“Bread reinvented”: UK start-up Lo-Dough on its low carb bread alternative

26 Jul 2018 --- Breads and pastries are a fixed staple in many cultures and cuisines. Although these items are often well loved, they can also be high in both carbohydrates and calories. Responding to growing consumer demand for convenient yet healthy bread options, Manchester food tech start-up Lo-Dough has created a high/fiber, gluten-free, reduced carb, low-calorie bread alternative. 

In keeping with consumers interest in clean label, Lo-Dough is touted as having no artificial preservatives, artificial colors or hydrogenated oils commonly found in mass-produced breads, pastries and pizza bases. Using six ingredients – gluten-free wheat fiber, dried egg white, konjac flour, psyllium husk powder, naturally derived cellulose fiber and salt – Lo-Dough is gluten, soy and nut-free, as well as being sugar-free and fat-free. Containing 9 grams of fiber, it provides almost one-third of our recommended daily intake per piece. 

According to inventor Ben Holden, Lo-Dough tastes like bread, can be baked as pastry and can be used as the ultimate healthy pizza base. At 39 calories, one 9-inch circular piece contains 80 percent fewer calories than two slices of regular bread and only 2.2 grams of carbohydrate. 

Launched last year, Lo-Dough has now become the first ever company to be awarded an official “reduced carb” certification by Sugarwise, a UK-based certification organization for sugar claims on food and drinks.

The company was handed the official certification after tests showed that their product was outstandingly low in carbohydrates compared to any possible competitors. The announcement by Sugarwise means that Lo-Dough is not only recognized officially as a “reduced carb” innovation but is paving the way for a breakthrough in the dietary, fitness and slimming markets.

All products that carry the Sugarwise marque must be low in sugars, meaning they must have no more than 10 percent of their calories coming from free sugars, or be no more than 5g of free sugars per 100g. Lo-Dough meets both of the criteria.

Set up in 2017, Lo-Dough started as a tabletop experiment by Holden. After teaming up with business partner Rob Wales, the company has grown and currently employs over 30 staff, has 55,000+ customers, shipping its products across the globe. But Holden tells NutritionInsight the company has plans to expand its reach further.

“Lo-Dough is very viable for large-scale production and we're actively designing and planning a scaled-up production facility to serve a significantly larger customer base,” Holden says. “Our target is to have the full scale dedicated production facility in operation in the next 18 months. Due to the ambient stability and 6-month shelf life of Lo-Dough, we plan on being able to supply the EU, US and AUS markets from this facility.”

“We are currently investing heavily in R&D and have a new, ‘top secret’ product gearing up for release later this year. In addition to our recent Sugarwise certification, we are looking to achieve certifications from the Coeliacs Association and Vegetarian Society as well as applying for a Queen's Award in Enterprise Innovation,” he says.

Consumer interest in aspects such as gluten content fit squarely with the growing trend of consumers looking for a lifestyle pattern and diet that “work for them.” According to Innova Market Insights, consumer study results illustrate the extent of the trend. In fact, four in ten US and UK consumers claim to have increased their consumption of “healthy foods” (2017). 

Product launch activity has followed suit, with better-for-you related claims (health claims, clean label claims and free from claims) having increased their market penetration from 42 percent in 2012, to 49 percent in 2017, pointing to growing opportunities for new product development.