Tortilla and flatbread sales are certainly driven by their healthy halo and creative better-for-you varieties, but they are also driven by their authentic profiles and perception of freshness. While tortillas may be pulling along the center store sales, in the perimeter, it’s a completely different story. The perception of freshness and authenticity exuding from the supermarket perimeter is a perfect complement for these bakery items. 

“Tortillas and flatbreads’ success in the perimeter is driven by naan and pita,” explained Melissa Altobelli, senior vice president, client insights, dairy and bakery vertical, Circana. “Growth in naan and pita forms are compensating for declines in flatbreads, wraps and tortillas.”

She pointed to Toronto-based FGF Brands’ Stonefire Authentic Flatbread as the leader in naan, and its flavored varieties — Garlic, Everything and Caramelized Onion — as the biggest drivers of growth. For pita, the leader is Joseph’s Bakery, Lawrence, Mass., a family-owned bakery with an American-dream story.

“Joseph offers an authentic Syrian recipe,” Altobelli said. “Their Original pita is driving growth along with their healthier varietal, which is flax, oat bran and whole wheat.” 

Flatbreads benefit from the authenticity that comes with family-owned bakeries founded by immigrants like Joseph’s Bakery and Toufayan Bakeries, Ridgefield, NJ. While consumers are looking for something fresh, premium and authentic, a family recipe speaks volumes. 

“Rather than going out and coming up with crazy new flavors, I think there’s actually a lot of focus on being retro and going back to more original, authentic, traditional types of flavors in tortillas and reversing the trend of everything being all modern and high-tech,” said Jim Kabbani, president, the Tortilla Industry Association. “It’s about the flavor, the texture and appearance.” 

While a family story and recipe can ground a brand and company in the flatbread space, Karen Toufayan, vice president, marketing, Toufayan Bakeries, noted that it’s important not to rest on your laurels. 

“Innovation is not always techy,” she said. “For us, innovation is often in service of high-quality, freshness and variety.” 

So why are naan and pita leading in the perimeter over flatbread and tortillas? Altobelli attributed that largely to price. Flatbreads and tortillas saw more significant price increases than naan and pita products. While tortillas performed very well in the center store, naan saw less than 10% of its sales from the center store because that simply isn’t where consumers look for those products. 

Much of this perimeter success also goes back to the theme of the past year as well. Shoppers are eating out less. Even Circana’s December 2023 survey found restaurant traffic was down six points compared to November. 

“We know that 85% of meals are being prepared at home,” Altobelli said. “Consumers want out-of-home quality and taste at home, which lends itself well to perimeter bread categories.” 

With consumers more interested in tortillas and flatbreads and the quality and authenticity they bring to a dinner table, it’s no wonder these staples are finding their way into more and more shopping carts.

This article is an excerpt from the March 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Tortilla and Flatbreads, click here.