Label‑Friendly by Design: How Enzymes Are Changing the Future of Baking 

Modern bakery production made resilient, efficient and sustainable  

Few areas of the food industry have experienced as much scrutiny in recent years as the ingredient list. What was once the domain of technical formulation has become a focal point for consumer perception, brand trust and regulatory attention.

Nowhere is this more evident than in bakery, where the presence of additives and E-numbers is increasingly shaping purchasing decisions. 

The drivers behind clean-label reformulation

A convergence of factors is driving the demand for cleaner labels. Consumer awareness has increased significantly, with shoppers paying closer attention to ingredient lists. They favor products that feel simpler and more natural. Retailers and brand owners are reinforcing this trend, often setting their own standards that go beyond regulatory requirements.  

At the same time, regulation is playing a role. In markets such as the United States, where dietary guidelines are encouraging reformulation toward less processed foods. At the same time, broader trends around health and wellbeing, sustainability and transparency are reshaping expectations.

As Gammelin notes, this momentum has returned strongly in recent years. “We see bakeries reformulating very proactively, moving away from E-numbers. The ingredient list itself has become a critical element in how consumers assess products.”  

However, reformulation is not simply a matter of removing ingredients. Traditional emulsifiers, for example, are widely used because they deliver reliable performance across a range of critical attributes, from dough strength to crumb structure and softness. Removing them introduces risk, particularly in large-scale production environments where variability must be tightly controlled. 

From additives to process-driven functionality

This is where enzyme technology is reshaping the landscape. Unlike emulsifiers, which are added directly to the formulation to stabilize interactions within the dough, enzymes operate by modifying the underlying components of the system during processing. 

Gammelin explains the distinction clearly:“the emulsifier is added on top of the formulation. With the enzyme it’s a little bit different; they are added during production to catalyse reactions in situ, thus modifying components to the flour.”

Simon Bird, VP Food & Beverage Biosciences at IFF, highlights this broader shift: “Bioscience innovation is really focusing on the process as a whole; making sure that we are getting a process that is tolerant and adaptable.” 

Maintaining performance at industrial scale

To succeed, enzyme-based solutions must match or exceed the performance of emulsifiers under real-world conditions. This is particularly challenging in industrial bakery environments, where high-speed production lines and variable inputs create significant stress on dough systems. 

Today, advances in enzyme science have made this possible, and designers design solutions as synergistic systems, combining multiple enzymatic functions to deliver comprehensive performance. These systems strengthen the dough matrix, improve gas retention and support consistent crumb structure, enabling bakers to maintain quality across a wide range of conditions. 

Gammelin acknowledges that confidence has been a barrier in the past. “It’s about building the trust that enzymes can actually match the performance of traditional emulsifiers,” she says. “But science has progressed, and we have solutions today that we didn’t have five or ten years ago.” 

Baking Enzymes: Enabling resilience and efficiency

Beyond label simplification, enzyme solutions offer broader operational benefits. One of their key strengths is their ability to improve tolerance to variability, whether in raw materials or processing conditions. In practice, this means that dough systems become more robust, capable of maintaining performance even when flour quality changes or production is disrupted. To give an example, Gammelin points to the experiences of where enzyme-enabled formulations have continued to perform under challenging conditions, avoiding the need to discard batches that would otherwise fail.

Bird connects this to the broader value proposition of Bioscience. “Because you get that more resilient dough structure, it means you get less rejects, you get less waste, which is massively important, both from a cost position, but also from a sustainability position.” 

This resilience translates directly into reduced waste, during production. By extending freshness and maintaining product quality over time, enzymes also help reduce returns and spoilage. Contributing to more efficient and sustainable operations. 

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Sustainability and affordability in focus

As sustainability becomes a central priority for the food industry, enzyme technologies offer a practical way to embed environmental benefits into everyday operations. By improving yield, reducing waste and enabling more efficient use of raw materials, they help lower the overall resource intensity of production. These gains closely link to cost efficiency rather than focusing solely on ingredient price.

Manufacturers can achieve savings through reduced rework, fewer production losses and simplified processes. This aligns with the growing emphasis on cost-in-use as a more meaningful measure of value. 

At the same time, enzymes support the development of products that meet evolving consumer expectations around health and nutrition. As formulations shift toward higher protein or fibre content, enzymes help maintain the structural integrity of the dough, ensuring that performance is not compromised. 

A strategic shift in bakery formulation

For manufacturers, the key is to approach this transition strategically, says Gammelin. “Start with performance objectives rather than ingredient removal alone, and use a phased, data-driven approach that enables confident transitions without compromising quality.”

Partnering early with a trusted enzyme supplier is essential. From there, start with performance objectives,  and follow a phased, data‑driven approach that enables confident transitions without compromising quality. 

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IFF is uniquely positioned to support manufacturers with the expert perspective they need. With more than a century of experience in enzymatic systems, we innovate, develop and produce our enzymes in‑house, translating deep scientific expertise into insight‑driven solutions. This end‑to‑end capability enables close partnership with bakery manufacturers and supports innovation from concept through scale‑up. 

Looking ahead, enzyme technology is set to play an increasingly central role in bakery innovation. As pressures around sustainability, transparency and efficiency continue to grow, the ability to deliver high performance with simpler, more natural formulations will become a defining competitive advantage. In this evolving landscape, Bioscience is not just enabling cleaner labels; it is redefining what is possible in modern global and regional bakery production, creating solutions that are as resilient and efficient as they are label-friendly. 

*At IFF, we refer to clean label as a broader consumer and market trend, reflecting the growing demand for simpler, more transparent food products. To support this trend in practice, we use the term label‑friendly to describe concrete formulation approaches used by bakers and manufacturers. 
Label- friendly may have different meanings depending on the application. In bakery, it is most commonly associated with the reduction or elimination of E-numbers and certain chemical additives, while maintaining product performance and quality.