Coco bread, anyone?

MANILA, Philippines - Acknowledging the Philippines as one of the largest coconut producing countries in the world, Julie’s Bakeshops has signed an agreement with the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to come up with a healthy alternative in making bread.

“The recent increase in flour prices has encouraged bakeshops to look for alternatives that result in the same quality that flour provides in baking bread,” George Abando, Julie’s Bakeshops national sales and marketing manager.

“Some bakeshops have adjusted the sizes of their products to make it still affordable to the Filipino consumers. What you have as a result are either more expensive breads of the same size or the smaller breads at the same price,” Abando explained.

Because of this, Julie’s and PCA came up with a coco-based flour to replace the more expensive imported flour.

Abando said the initial batch of flour was tested for several bread products in the Julie’s commissary and the result was fluffier, heavier, and more nutritious bread.

Julie’s has already introduced the coco-flour based bread products in its selected outlets nationwide and gained an instant following, according to the bakeshop’s franchisees.

Its pan de sal type bread is now available for as low as P2 in singles or packs of 10, Abando said.

Because of its widely popular reception, the coco-based bread product was offered to various local government units as a healthy alternative for public schools’ feeding program.

Abando said Quezon City was the first to give it to school children for its Strong and Bright Feeding Program.

Julie’s Bakeshops is now offering similar arrangements to other local government units as part of its corporate social responsibility program of providing healthier bread for Filipinos.

“We wanted our consumers to have the same level of satisfaction with the products that we have been providing them,” Abando said.