The traditional crispbread
Presentation
The traditional crispbread recipe as we know it today was invented about 500 years ago. The recipe traditionally consists mainly of rye flour, with the addition of spelt flour, salt and water. Finland and Sweden have long traditions in crispbread consumption. The origin of the crispbread came from the earlier spisbröd (stovebread) which was a similar but thicker kind of bread. These breads were baked from at least the 6th century in central Sweden. They were usually hung above the stove to be dried. Today, however, much crisp bread contains wheat flour, spices, and grains, and is often leavened with yeast or sourdough. In the case of unleavened crispbread, bubbles are introduced into the dough mechanically. Traditionally, this was done by mixing snow or powdered ice into the dough (so called Ice knacke), which then evaporated during baking. Today, the dough, which must contain a large amount of water, is cooled and mixed until bubbly.
Ice knacke (unleavened, no yeast):
Yeast based and Aerated crispbread:
Market size
Crispbread market is a very big market > € 610M (2022) total of all the 10 EU countries that we measure (Nielsen/IRI) on a frequent base. Germany and Sweden have the highest consumption rate of crispbread.
Consumers insights
Crispbread is still more common in Middle and North European countries.In South Europe more crackers and toasted bread are consumed as alternatives. In Europe, traditional eating moments have the highest frequency of occasions, followed by snacking moments.
In general bread replacers are mainly consumed during the regular breakfast.
This occasion is also very important for crispbread in specific. Overall crispbread is a typical breakfast product. Crispbread in the household is most common in Sweden; in Sweden 92 percent of households have crispbread at home, in Germany it is 53 percent and in France 17 percent.
Innovations
Snacking has become central to product development in the global food and drink market, but innovation activity in crispbread has so far been more focused on health. Almost 40% of global launches in this category featured wholegrain claims, whilst a third of new product development carried high in fiber descriptors. High source of fiber, wholegrain and organic are the top positionings within the crispbread category.
Nonetheless, convenience-driven and snack-friendly innovation is gaining more steam in the crispbreads category. The events of the last few years have seen a shift in how and where consumers consume food and drink, in part driven by an increase in home working.
Anticipating on this BI has introduced portion packed crispbread. Available in portions with 5 slices packed in a recyclable folded carton. The folded carton contains 3 up to maximum 5 portions packs. This packaging format fits perfect with the on-the-go and out of home consumption trend as well as due to the longer freshness also contributes to reducing food waste.
