Adam Matthews' Apple Crisp cheesecake is a popular item during the holiday season.

Are cheesecake manufacturers out of their minds? This question can be asked to the many bakers who are launching more healthful, no sugar added cheesecakes in the marketplace. Although not expected to generate widespread consumer interest, these niche products are boosting some manufacturers' bottom lines.

"It's the No. 1 most requested item we have," Corey Merz, Adam Matthews Inc.'s sales manager, says. The Louisville, Ky.-based bakery launched its first no sugar added cheesecake about a year and a half ago as a low-carbohydrate product. As consumer interest in low carbohydrate products waned, the company repositioned its product as a no sugar added cheesecake marketed toward consumers with diabetes.

Chicago-based Eli's Cheesecake Co. also sells a no sugar added cheesecake in various supermarkets throughout the country. The company's No Sugar Added Original Plain contains only one gram of sugar per 64 gram slice.

These manufacturers and a slew of other cheesecake bakers are hoping this niche category will provide a bounce to lagging cheesecake sales. For the 52-week period ended Dec. 26, frozen cheesecake dollar sales fell 6.3% to $82.7 million. For the same period, unit sales plunged to 18.3 million, a 7.8% decrease. Statistics for this story measure supermarket sales in the United States, and were supplied from Information Resources Inc.

Although more healthful cheesecakes are not the solution to sagging cheesecake sales, they do generate consumer interest. To manufacture these types of cheesecakes, bakers have many options, including polyols and high-intensity sweeteners.

Adam Matthews uses Splenda, a high-intensity sweetener, in its no sugar added cheesecakes. The company promotes the Splenda brand name on its packaging. Eli's Cheesecake also uses a high-intensity sweetener in its no sugar added cheesecake. The company formulates its products with Equal.

Starr Culinary Delights, Mississauga, Ontario, manufactures a no sugar added cheesecake with maltitol, which is a polyol that mimics sugar in a cheesecake formula. In no sugar added cheesecake formulas, maltitol can be used as a 1:1 replacer for sugar. Starr Culinary uses the ingredient in its liquid form, which reduces costs by about 50% compared to crystalline maltitol.

According to a manufacturer of polyols, the ingredients can be used in no sugar added products without major formulation changes. However, the manufacturer warns that serving size must closely be monitored due to of polyols' laxation effect. The manufacturer says that one serving size of cheesecake should not have more than 15 grams of polyols.

Despite the sales bump that many manufacturers are seeing from no sugar added cheesecakes, indulgence will always rank No. 1 in terms of consumer preference.

"The majority of cheesecake consumers want indulgence," Merz says. "To get a true dessert, people aren't going to eat a diet cheesecake."

Adam Matthews is stealing a page from pie manufacturers' playbook by creating unique cheesecake flavors to capitalize on the holiday season. For example, the company formulated pumpkin and apple cheesecakes for the fall holiday season. The company also used these flavors in a special holiday sampler cheesecake.

Although niche categories such as no sugar added cheesecakes will provide a sales boost to the cheesecake category, its continued growth will come from exciting new flavors that push the boundaries of indulgence.

 

Fresh Bakery Products	52 Weeks Ending Dec. 26 Dollar Sales	% Change Prior Year	52-week Unit Sales	% Change Prior Year
Bread	5,780,795,392	0.0%	3,396,363,904	-4.0%
Cookies	3,535,409,664	-4.6%	1,644,881,024	-6.5%
Crackers	3,158,701,824	-1.2%	1,445,052,416	-2.6%
Rolls/Buns/Croissants	1,771,652,096	-1.0%	1,197,948,032	-3.1%
Cupcakes/Brownies	805,612,032	0.7%	586,565,120	-3.5%
Donuts	778,407,552	2.7%	337,412,928	-1.8%
Pastry/Danish/Coffeecakes	622,735,104	-2.1%	308,659,680	-4.7%
Cakes (excl. snack/coffeecakes)	582,144,640	-1.6%	127,403,872	-3.3%
Bagels/Bialys	432,765,856	4.1%	171,872,080	0.4%
English Muffins	379,441,920	-3.6%	189,124,416	-5.1%
Muffins	220,444,736	2.6%	86,169,008	4.0%
Pies (excl. snack pies)	189,654,480	-1.4%	48,702,896	-0.3%

Source: Information Resources Inc.

Frozen Bakery Products
Baked Bread/Rolls/Biscuits	446,044,576	1.1%	187,563,920	-0.2%
Pies	324,470,496	1.8%	86,581,784	2.5%
Sweetgoods (excl. cheesecake)	312,391,136	-0.4%	116,011,440	0.1%
Bread/Rolls/Biscuits/Pastry Dough	122,570,712	-9.3%	45,841,204	-10.1%
Pies/Pastry Shells	107,958,528	-3.5%	54,209,368	-6.0%
Bagels	61,366,116	-19.1%	47,942,740	-21.8%
Cookie Dough	5,261,207	-9.2%	1,160,269	-24.8%
Muffins	4,261,902	-18.0%	2,045,673	-20.0%
Cookies	36,527	-59.2%	10,203	-59.5%

Source: Information Resources Inc.

Refrigerated Bakery Products
Cookie/Brownie Dough	416,896,864	4.4%	151,241,200	0.1%
Biscuit Dough	384,486,368	-6.0%	347,413,504	-7.5%
Pastry/Dumpling Dough	253,116,336	-0.9%	119,855,528	-2.9%
Bread/Roll/Bun Dough	232,992,768	-2.5%	122,903,480	-2.1%
Cakes (excl. snack/coffeecakes)	61,284,068	-1.4%	7,635,554	-6.0%
Bagels/Bialys	61,269,384	-16.1%	44,709,908	-15.2%
Pies (excl. snack pies)	27,633,386	-19.3%	5,732,752	-25.1%
English Muffins	27,619,114	-3.3%	17,181,680	-6.8%
Bread	5,402,310	-6.9%	2,654,864	-9.8%
Snack Cakes/Donuts	5,125,491	-27.5%	1,438,756	-39.1%
Pastry/Danish/Coffeecakes	4,501,646	0.6%	1,567,744	-13.3%
Croissants/Dinner Rolls	890,786	11.9%	418,604	12.4%
Muffins	32,084	-24.3%	9,377	-29.2%

Source: Information Resources Inc.

Statistics for this chart were supplied by Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based firm. Its scanner data covers more than 11,300 supermarkets and represents 90% of all supermarket volumes.

Top 15 Cheesecake Brands  Sara Lee Edwards Jon Donaire Desserts Weight Watchers Private label The Father's Table Eli's No Brand Cheesecake Factory Adam Matthews Baby Watson Carmine's Mother's Kitchen Tasty Cheese Suzy's

 

Top 10 Cheesecake Vendors Sara Lee Bakery Group Edwards Baking Jon Donaire Desserts Polzella Foods Inc. Weight Watchers Co. Private label Eli's Cheesecake Co. Cheesecake Factory Inc. Adam Matthews Inc. Baby Watson Cheesecake Inc.