Italy’s Barilla Group has launched pancakes under its Mulino Bianco bakery breakfast range.
Mulino Bianco Pancakes are made with flour, sugar, eggs from free-range hens and 100% fresh Italian milk.
They are free from palm oil, preservatives, or colouring agents, and the packaging can be recycled.
The ready-to-eat plain pancakes can also be reheated in a frying pan, toaster or microwave.
Each pack contains four single portions and is priced at €2.49. A single 35-gram pancake has 5.8 grams of fat and 127 calories.
Demand
A Nielsen study commissioned by Barilla Group reveals that there are more than 4 million Italians, especially young people and families with children, who like pancakes.
Four out of ten (43%) claim to have consumed pancakes at least once, especially at home (84%).
Also, 51% prefer them at the weekends, mainly for breakfast (73%) and as an afternoon snack (40%).
The preferred toppings include sweet ingredients and fruit (90%); cocoa, chocolate or hazelnut spreads (65%); jams/jellies (54%); maple syrup (41%) and honey (28%).
Availability
Like Nutella Biscuits, the Mulino Bianco Pancake has already taken the market by storm, according to a report in the Corriere della Sera.
Italian consumers had problems finding the new product on supermarket shelves while it appeared on Amazon and eBay for up to six times the normal retail price, the report revealed.
Barilla denied claims that the shortage is part of a marketing strategy to gain media exposure and accelerate consumer demand.
The Parma-based company said it would take a few weeks before the Mulino Bianco Pancake will be widely available in the large-scale retail channel.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
