Bag 'O tricks

Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, June, 2003

Sleepy. You're getting sleepy. Your eyes are getting heavy. Sleepy. You're in the bread aisle. Sleepy.

Yes, at times, hardball cynics may say that the bread aisle lacks excitement and, yes, at times, the lack of innovation may lure consumers to sleep. No wonder why some consumers have responded to copycat products with a yawn.

But just perhaps, wholesale bakers are up to a new bag of tricks. No, it doesn't involve extending shelf life with some magic ingredient like enzymes. That's so last-year's story. This year, the magic is in the mix.

Imagine this. Bakers are trying to find a way to wake up price-resistant consumers to get them to snap out of their trances and pay more money for more healthful and wholesome loaves of bread. They're not doing it...