Americans Flipping for Whole Grains as New Ultragrain Flour From Healthy Choice Begins Hitting Store Shelves This Summer
May 10 2006 - 3:10PM
Business Wire
New flour offers more whole-grain nutrition, with white flour taste
majority prefer; Available in select Wal-Marts in June & more
stores later in summer as 'whole-graining of America' advances
Whether it's in pancakes, pizza, pasta or PB&Js, Americans are
flipping for whole grains! This summer ConAgra Foods is bringing
together two brands known for innovation - Healthy Choice(R), for
two decades a pioneer in great-tasting, good-for-you foods, and
Ultragrain(R), the revolutionary new whole-wheat flour - to give
consumers in select markets another "first" - a chance to stock
their pantries with an all-purpose flour that delivers the
traditional white-flour taste most Americans prefer, with
whole-grain nutrition nine of 10 Americans need. Healthy Choice's
new All-Purpose White Flour with Whole Grains - just unveiled at
the 2006 Food Marketing Institute show - bakes and tastes like
white flour, but has nine grams per serving of whole grains, thanks
to Ultragrain, which previously was available only to commercial
food manufacturers. Home cooks and bakers now can use the
ground-breaking flour to put more whole grains in family favorite
recipes without sacrificing cooking performance or flavor. The
impetus for change comes from the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines and
MyPyramid food guide, which recommend raising Americans'
whole-grain intake from an average of only one serving to three
servings daily, which just one in 10 get today. Taste, however, is
still a barrier. More than 94 percent of flour purchased today is
white flour; only six percent is whole grain. But according to a
new survey by ConAgra Foods,(1) 48 percent of Americans say they
are adding more whole grains to their menus. Almost half of those
are doing so with foods containing a portion or blend of whole
grains. Ultragrain debuted to food manufacturers in fall 2004, and
its potential as a breakthrough product has been widely recognized.
With its milder, sweeter whole wheat, it delivers whole-grain
nutrition with a taste and texture similar to refined white flour.
In blends with traditional flour, it aces taste tests with even the
most finicky eaters, including kids. Blends Effective in
Transitioning Consumers to Eat More Whole Grains "This flour
strikes the perfect balance, with the taste most Americans want,
and the whole-grain nutrition they know they need," said David
Palfenier, president, ConAgra Foods Grocery Foods. "The new
Ultragrain flour blend has the quality people expect from Healthy
Choice, with the cooking ease of traditional flour. For home chefs
in kitchens across the country, it will offer a flavorful, fun way
to serve up the whole grains we all need, in the foods we all love.
From grandma's cookies to flapjacks & oven-fried chicken,
Americans will be flipping for whole grains as never before." "In
our testing, consumers told us they loved the taste and performance
of Healthy Choice flour with Ultragrain. If people like how it
tastes and like how it cooks, chances are they're going to use it
more often in their recipes. Ultimately, a lot more Americans will
get closer to the recommended amounts of whole grains in their
diets than do today with refined flour or 100 percent whole-wheat
flour. That's what we mean by the whole graining of America."
Healthy Choice's new flour is made with 30 percent Ultragrain flour
blended with an enriched refined white flour. Mixing Ultragrain
with other flours already has emerged as an effective strategy for
encouraging consumers to purchase and eat more whole grains. In
fact, major food manufacturers have used Ultragrain flour blends to
vault new products - such as Sara Lee's best-selling Soft &
Smooth Made with Whole Grains White Bread and ConAgra Foods'
popular The Max school lunch pizza with Ultragrain - up to or very
near the top of their category in nationwide sales during the past
year. Scores of other products, such as Pepperidge Farm Goldfish
Crackers, ConAgra Foods' Kid Cuisine meals and El eXtremo burritos,
and Lightlife's Smart Menu vegetarian entrees have enhanced their
nutritional profile significantly with Ultragrain and lost none of
their flavor, or favor with moms, kids and other consumers. Healthy
Choice and Ultragrain - the perfect fit In 1988, ConAgra Foods'
Healthy Choice emerged as a pioneer brand in helping consumers
conveniently incorporate great-tasting, healthy foods made with
quality ingredients into their busy lives. When ConAgra Foods
looked to bring Ultragrain flour to store shelves nationwide, the
Healthy Choice portfolio was a natural fit. Healthy Choice's new
All-Purpose White Flour with Whole Grains gives consumers more
whole-grain nutrition with the convenience of a flour that can be
readily substituted in almost any recipe that calls for all-purpose
or bread flour. With Ultragrain in the mix, the new flour is rich
in whole-grain nutrients, with higher levels of fiber, minerals, B
vitamins, phyto-nutrients and antioxidants, and compares very
favorably with traditional refined all-purpose white flour, which
typically has none of the bran and germ that contains all the
nutrients in whole wheat. "This flour delivers on the Healthy
Choice promise of giving people convenient, easy ways to improve
the nutritional value, quality and variety of food they serve their
families and themselves, with no sacrifice on taste," said
Palfenier. "For all those at-home chefs who enjoy cooking up a
storm, this flour performs just like refined flour in almost every
recipe we tested. And with the whole grain goodness of Ultragrain,
what tastes good is good for you. The switch is on." The flour
begins its rollout this summer in late June, and will be available
starting at $2.29 for a five-pound bag at select Wal-Mart stores in
Texas, Virginia and North Carolina. Further news about expanded
availability is expected later this summer. For more information
and recipes, consumers can visit www.healthychoiceflour.com. About
ConAgra Foods ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE:CAG) is one of North
America's largest packaged food companies, serving grocery
retailers, as well as restaurants and other foodservice
establishments. Popular ConAgra Foods consumer brands include:
Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew
National, Hunt's, Marie Callender's, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM,
and many others. For more information, visit www.conagrafoods.com.
(1) The survey was conducted by Ipsos U.S. Express on behalf of
ConAgra Foods among a nationally representative sample of 1,023
American adults from April 25-27, 2006. The margin of error is +/-
3 percentage points.
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