Bidfood has reduced the sugar content of its Everyday Favourites ice cream range by 23% on average, achieving Public Health England’s (PHE) 2020 target in year one.
The initiative comes in support of The Childhood Obesity Plan and the government’s fight against childhood sugar consumption, initially targeting the nine categories that make the largest contributions, including ice creams, cakes and biscuits.
In addition to its range of four ice creams (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and white vanilla), Bidfood has made significant strides in reducing sugar in its baked goods. The recipes for four of its Everyday Favourites tray cakes – Victoria Sponge, Carrot Cake, Lemon Drizzle, and Coffee & Walnut – have been reformulated to achieve a sugar reduction of an average 19% across the board. As a result, the foodservice provider’s cakes now also boast refreshed flavours and an increase in fruit content.
Holly Marrero Easson, Brand Controller at Bidfood, said, “At Bidfood, we support the work being undertaken by the government to reduce the consumption of sugar, and we are continually working towards PHE’s sugar reduction targets across our own brand products.
“We are reformulating a number of products to reduce the amount of sugar, without compromising on quality or taste. As part of our ‘quality you can trust’ proposition, we’ve carried out extensive benchmarking and tasting – along with working closely with our supplier partners – to ensure we get our recipes just right. Our Everyday Favourites ice cream reformulation is a fantastic example of this responsible work, achieving a substantial reduction in sugar while ensuring a high quality is maintained.
“As part of the reformulation we have also focused on ‘smart swaps’, which cut sugar but maintain a great, if not even better, flavour. For example, in our lemon drizzle tray cake we now use Sicilian lemon drizzle instead of syrup and the Victoria Sponge now contains strawberry filling with a higher fruit content.”
Bidfood has more products in the pipeline, including gateaux, which will be reformulated and introduced to the market later this year.