Cárnicas Serrano reinvents the breading category thanks to a fruitful collaboration with the AINIA technology centre, through which they have developed a new range of refrigerated meat breadings, without preservatives and with new formulations, which allow healthier alternatives to traditional frying.
All of this, without undermining the quality of the final product or the inherent properties of this type of food: crunchy texture, attractive golden appearance, delicious flavour…
It has been two years of intense work within the framework of the programme of the Centre for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI), a public business entity under the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
The design of new coatings and the application of new flours – which, moreover, do not contain gluten – are responsible for the lower calorie intake, as they allow optimum preparation using rapid cooking techniques that omit the use of oil, such as the oven or the air fryer.
The great challenge for AINIA and Cárnicas Serrano has been to overcome the limitations of the current offer, in which the organoleptic characteristics of the final product, cooked using the aforementioned technologies, are far from those obtained with conventional frying.
Thus, the taste, aroma, colour and texture offered by the new range of breaded products have demonstrated extraordinary levels of acceptability by the consumer panel responsible for testing the product.
The conceptual and sensory tests, conducted by AINIA with a rigorous methodology, have concluded that Serrano’s new refrigerated breading easily meets the hedonic aspects demanded of this type of meat product.
In the words of the general manager of AINIA, Cristina del Campo: “Our main objective is to work to provide innovation solutions with technological rigour that boost the competitiveness of companies and contribute to generating a healthier, safer and more sustainable society. This collaboration with Cárnicas Serrano is a success story in which technology and business have worked together to respond to market demand, which is increasingly looking for healthier foods, but without sacrificing flavour”.
Cárnicas Serrano is thus increasing its range of meat products, entering a new category -fresh breaded products-, and it does so with a balanced and valuable solution adapted to different consumption moments, which it has called “Crunch & Fresh”.
Three products made from chicken breast and using pea, corn and rice flours -all gluten-free-, which include a variety filled with spinach and another with Havarti cheese.
The General Manager of Cárnicas Serrano, Abelardo Serrano, points out: “This is a reinvention of the refrigerated meat breaded meat category with which we are offering a healthier and simpler product to prepare, without losing its sensory appeal. With this, we are responding to the three major market trends: health, convenience and pleasure”.
According to data from Kantar Worldpanel for the period October 2022-October 2023, it is worth noting that refrigerated breaded meat products have been present in four out of every ten Spanish households, attracting new buyers and generating greater turnover and volume in the category.
In this way, the innovation promoted by Cárnicas Serrano with the help of the AINIA technology centre will contribute to an even greater boost for a category that has presented very positive data in 2023, with growth in volume of more than 19% compared to the previous year.
The new production line that will be used for this new range of breaded products has meant an investment of around 800,000 euros for the company and is equipped with the latest technology for working with different raw materials and with different types of bread and granulometry.
To house it, Cárnicas Serrano has built a new 625m2 production hall where the forming, breading and packaging processes will be carried out, maintaining the high food safety standards that characterise the company.
