Better-For-You

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When it comes to food trends, consumer interest in better-for-you products continues to grow. The desire to improve their overall health and well-being is prompting many Americans to be more selective when it comes to the foods they buy and eat, including baked goods and snacks. Instead of automatically placing a familiar product into their shopping cart, consumers are now scrutinizing its label for unpronounceable ingredients, artificial flavors and colors, GMOs and high levels of sweeteners and sodium.

Quinn Snacks' Taste of Honey and Classic Sea Salt Pretzels establishes a few firsts for gluten-free pretzels.

Fruits, nuts and chocolate are go-to ingredients for inclusions, toppings and fillings that add nutritional benefits to baked goods and snacks.

Larabar Organic Superfoods Bars from Larabar combine trend-forward ingredients, such as turmeric, hemp, ginger, kale and cacao.

Bimbo Bakeries USA has added a new line called Extra Grainy to its premium whole-grains bread portfolio.

In the world of snacks today, good ideas are sprouting up all over. Snacking is the new normal, and in order to remain competitive and relevant in a culture that increasingly leans toward better-for-you options, manufacturers are exploring formulation tactics that build more positive nutritional messaging into their products. Clean label is also top-of-mind, and if a snack can swing a gluten-free claim, its appeal instantly broadens.

Growing consumer demand for better-for-you, gluten-free and innovative baked goods and snacks continues to drive bakers and snack manufacturers to explore new ingredients and formulations. It’s also prompting them to re-examine their equipment needs, as they discover that their existing machinery may not be able to efficiently handle today’s in-demand products. For some manufacturers, a new extruder may be just the ticket.

With the consistent growth of the snack bar category over the past few years, the Almond Board of California wanted to better understand consumer usage, consumption and perceptions of various types of bars.