IFF is launching a new range of bakery enzymes for the Chinese market. Powerfresh and Powersoft are marketed under the Danisco range of food ingredients that is now part of the IFF family. 

The move comes amid a boom in sweet baked goods in China and is touted as improving productivity and reducing product returns. 

Improver houses and bakeries in China are looking to enhance consumer eating experiences. To meet this need, IFF’s latest launch expands on its current range of freshness solutions in the Asia-Pacific area. 

Refined indulgence 
“Consumers in China are looking for a more refined quality and a more indulgent experience from baked goods,” Lai See Lee, regional industry leader, Asia Pacific, Food Enzymes, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

“Freshness” means “high-quality” to consumers in China, she reveals. “China is also one of the top three countries that are leading in their quest for innovative textures of baked goods.”

“Softness,” “crunchy/crispy” and “moistness” are the top three texture criteria considered by consumers when they’re considering which product to purchase, notes Lee. 

The pandemic’s effect 
COVID-19 has increased consumers’ online ordering of packaged baked goods, according to IFF. 

“Packaged baked goods need to retain softness, moistness and resilience during the desired shelf life. Anti-staling enzymes enable these baked goods to remain softer during the desired shelf life, ensuring repeat purchase and a reduced risk of wasteful returns,” explains Lee.  

“Our latest market insights signal that consumer behavior is centered around affordability, indulgence, convenience, health and wellness, and ‘sustainability likely as a result of COVID-19, with indulgence and convenience being closely connected to industrial baked goods. 

IFF’s Powerfresh and Powersoft baking enzymes offer retailers and brand owners the possibility to explore new textures and reach the next level of indulgence, helping them differentiate from the competition, Lee details. 

Prioritizing bakery standards
Baking enzymes have been on the global market for quite some time but are new to the Chinese market. 

IFF has a “substantial history in the development and commercialization of baking enzymes in the anti-staling, dough strengthening and flour optimization realm and these enzymes are part of a larger portfolio of food enzymes,” says Lee. 

“The fact that our enzymes are effective in dough with a high sugar content means that the sweet buns will retain their softness and the consumer will have a ‘melt-in-your mouth’ experience. Meanwhile the existing enzymes in the market are less tolerant in high sugar dough, which is popular in the Asian market.”

IFF produces enzymes that deliver sustainable innovations across a wide variety of food and beverage products.
Powerfresh and Powersoft enzymes offer improver houses and industrial bakeries excellent anti-staling solutions that deliver the desired taste, texture and shelf-keeping characteristics in cakes, sweet rolls and buns while maintaining the desired shape and volume. 

They are specially formulated to deliver ultimate softness and moistness that consumers crave in sweet baked goods, addressing a category driven by indulgence.

“Chinese consumers increasingly expect their baked goods not only to taste great, they should also be soft, have a good texture and crumb, and with excellent keeping qualities,” Lee adds.

“Our Powerfresh and Powersoft enzymes are essential solutions to help the bakeries optimize their recipes and satisfy their customers’ evolving preferences.”

“These enzymes have a higher sugar tolerance in dough compared to regular softening enzymes, making them particularly performant in delivering greater taste and texture appeal while improving productivity, flexibility and sustainability. They can also be applied in a wide variety of recipes without affecting the overall production process,” she further explains.

‘We’re always looking to address the needs of food manufacturers in the context of industry challenges or market needs, so our portfolio is evolving continually,” Lee concludes. 

Last month, IFF completed its mega-merger with DuPont’s Nutrition & Biosciences (N&B) business. At the time of the announcement, the deal was positioned as a “pivotal moment” for IFF’s ambitions to expand beyond flavors.

In December, DuPont N&B launched Powerfresh Special and Powersoft Cake 8010 in Japan.

“Consumer demand for baked goods with a delicious taste and long shelf life is growing rapidly across Japan. We see Powerfresh Special and Powersoft Cake 8010 as an essential to helping the baking industry meet that need,” Tsukahara Kazuyuki, application specialist at DuPont, said at the time.

Bakery innovation intensifies
Healthy indulgence is at the forefront of innovation for the bakery category. The drive toward healthier food choices will remain robust in sweet treats throughout this year, as emphasized in Innova Market Insights’ latest report. 

Indulgent taste is particularly essential to the sweet bakery sector. Making changes such as sugar reduction is crucial, but indulgence remains paramount.

Earlier this month, Synergy Flavours unveiled a new ingredient tipped to make “significant fat and calorie reductions in baked goods, such as muffins, cookies and biscuits.”

The company says its “next-generation” ingredient effectively replicates every day baked goods’ taste and texture while reducing calorie content.

The German milling group GoodMills Innovations recently released a high-fiber product for baked goods to boost consumers’ immune systems and address concerns of flu and viruses.