This is the next in our series of Supply Side Innovators featured in our Bake Twentyfive issue. Each weekday, we will spotlight a new Supply Side Innovator that can help you create the flavors, textures, and designs your customers will love.

Shortening is a key ingredient in bakery, but bakers still face challenges in finding products that are easy to use while also delivering great sensory experiences across today’s most popular applications.

To support bakery customers in this effort, Bunge North America recently launched Vream® Elite, a new line of high-stability soy shortenings for bakers that maximizes the taste, texture and functionality of icings, cakes, pies, cookies, donuts and tortillas.

“These shortenings deliver tremendous functionality whether you’re working in cool or warm conditions and are optimized by application to deliver fantastic appearance and mouthfeel,” says Mark Stavro, senior director of marketing for Bunge North America. “As the global leader in plant-based fats and oils, Bunge Loders Croklaan offers a broad portfolio of bakery ingredients to meet our customers’ needs. Furthermore, we are always identifying growth opportunities and providing solutions to help our customers grow with top trends.”

Permissible indulgence is driving the bakery category into the future, Stavro says, pointing to one of the most influential consumer trends. Consumers want the occasional tasty treat but without the guilt, so baked goods that feature functional ingredients or appealing claims resonate.

“We have bakery teams at numerous pilot plants that our customers can work with to create innovative new products together,” he says.

At Bunge Loders Croklaan, Stavro emphasizes that they take the time to understand customers’ specific needs and pain points by application.

“We will then collaborate closely with them in one of our nine Creative Studios and Hubs across the globe to build custom solutions that we will scale to help them meet their growth targets,” he says. “Customers come to us with a vision and a goal and return home with fresh inspiration, improved knowledge, and, perhaps, concrete concepts.”

Fast facts

Bunge Loders Croklaan is a leading global producer and supplier of sustainable premium quality plant-based oils and fats for the food manufacturing industry. It operates as part of the global B2B edible oils business of Bunge Limited. Its products are used in a wide range of applications, from bakery and confectionery to culinary and infant nutrition.

With in-depth knowledge of ingredients, applications and processes, the Bunge Loders Croklaan team closely cooperates with customers to develop tailored solutions and create innovative products to meet their business goals and differentiate them in the marketplace.