Coatings specialist Witwood Food Products believes that the trend towards small bites and sharing provides a driver for ‘bite-sized’ coated desserts as an alternative to larger portioned dishes.

Susan Arkley, NPD Controller at Witwood explains the thinking behind a new range of desserts that will be launched to customers this month:

“When most people think of coated desserts they’ll probably think of the battered pineapple or banana fritters available in Chinese restaurants,” she says.

“We believe there’s scope to give coated desserts a new lease of life, particularly as more and more people are opting for a series of smaller dishes when eating out and sharing continues to grow in popularity.  Bite-sized desserts provide an opportunity to sample a range of different tastes or ‘a little something sweet’ at the end of a meal.”
 
Inspired by global food trends, and keen to inject something new into the market, the team at Witwood has developed desserts that take already popular dishes to the next level as well as introducing new concepts that will sit comfortably alongside traditional desserts on restaurant menus and supermarket shelves.  Says Susan:

“Some concepts are based on classic British desserts; such as mini treacle sponge bites in a cornflake and oat breading; and lemon curd pearls coated in a meringue style batter.  Others include passion fruit and mango bites - which uses a coconut breading to enhance the product visual and texture - and lemon and ginger cheesecake wedges.”

For the more indulgent, Witwood has created chocolate orange chunks and popcorn fudge.

Susan says: “This range reflects two key market drivers - sharing and innovation.  The idea of coated desserts is just beginning to take a foothold in international markets, and the US in particular.  We believe there’s scope for innovation along similar lines in the UK that reflects popular taste trends but also adds something new.”