Food Matters Live London

Opportunities exist in the bakery category to deliver more fibre, more protein, cleaner labels and products that support gut health — all while delivering the taste and textures that define bakery.

This roundtable hosted by James Slater and Lydia Baines, explores how the industry can respond to evolving consumer needs with speed and confidence.

Drawing on our proprietary consumer research and gut health studies with University of Ghent and the University of Bozen-Bolzano, we’ll look at:

• The rising demand for nutrient dense bakery options such as fibre rich, protein enhanced and gut health supporting
• The implications of GLP 1 driven shifts in consumption
• Reformulation challenges and strategies that enhance nutrition and maintain taste, texture and indulgence including:
  • The power of fermentation and emerging pulse‑based approaches that naturally elevate nutrition
  • Fibre‑forward and protein‑rich bakery products, using grains, seeds and smarter formulations that keep products soft, fresh and delicious.
  • Cleaner, clearer recipes that respond to consumer expectations around transparency, provenance and functional ingredients.

These themes reflect the momentum we see across the UK: a market where shoppers increasingly seek bakery that is both indulgent and better for them.

Why this matters now

The bakery sector is entering a new era where new product development and reformulation is leading to products that meet the health expectations and needs of consumers. In the UK, demand for healthier indulgence continues to rise. Consumers want bakes that feel good and do good—delivering fibre, protein or gut‑friendly cues—while still offering the flavours and textures they love. At the same time, innovations in cleaner‑label enzyme technology and fermentation are helping bakers meet these expectations without compromise. These tools are becoming essential as manufacturers look to balance nutrition, transparency and sensory excellence.

Participants will leave with:

• Practical ideas for formulating high‑fibre, high‑protein and gut‑supportive bakery products in a UK regulatory context.
• Solutions to maintain taste and texture across cleaner‑label, healthier bakery products.
• Real examples and prototypes showing how Puratos UK can help scale healthier breads successfully, supported by our UK expertise and global R&D network.