State of the Industry

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As presented in this annual "State of the Industry: Bakery" analysis, the U.S. bakery industry is responsible for $51.6 billion in annual sales, covering retail products across 10 vital categories: bars, breads, frozen breakfast, buns and rolls, cookies, desserts, pizza, snack cakes, sweet goods and tortillas.

Snack and nutritional bars are not only growing in popularity, but they represent an innovative category that keeps up with trends and is rewarded for its creativity.

The current state of snacks and bakery in foodservice reflects the "have your cake and eat it, too" polarity of today's consumers. We dine out to treat ourselves, yet we still have a nagging sense of responsibility to improved health and wellness.

Snacking is a way of life in America. As Mintel notes in its May 2017 "Snacking Motivations and Attitudes-U.S." report, nearly everyone in America snacks every day. Of the 94 percent of people who snack during the day, half snack two to three times per day.

The tortilla chips market continues to evolve, catering to desires for bold and interestingly spiced products. Millennials, in particular, are craving adventurous and ethnic flavors. As a result, we're starting to see a wider range of new and interesting flavors hitting the market.

Snacking has become increasingly more popular, especially among the millennial generation, and luckily both millennials and older consumers are in search of options that provide qualities like higher protein, cleaner labels and bolder, more creative flavors.

Puffed and extruded snacks are experiencing a renaissance. There are many different types of snacks in this category for shoppers to choose from, including traditional, healthier and even "free-from" options like gluten-free.

Whether hard or soft, pretzels have long benefited from an inherently simplistic approach. After all, the core ingredient makeup for pretzel dough is predominantly flour, salt, leavening and water, likely with a bit of malt extract for flavor and browning.

According to new research on snacking motivations from Mintel, consumers are most likely to enjoy popcorn while watching TV or a movie at home (62 percent). But convenience is the name of the game.

Frozen snacks and appetizers are staples in most households, pizza rolls, for example, are a quintessential American snack. And the freezer case has been slowly evolving to meet consumers' needs, branching out beyond typical heat-and-serve snacks.