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It’s golf season, and that means it’s State of the Industry time. Have things changed much since last year? The sluggish economy is still bearish and has had an effect on bakers, though they continue to iron out new products and spin old favorites.

Consumers are asking for a lot of bars these days. Some want bars to be a healthy, easy snack, while others demand that their bars act as a supplement to an active lifestyle. Many prefer a bar that can substitute for a meal or act as a diet aid. Either way, bar manufacturers are making products that satisfy all of these requirements, so it’s just a matter of picking which bar is right for the job.

When eating a favorite snack or bakery product, few people stop and consider all of the ingredients that give these products the taste and mouthfeel they enjoy. Consumers don’t care if the layer cake on their plate is moist because it’s made with a special flour formulation or that a gum blend makes the frosting smooth.

Maintaining traditional European bread baking processes using stone hearth ovens, European/Italian recipes, formulas and old-world flavor, Turano Baking Co., Berwyn, Ill., has been expanding its artisan-quality product line nationally. We celebrate the 50th anniversary of this growing company, which is smoothly transitioning into its third generation of family owned and operated management.

Expanded several times, Turano Baking Co.’s Berwyn, Ill., headquarters production plant features three fully-automated makeup lines and three semi-automated lines that can produce some 200 stock-keeping units overall and generate as many as 150 types of fresh products each day. Starting out as a 2,000-sq.-ft. storefront in the early 1960s, the facility now is a 185,000-sq.-ft. dynamo of action.

Many ingredient suppliers are stepping up with heart-healthy, weight-management solutions that allow consumers to indulge without the guilt.

Editor-in-chief Lauren R. Hartman provides a rundown of the March 2011 issue, which is filled with need-to-know information for bakers and snack food manufacturers.

Exhibitors at the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) showcased an array of new equipment and ingredient solutions. Check out what made Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery’s Editor’s Choice picks as hot items for 2010-11.