Survival of the Fittest
Uncle Wally’s Finds GanedenBC30 Performs Above and Beyond the Probiotic Competition
When Uncle Wally’s, one of the country’s top muffin manufacturers, was looking to add a probiotic to its new Smart Portion Muffin Tops, the company representatives weren’t sure if it was possible.
“I had heard about a probiotic that could withstand the extreme temperatures of baking, but I was skeptical,” said Jerry Ceccio, Sales and Marketing Vice President for Uncle Wally’s.
Uncle Wally’s Smart Portion Muffin Tops are baked, frozen and individually wrapped to provide consumers portion-controlled servings. Found in the all-natural and healthy-for-you freezer case, Smart Portion Muffin Tops come in Cranberry Apple, Rich Double Chocolate, and Wild Blueberry and are packed four to a package.
Ceccio and his team not only needed a probiotic that could withstand baking, freezing and then reheating, they also wanted to be able to include the same or similar levels of probiotics as one would consume when eating a serving of yogurt. “I wanted to be able to provide a factual statement for our customers, such as ‘Smart Portion Muffin Tops – contains probiotics which support digestive health,’” said Ceccio.
A highly stable probiotic shown to support immune and digestive health, GanedenBC30 has a naturally occurring layer of organic material that protects the genetic core of the bacteria. This protective layer enables the probiotic to survive extreme temperatures involved in food and beverage manufacturing processes, shelf life, stomach acids and intestinal bile. Other probiotics, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, are unable to form this protective layer, making them more vulnerable to manufacturing conditions.
"Ganeden understood my concerns and encouraged us to perform our own testing to ensure we were pleased with the GanedenBC30 and were confident about the claims we were making," said Ceccio. “Sure enough, the results came back with probiotic levels validating Ganeden’s claims.”
The Probiotic Difference –
Provides Competitive Advantage and is Good for You
Uncle Wally’s, founded by Wally “Famous” Amos and Lou Avignone, and best known for its home style and gourmet muffins, has long been known for high quality baked goods, not only in traditional products, but also in the nutritional specialty areas of fat free, sugar free, high fiber and portion-controlled products. Adding a probiotic to the Smart Portion Muffin Tops was a first for Uncle Wally’s and it was important that it maintain that same level of quality and great taste as their other products, while adding competitive value.
“We knew that the consumer shopping the healthy, frozen foods section is typically female, a primary user of yogurt and has a good understanding of probiotics and their benefits. Adding the probiotic feature allows us an additional benefit to differentiate our product from the competition,” said Ceccio.
When asked about the importance of the ingredients, Ceccio said it’s “the most important factor to gain a loyal and repeat customer base.
The ingredients – like blueberries and cocoa, are what make the product taste delicious. And the attributes – low fat, the omegas, probiotic-enriched, etc. are a caveat to the ingredients. If you can sell a healthy product that tastes good, the attributes support the product – when it tastes good, you have a winner.”
Today, the Smart Portion Muffin Tops are the only probiotic-enhanced muffin tops on the market. “And adding the probiotic, GanedenBC30 provides a digestive and immune health advantage that other muffins lack,” added Ceccio.
Learn more about GanedenBC30
Learn more about Uncle Wally's and Smart Portion Probiotic Muffin Tops
