SEATTLE — Brazilians have their culinary options. Many types of tropical fruit grow in the country, and nuts are viewed as healthy, said Bruna Tedesco, head of marketing for Bimbo Brazil. Nutritionists are known to encourage people to eat two Brazilian nuts per day, she said.
Whole grain bread consumption is growing, too. Bimbo Brazil, a business of Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V., has succeeded in combining all three options.
“The flavor of nuts, when you mix it with the bread, with the fruits, it creates this explosion of flavor that is so good,” she said Nov. 6 at the Whole Grains Council Conference in Seattle.
Nuts add texture as well, she said. Bimbo Brazil offers such brands as Nutrella Castanhas and Supreme Frutas, Grãos e Castanhas. The company launched Nutrella Viva in Brazil in the second quarter of this year. The line features sprouted grains, fruit and whole wheat.
“It’s all in one,” Ms. Tedesco said. “Everything that we see consumers looking for is present in this line we’ve launched recently.”
The sales growth of whole grain bread has surged in the country.
“The growth is so strong that nowadays it is the same size as the white bread market,” she said.
A Bimbo Brazil survey of 3,880 people age 18 and older found 69% said they eat whole foods. The Brazilian government is beginning to look at ways to regulate whole grain promotions. Currently, a bakery could create a bread that had whole wheat flour coming in 10th on the ingredient list and still promote the bread as whole grain on the front of the package, Ms. Tedesco said.
“This really bothers us because they are misguiding consumers,” she said.
Just like in the United States, social media and allergens have become popular topics in Brazil, where they recently were connected.
“You should not consider working in marketing without taking a look on what is being said in social media,” Ms. Tedesco said.
Parents of children with allergens led a movement on social media that drew the support of actors and singers. The government of Brazil eventually approved new regulations on declaring allergens.
“It’s an enormous list that we all have to declare right now,” Ms. Tedesco said. “It was started through social media and consumers demanding information and asking the industry to be transparent.”