Food & Beverage Asia February/March 2024

The art of crumb coating
Crunchy, crispy coatings are still important to consumers, and GEA
expounds on why controlling the crumb is crucial to convenience
Two out of three consumers globally are
looking for simple and convenient ways
to ensure the intake of nutrients on a daily
basis. 1 They want clean ingredients, impactful
flavours and textures – more choice in a
burgeoning market is crucial in adapting
to market trends. It is thus no wonder that
the convenience foods sector is booming,
set to grow by 7.2% CAGR by 2033. 2
Given these demands, how are convenience
food producers innovating to stay ahead
of the curve? And why is crumb coating
so significant in meeting demand from all
generations of convenience food consumers?
NEW TRENDS DEMAND NEW
SOLUTIONS
Over the last 12 months, consumer trends
for convenience crumb-coated products
have cited visual appeal and texture as
two main drivers behind a purchase.
Crispy/crunchy coatings in particular are
experiencing consistent growth in demand.
The meat substitutes category is seeing
the highest growth for “crispy, crunchy
and cracking” claims at 21.9%, while the
meat, fish and eggs category is seeing
7.0% (CAGR 5 years ending Q2 2022). 3
This could be something as simple as
adding crunchy salad leaves to a takeaway
burger, or a light and crispy breadcrumb
coating with flax and sunflower seeds.
The makeup of modern crumb coating
is a mixture of small and large particles
and multiple colours – particularly with
speciality crumbs. There are four key
attributes to a crumb coating: colour,
appearance, texture and flavour, and
innovative new crumb coatings provide
all four along with enhanced mouthfeel.
The key to success in crumb coating is
the triangle between food manufacturer,
ingredients supplier and machine engineering:
understanding the relationship and
working together maximises success. 4
MINIMISING BREAKAGE AND
CONTAMINATION
Crumb coatings bring diversity to a rapidly
increasing range of food products – a
contrast to its basic start with seafood
nearly 100 years ago. All the new variations
(ancient grains, seeds, nuts, and carbs)
create challenges for producers and make
it necessary to consider a more controlled
production process. It is therefore vital that the
machine used to coat the substrate presents
an even spread on the finished products to
44 FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA • FEBRUARY / MARCH 2024