

Fletchers Group head of foodservice, Chris Haddy, said: “This is an innovative product for the foodservice sector and taps into an established trend towards healthier breads, which still carry a white bread flavour.

“Our Half & Half bread has been extensively researched prior to manufacture to deliver a product which matches consumer likes. This includes reduced bitterness, increased sweetness and the texture of a white bread, but it also contains no hydrogenated fats or preservatives.”

Kara brand products are frozen at the point of baking, which offers significant benefits to OOH caterers such as increased shelf-life and sealed in freshness – enabling the product to be defrosted and used immediately to regain the freshly baked quality.

Chris added: “Kara’s Half & Half combines a delicious taste with important nutritional benefits and complements our existing bloomers & sliced bread range. It is ideal for families, health conscious individuals, adults, teenagers, children and those not willing to compromise on bread’s taste.

“This places the bread to perform well across the consumer board, but also makes it ideal for the educational market.”

Dunnhumby’s data from Tesco indicates that as well as increases in uptake of 50:50 breads by young adults and young families, there is a 24 per cent rise in demand among older families, a 14 per cent rise among older adults and an 11 per cent rise among pensioners.

The new Half & Half bread is a thick-sliced 18 plus two sliced loaf configuration and contains all the natural nutritional benefits of whole wheat, manufactured from 50 percent wholegrain flour and 50 per cent white flour.

Half & Half is available in 110mm x 115mm slices and each loaf weighs 750 grams.

Foodservice is a fast growing sector for Fletchers Group of Bakeries, due to continued NPD and Kara’s focus on customer service.

Ask your foodservice provider for more information on Kara’s Half and Half bread.