The bread aisles at supermarkets across the country used to look identical. Seas of white breads and white buns were made with roughly the same ingredient lists, including a base of refined flour. That’s not the case anymore, and hasn’t been for about 10 years. Today, the bread aisle is a cornucopia of white and brown breads made with refined flours, whole wheat flours, whole grains and multigrain blends.

The shift in the bread aisle was triggered by consumers’ adventurous palates and a wealth of information about the nutritional benefits of whole grains. Even the U.S. government got on the whole grain bandwagon and used the 2020 release of its Dietary Guidelines for Americans to recommend that adults eat at least half their grains as whole grains. 

DakotaMB were early adopters of whole grains. In 1927, the family who owns our company today purchased Roman Meal Company, where we used our baking expertise to create Roman Meal Bread, one of the first multigrain breads available in the United States. 

We are the multigrain experts in the baking and food industry because we’ve been working with multigrain blends for nearly 100 years! And not just in the bread industry. Consumer cravings for multigrain blends has impacted multiple categories, including: 

• Cereal: Consumers wanting to start their day off with a nutritious breakfast are turning to multigrain cereals and granolas. 
• Biscuits/Cookies: Better-for-you cookies are trending as a permissibly indulgent treat for consumers during any eating occasion. 
• Crackers: Multigrain blends create an upscale cracker experience with enhanced texture and taste. 

The popularity of multigrain blends has kept our Research and Development Team busy developing multigrain blends for our customers’ targeted product attributes. We recently sat down with our R&D team to understand the key factors that go into choosing the perfect multigrain blend. 

Defining Product Attributes and External Factors for Multigrain Products

The first step in choosing a multigrain blend is understanding what attributes you want to deliver in a finished product. We always start the multigrain blend process by reviewing these key parameters and asking these questions:

• Nutritional Profile: Do you have any specific nutrient goals you’re trying to hit? Creating a product that hits specific vitamin, fiber or mineral requirements will alter the grains and seeds we use in a multigrain blend. 
• Texture: Do you want to impart additional texture in a product, or do you want the multigrain blend to seamlessly blend into the product’s existing texture?
• Usage: Do you want your multigrain blend to top a product or be incorporated into the dough?
• Visual: Some food manufacturers want their multigrain blends to be seen by consumers. Others want their blends to “disappear” into the product. We can create blends for both types of products.
• Label Statements: Are you targeting a gluten-free product? Or maybe you just want to scream “ancient grains” on the package? Understanding what types of label statements you’re looking to make will help us choose the perfect multigrain blend. 

In addition to product attributes, three external factors also weigh heavily in developing and using a multigrain blend. 

• Price: Grains and seeds are all priced differently, so it’s important to know your product price point so we can develop a multigrain blend that works for the formula and hits the necessary profit margin. 
• Usage Level: Price and usage level go hand-in-hand in determining the perfect multigrain blend for your bread, cereal or cookie. Most multigrain blends have an upper usage limit of about 25%. 
• Supply Chain: Because we source and purchase grains from farmers throughout North America, we understand grain and seed markets and will factor in any anticipated shortages into formulating a multigrain blend.

There’s a lot that goes into choosing the perfect multigrain blend. That’s why it’s essential to partner with a multigrain expert such as DakotaMB. We’ve helped bakeries and food manufacturers formulate thousands of multigrain products. Contact us today to start collaborating on your next multigrain product.