Today’s trends in sandwiches, wraps and rolls

The growth in the sandwiches, wraps and rolls category is happening on the premium end – even in these uncertain economic times. That’s the word from Darren O’ Brien, Bakery Innovation Manager at Tip Top Foodservice, who adds “we’re seeing people trade up and then down again, but one thing that’s identifiable is that almost everybody still has a budget for going out and enjoying food with family and friends, and while they might be watching the budget in the retail aisles, they’re wanting to have an indulgence when dining out.”

Darren cites the example of the burger bun, with a continued shift away from the traditional white sesame seeded bun of old to more premium options such as milk buns, potato buns and brioche. “The trend to premiumisation is definitely ongoing, as a result of which we’re currently working on a couple of new bakery lines to be released later in the year. Sourdough breads have gone from strength to strength, in fact they’re becoming ubiquitous – there’s a consumer expectation that you’ll have them on the menu, so you can’t afford to ignore that demand.

“We’re also finding that business owners and managers are asking us how they can elevate their sandwich and lunch rolls offerings and we’re happy to provide some suggestions – the point being that these foodservice professionals have recognised they need to step up in response to this drive towards premiumisation.

“In part this is being driven by an increased lunchtime trade in our urban centres – now that we’re well past Covid, there has been a bit of a forced return to the office going on, with less working from home, and that has led to more daytime café trade. As a result we’re also working on some new products in the rolls space – again, not just the everyday offerings but something a little more premium.”

Garlic bread has grown in popularity

With Italian currently the world’s most popular cuisine choice, ciabatta bread has become a top seller locally, with Turkish bread also in great demand. Focaccia, however, is no longer the stand out it once was. “I think slice and fill rolls are more popular,” Darren concedes, “but we are seeing some interesting Italian builds happening.  

“Garlic bread has really grown in popularity over the past few years, and one of the reasons is that during lockdowns people were looking for easy to prepare options, and garlic bread fits the bill. What we’re seeing now is that people are experimenting more with it – it’s being served in more upmarket establishments, and they’re stuffing it and cooking it with a nice blend of cheeses and perhaps some pepperoni, then serving it up as a sharing pullapart.

“We also produce a garlic sub – normally you would just plate and serve it, but we’re seeing businesses building sandwiches with it, like garlic bread steak sandwiches. There’s a real willingness to take existing products and play around with them, load them up.

The trend to fuse different culinary styles is also making its presence felt in sandwiches, wraps and rolls. “Today we have Thai Australian, Korean Australia, Mexican Australia, and all those styles are being adapted into the category,” Darren says. “Essentially what chefs are doing is taking key products and ingredients from the cuisine and adapting them into a roll or a wrap or a burger build. At the same time they’re ‘Aussifying’ them a little – such as by reducing some of the excessive spices.

“There’s also quite a bit going on in the Indigenous ingredients space – it’s a little weird that Australia has picked up on so many of these flavours from overseas but never really done a lot with our own spices. But now we’re seeing some of the upper level restaurants and cafes, the real innovators, working with flavours like wattleseed, which tastes terrific, finger limes and so on. These flavours go very well with bakery products so there is a lot of potential to use them in sandwiches and rolls.”

Sustainability a key consideration

While plant-based remains a popular form of filling, Darren says the growth in this area is found in moving away from manufactured plant-based proteins in favour of actual fruits or vegetables – “jackfruits are popular as a swap out for pulled pork, as are mushrooms. In fact mushrooms are increasingly used in placed of beef or chicken when someone wants a vegetarian filling in their sandwich or roll build. The key here is finding a filling that’s natural and chunky enough to replace the meat, as opposed to an artificially created protein product.”

With sustainability a key consideration in the minds of millennial and Gen-Z consumers, Darren points out that frozen bread, wraps and rolls can often be a greener choice. “Most of our product is now available in frozen, and that allows you to just get out what you need as you need it. People are also getting on the bandwagon of repurposing leftover bread to handmake croutons or bread and butter puddings, rather than just throwing out a stale loaf.”

The use of croissants with a wide variety of fillings other than the traditional ham and cheese or jam has come to us from the US and Europe – regular sandwich fillings, bacon and egg breakfast croissants and even croissants with burger fillings are now trending. In response to this Tip Top launched a croissant with less of a traditional crescent shape – “we’ve turned the edges in somewhat, which makes it easier to cut and accommodate a meat pattie or large amount of filling while still allowing it to hold its shape,” Darren explains.

“They’re going very strong so we’ve recently been doing a lot more promotion and featuring them on social media. People are also making their own croissant dough, putting it into a square tin and making croissant bread which they can then use as a sandwich. This is also being done with pastry squares – it’s all about offering that extra level of indulgence.”

Applications expanding for the humble crumpet

Crumpets have long been a big seller at breakfast and they are still holding their own, as their applications have grown more widespread. “They’re really like an alternative to bread now – the typical serve of a crumpet used to be with honey or a fruit spread, but now they’re being served with scrambled eggs, bacon, avocado; on all sorts of builds where you would once have used a slice of bread, people are substituting a crumpet. That was a big move in the UK initially and it’s since spread to our shores.

“Some of these ideas are pretty way out but they’re coming from high profile influencers on Instagram – and the interesting thing is that the focus for those players is not on Michelin starred super food but more the everyday stuff. There’s no doubt Gordon Ramsay is a high end chef, but when you look at his Instagram it’s 60 to 70 per cent burgers, sandwiches, lots of stuff with bread, and I think a lot of foodservice professionals are going to people like him online to pick up ideas. Take a look at his Bread Street Kitchen & Bar in the UK – they’re doing crumpets, English muffins with beautiful sourdough, burgers with an appealing potato starch glaze. As I said at the outset, it’s all about taking the everyday and premiumising it.”