KENYA – Kenyan baking company, Broadway Bakery has launched the first of its kind 50/50 bread, made from a combination of white bread flour and brown bread flour, produced in its newly opened production facility.

The revolutionary baked good enriched with essential fiber and 60% low on sugar compared to the white bread, is a testament to the continued commitment the over 60-year-old company has to the Kenyan market of providing innovative natural food ingredients.

“Broadway Bakery has lived by their “Baked with Heart” values and this does not apply any less to 50/50,” indicated Broadway in a press-release.

To ensure of its quality, the Managing Director Bimal Shah has highlighted that the company sources high quality wheat which enables the production of the bread to be seamless without the need of loading it with additives.

The 50/50 bread, already in stores across the country is promising to offer filling, appetizing and healthy bread alternative to Kenyan consumers.

Further to that, the new bread is aimed to ensure all consumers across all ages, relish on the new offering as it perfectly meets their taste and preferences.

“We had seen there was a division at the breakfast table in most households, where adults prefer our brown bread and the kids love our white bread. We came with a solution that brings family together at an affordable price,” said Broadway.

The product development took about for years of constant R&D with the concept mostly borrowed from the UK market.

“Broadway Bakery has lived by their “Baked with Heart” values and this does not apply any less to 50/50.”

Broadway

Important to note is that, it was inspired by Broadway’s need of providing Kenyans with nutritious, low sugar content bread following the company’s multiple drives on raising awareness of diabetes which indicated that many people battle with the condition.

“As Kenyans we need to start changing our eating habits and become more conscious to what we are eating for our future and children,” stated Bimal, adding that the COVID-19 has clearly shown that the countries whose population were consuming healthy and nutritious foods were least hit by the pandemic.

Going an extra mile, the bread maker has roped in select media and influencer personalities to raise awareness of the bread among consumers.

The new offering is an addition to its product portfolio comprising of its famous unsliced bread, while sliced bread, brown sliced bread, sandwich bread and the newly introduced Mando bites.

The company which commenced operations in 1958, has over the years invested in the business with the aim of becoming a market leader in Kenya’s bread market.

Broadways, invested in its first fully automated bread plant, a Baker Perkins plant in 1979 with a production capacity of 70,000 loaves per day.

They later upgraded to a Spooner plant in 1981 with a production capacity of 70,000 loaves per day. This was followed with installation of a Werner & Pfleiderer (W&P) plant with a production capacity of 100,000 loaves per day.

The company was still in quest for growth and it purchased its second W&P plant also with a capacity of 100,000 loaves per day in 1992.

Later in 2017, they introduced another 100,000 loaves per-day W&P bread plant and introduced new mixing technology that enhanced the quality of its bread produced.

A stickler for quality, Broadway installed an in-house wax coating and printing plant to entrench its longstanding trademark of wax-coated paper packaging.

The company are the pioneers in wax-coated paper packaging for bread which is biodegradable, reusable and keeps the product fresh for longer.

Celebrating its 60 years in 2018, the company installed a Rondo plant specializing in the manufacturing of confectioner items. This led to the introduction of Mando Bites.

The newly opened state-of-the-art plant where the 50/50 bread is produced was commissioned in November 2020 in a virtual event.

It features a high-tech mixing technology, directly connected to the silo and a fast cooling compartment.

According to the MD, installation of the factory began early 2020 but the construction process was derail by the COVID-19 pandemic as engineers in overseas could not travel.

But with knowledge sharing via digital platforms, the plant was completed before the end of the year and commenced operations.

The launch of the 50/50 bread comes at a time most bakers in the country have increased the price of bread with Ksh. 5 for a 400 gramme loaf.

Processors attributed the rise in price, the first in four years, to high cost of wheat flour and other ingredients such as cooking oil.

However, supermarkets kept the cost of in-house baked bread at Sh50, forcing bakers to reverse the recent hike.

“The market has forced bakers to reduce the price as customers opted for cheaper bread as an alternative,” said Bimal Shah.

To this end the newly launches 50/50 bread will retail at Ksh. 50 (US$0.45) across all outlets.

Broadway Bakery is part of the larger Broadway Group which also has a milling company known as Bakex Millers established in 1983.

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