As reported by Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery in its State of the Industry coverage, the U.S. bakery industry is valued at $51.6 billion in annual sales, and the U.S. snack industry sees sales of over $41.6 billion—and growing every year. We Americans love our sweets and snacks, and while continuing to enjoy them, many have also turned an eye to the health aspect of consuming all the snacks and baked good treats.
Sugar monitoring. Consumers are paying more attention to sugar content in their diet. According to NMI’s Health and Wellness Trends Database (HWTD), sugar monitoring has increased 20 percent over the past dozen years with almost 6 out of 10 consumers (59 percent) now watching the sugar content in their diet. Sugar amounts listed on package labeling is now the primary monitored ingredient, surpassing other scrutinized ingredients, such as calories, sodium, fat, high-fructose corn syrup and carbohydrates.