Founded in Turkey in 1923 and recognized as the world’s fourth-largest yeast producer, Pak Group is the parent company of our North American brand, Bellarise®. Pak established their North American division in 2013 with headquarters located in Pasadena, California, and production sites and distribution centers in different parts of the United States.
Under the Bellarise® brand, the company crafts bakery solutions specifically designed for the North American market and its unique needs. The range encompasses a mix of non-GMO, organic, and conventional baking ingredients, including baker’s yeast and custom enzyme-based bakery solutions such as dough conditioners, softeners and extended-shelf-life (ESL) systems, improvers, and bases. Pak focuses on serving commercial and industrial bakeries, as well as retail and artisan bakeries, along with the consumer market.
Interview with Cam Suarez-Bitar, Director of Marketing & Public Relations at Pak Group.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Cam Suarez-Bitar: In addition to the above points, it is worth mentioning that Pak Group is vertically integrated. We have our own packaging division, which allows us to have greater control over costs and product quality, since we manage both the production and packaging of our products. That helps us offer added peace of mind to customers who order branded products or private label ingredients from us.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
C.S.B: Two of our newest and most innovative custom enzyme-based bakery solutions are Bellarise® Oil Reducer and Bellarise® Organic Gluten Replacer 2000. Both solutions address key challenges facing the baking industry today: uncertainty around the price, quality, and availability of cooking oils and vital wheat gluten.
Global oil shortages have contributed to rising oil prices and less reliable access to a variety of oils that bakers need to bake bread at any scale. Bellarise® Oil Reducer allows bakeries to reduce their dependence on oil by up to 50% or more, and cut oil costs by 15-30%, depending on the recipe. It is clean label, non-GMO and all-natural, and it allows bakers to continue baking the breads their customers love while ensuring the best quality, slice after slice.
Cam Suarez-Bitar, Director of Marketing & Public Relations at Pak Group.
Shortages have also affected global vital wheat gluten supplies, and Bellarise® Organic Gluten Replacer 2000 helps bakeries of all sizes reduce costs while keeping overall bread quality high. Depending on the recipe, bakeries can see a reduction of organic vital wheat gluten in their breads of up to 20% or more, find excellent texture throughout, and enjoy a low use rate. Since it is organic, it is also non-GMO and clean label.
Both Bellarise® Oil Reducer and Bellarise® Organic Gluten Replacer 2000 ensure the best overall quality, texture, appearance, and eating experience as they help bakeries cut costs and simplify ingredient sourcing. We are currently sampling, so interested bakers are welcome to contact us and request a sample, anytime!
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
C.S.B: We see a broad range of growth opportunities for bakeries operating in the North American market. Among the most salient trends we see are the ascent of Generation Y (aka Millennials) and Generation Z as dominant market segments leading to a reshaping and evolution of the North American market’s overall values and needs. Clean label, non-GMO, all-natural, and organic remain at the top of consumer preferences, with vegan and plant-based options rising quickly. With a growing interest in the people behind the products they buy, North American consumers are looking for authenticity and transparency from the brands they choose. Consumers of all ages are also looking for a better value as inflation adds pressure to their budgets; for example, more and more consumers are eating at home instead of dining out. Product quality is of paramount importance, as well. All in all, bakeries should consider partnering with their ingredient suppliers to keep costs under control, understand their markets, and offer breads that touch on consumers’ most essential values. Always, and especially through these difficult times facing so many around the world, companies ought to show their customers that they are in-tune with their needs and that they can help make life easier in some way.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the rest of 2022?
C.S.B: As we enter the fourth quarter and 2022 comes to a close, more consumers will be baking at home across the United States in preparation for the Holiday Season. Limited time offerings (or LTOs) and seasonal breads and recipes will be on consumers’ minds, as well. Health and wellness, clean label, non-GMO, organic, overall value, quality, indulgent, vegan and plant-based, and authenticity will remain high on North American bread consumers’ priorities. Bakeries will have to continue navigating an unpredictable market over the coming months, due to price and supply fluctuations affecting businesses and consumers across North America. By partnering with reliable suppliers who understand their markets, consumers’ needs and wants, and bakeries’ own challenges and goals, bakeries can offer their customers their best and most memorable breads in ways that account for the realities that their customers live on a daily basis.