UK-based Mediterranean foods supplier Dina Foods is anticipating high demand for baked goods, which boast health, convenience and long shelf life. The company’s latest Tasty Goodness launch comprises three flatbread varieties, seeded, sourdough and demi pain flatbreads. Consumer demand for transparency continues to grow, specifically in the bakery and convenience space. Today’s super-conscious consumers frequently opt for choices they deem healthy, sustainable and planet-friendly. Interest in artisanal products, as opposed to ultra-processed bakery items, is also on the rise.

Speaking to FoodIngredientFirst, Wilda Haddad, Assistant General Manager at Dina Foods, says that there has been an increase in sales for baked goods and flatbreads, particularly among our national and European clients amid the pandemic. 

“Consumers are looking at healthier ways to maintain a balanced diet.”

A variety of consumers are driving these trends, according to Haddad. “Families are looking for packed lunch alternatives, working from home professionals and those who are looking for healthier bread options,” she notes.

The launch comes during a time when consumer demand for naturality is fast climbing the industry’s trend list, while ingredient provenance is not only an added perk but a prerequisite that drives consumer choice. In the bakery space, taste and texture are crucial elements and driving factors behind repeated purchases. However, the demand for clean label offerings, featuring natural ingredients that boost health and wellness, is also gaining momentum. 

Healthy ingredients in baked goods are becoming much more prominent today. “The healthier ingredients are important for the reduction in saturated fats, salt and sugar contents and the increase in fiber. Dina Foods had recognized a growing trend in healthier alternatives to bread, which is how Tasty Goodness was created,” Haddad comments. 

 The new flatbreads are made using 50/50 wholemeal and white flour. The seeded option will be baked with a variety of wholesome seeds, including sunflower, pumpkin, linseed and quinoa, offering a good source of vitamins for energy and vitality. The sourdough option meanwhile is naturally fermented for easy digestion.

Made with bespoke equipment in the Dina Foods factory, the seeded and sourdough variants will come in packs of six mini flatbreads. Completing the line-up is the Demi Pain, which is sold in a pack of eight pieces. The shelf life on all three breads will be 45 days.  

“People want to include healthy options in their diet, but they want these to be enjoyable. Our new Tasty Goodness breads are perfect on-the-go for the active person, convenient for the family looking for a quick, healthy food choice and appealing to those wanting to try something a little different in their diet,” says Suheil Haddad, Managing Director of Dina Foods. 

“Consumers are looking to recreate wraps and meals that they bought out of the home before the pandemic, for which our bread is well suited. Whether it is a Friday night fakeaway kebab or using the Paninette as a pizza base, the options with our flatbreads are endless,” Wilda Haddad details. 

“With the rise in meal boxes with varied ethnic cuisine, the Dina Foods breads provide a wonderful accompaniment. Dina Foods produces Mediterranean flatbreads and other ethnic ones, such as naans and chapatis.”

The latest launch joins an extensive range, including a wide variety of Middle Eastern wraps, specialty breads and premium confectionery and savories.  

The new products follow a long tradition of launches from Dina Foods, the company that launched the first flatbread in the UK two decades ago.

A best-seller is the trademarked two-layered Paninette flatbread, which has all the characteristics of a wrap but opens like a pocket. Like all Dina breads, Paninette is baked at Dina Foods’ bakery in London.