Lantmännen Unibake Germany launches “Better Buns” with improved nutritional values and lower CO2 footprint

When you work in the food industry a constant improvement process is going on. How can you adjust a recipe to make the product taste better? How can you make the product look better? How can you use different raw materials to reduce climate impact? How can you make the products healthier without comprising on taste, and so on? 

In the beginning of May 2024, Lantmännen Unibake Germany has launched two new types of hamburger buns. They call the concept “Better Buns” because the products are better in several ways compared to traditional hamburger buns. 

“Our innovation team in Lantmännen Unibake has a ‘no sugar added’ patent. It means that they have developed a certain process of making and baking bread using less or even no sugar. Internally, we discussed how we could implement the patent into our fast-food recipes, and we came up with this concept for Better Buns,” Annette Trostheide says, who is Head of Marketing at Lantmännen Unibake Germany.  

 “We wanted to develop a product range that meet consumers' desire for food with better nutritional values, while supporting our customers on their way to a more sustainable future. So, the concept both has a health and a climate upside.” 

The sweet starch 

Currently there are two products in the Better Buns series – a hamburger bun with white sesame on top, and a hamburger bun with both white and black sesame. The buns taste the same as conventional hamburger buns but has no added sugar, less salt, and more fibre. The part with the no added sugar is a little complex, Annette Trostheide warns. 

“Usually starch molecules in bread open into smaller sugar molecules when we chew the food which makes it taste sweeter. With our no sugar added patent we add an enzyme in the dough that already opens starch molecules in the flour in the rising and baking process.” 

On the packaging of the Better Buns products, customers will not find sugar in the declaration of contents. But when their eyes scroll down to the table of nutritional values, they will find a certain amount of carbohydrates and thereof sugar in the product.  

“That’s because the production process separates the starch into sugar molecules,” Annette Trostheide says. “Our standard hamburger buns and our Better Buns have approximately the same amount of sugar when you only look at the nutritional values list. But with Better Buns, the amount of sugar only comes from the starch without the addition of granulated sugar, so it’s less unhealthy you could say.” 

Improved logistics 

The Better Buns concept also comes with benefits for the climate. In the logistics process, Lantmännen Unibake Germany can pack more Better Buns on a pallet compared to their standard Hamburger Sesame 5-inch bun leading to a 25% better pallet utilization. 

“We basically pack less air with the new buns, which is obviously good for the climate. And by not adding sugar to the products, we leave out a raw material that has a rather high CO2 footprint,” Annette Trostheide says. 

 So far, the new fast-food products have only been on the German market for a short period of time so it’s too early to know if the launch is going to be a success or not. By judging from the comments made from customers who have seen and tasted the new products, confidence is high, however. 

“Especially the black and white hamburger bun has received some attention because the products look attractive. The products are also nicely glazed which adds to their attractiveness,” says Annette Trostheide. “Our next step is to engage canteens at universities where they often have a sustainability strategy where our Better Buns concept fits in perfectly. And of course, we will use the experiences from this launch to improve recipes and come up with ideas for new products in the future.”