A collaboration between JO Sims and Country Style Foods has seen California prunes added to a new Sainsbury's bread line.
California prune puree is being included in a Seeded Farmhouse in-store baked gluten-free loaf, as part of Sainsbury’s Free From range. Aimed at capitalising on soaring sales of gluten-free foods, the prune puree is said to add colour and improve texture to the loaf.
The bread is being sold in 186 Sainsbury's stores, and taps into growing demand for free-from products. The Gluten Free Industry Association (GFIA) said sales of free-from products have risen 26.7 per cent in the last year to £585.6 million, with gluten-free products accounting for nearly 60 per cent of the category. It also underlines a trend for including more fresh produce-related ingredients in other foodstuffs.
California Prunes' European marketing director Esther Ritson-Elliott said: “We remain committed to driving awareness of the tremendous potential for California prunes as a viable, healthy, nutritious ingredient eminently suited to the commercial baking sector.
'Our trade marketing continues to focus on reaching out not just to bakers but also to top chefs, chocolatiers and food processors, whose interest in ‘clean-label’ and healthy ingredients is leading to a more contemporary view of prunes. This is culminating in the creation of ‘on trend’ offerings – such as a gluten free loaf - not previously available to the consumer.”
