ConAgra Mills: Growth opportunities amid a sea of beige

Volumes of many grain-based foods such as bread & rolls and ready-to eat breakfast cereals have plummeted in the past five years in the US, with just under 3bn loaves sold in the FDMx channel in 2011 versus almost 3.4bn loaves in 2006 - something ConAgra Mills' director of commercial insights David Sheluga refers to as the '50 shades of beige' phenomenon.

Consumers, he says, are shifting "from a meat-and-potatoes based European diet, to a more modern, colorful, multi-textured, multi-flavored diet influenced by Asian and Latin foods".​

However, there are still significant growth opportunities for firms looking to incorporate whole grains, ancient grains, high fiber flours and other ingredients - into new or reformulated grain-based products for retail and foodservice markets - says VP marketing Mike Veal, who sat down with FoodNavigator-USA during the show on Monday.

One interesting innovation in this space is a new 'chopped' form of ConAgra Mills' Sustagrain wholegrain barley packed with soluble fiber, creating cholesterol-lowering, healthy blood glucose/low-GI, sustained energy/satiety, whole grain and high-fiber related marketing opportunities for customers.

While Sustagrain flakes and flours have been around for a while, the new chopped version - in which the kernel has been cut into three pieces for faster cooking - opens up new application opportunities in prepared foods, salads, sides, oatmeal-type products, meal replacements and other foods for schools, prepared meals, foodservice markets and retail, says Veal.

Meanwhile, new variants of the Ultragrain wholegrain range of flours and other products are helping manufacturers cut costs by using less gluten, while the firm's proprietary 'Safeguard' process of treating flour to tackle pathogens without denaturing the gluten and damaging its functionality have also been very successful for products such as raw cookie dough, cold-pressed cereal bars and other ready-to-eat products.