Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery was recently able to speak with Michelle Farabaugh, chief marketing officer, Harry & David, about Wolferman's new brand positioning.
Barry Callebaut Group has launched two varieties of chocolate sweetened with cacaofruit as part of its mission to advance cocoa sustainability and drive innovation in the category.
Serendipity is a wonderful phenomenon. Flash back to 2004. The gluten-free diet trend was just hitting the U.S. market with sudden force. Over the next several years, gluten-free would grow at an annual rate approaching 30 percent, forever leaving its imprint on the food industry.
By all accounts, the private label sectors of the snack and bakery markets are doing quite well. Overall, across all food and beverage categories, store brands accounted for about half of all sales growth recorded in major U.S. retail channels
When it comes to equipment like ovens and proofers, internet connectivity, wider and larger machines, artisanal production methods, shorter bake times, reversible belts, energy efficiency and improved cleaning and sanitation are all top considerations in today’s market.
Sustainability has become a major driver in the development and application of new packaging materials used in the bakery and snack market along with advances that extend shelf life.
As noted in our June 2019 SF&WB "State of the Industry: Bakery" coverage, desserts categories at retail are seeing mixed results. One bright spot was refrigerated cheesecakes, a category that grew by 4.5 percent in dollar sales to $320.5 million for the 52 weeks ending March 24, 2019, per IRI, Chicago.