Brits want more natural loaves, study reveals

More than 60% of Britons are not totally confident of the ingredients used in a typical supermarket loaf, a survey carried out by Opinium* on behalf of The Bertinet Bakery, in association with the Real Bread Campaign, has found.

In addition to a lack of confidence of what’s in a loaf, 66% said they would prefer to eat loaves with as few preservatives and other additives as possible while 60% said they would like to see more natural options in the supermarket. When palm oil was raised, 47% said that finding a loaf containing palm oil and additives would put them off eating it.

Real Bread Campaign co-ordinator, Chris Young, said the evidence is overwhelming that people are losing confidence in what goes into typical supermarket loaves and would welcome @more, better quality, alternatives to be more widely available”.

Head Baker, Anomarel Ogen, at Bertinet Bakery, which crafts wrapped, sliced loaves of genuine sourdough bread from just flour, water and sea salt, noted: “This research shows that there is a growing awareness and appetite for Real Bread with better quality, natural ingredients. At Bertinet Bakery we are passionate about making genuine, natural sourdough bread more accessible to everyone.”

Young added: “Small, local bakeries remain at the heart of our mission to make Real Bread accessible to all. While the majority of people aren’t fortunate enough to have one nearby, we’d rather people have the chance to swap the loaf they buy at a supermarket from an additive-laden one to Real Bread and, better still, genuine sourdough. Bertinet Bakery is one of the few bakeries we know of that are making this choice possible.”

The Campaign continues to lobby the government for an Honest Crust Act of improved loaf labelling and marketing rules to help shoppers make better-informed choices about the food they buy.

*Consumer omnibus of 2,000 nationally-representative UK adults 13-17 May 2022.

Related content