Articles by Melissa Kvidahl Reilly

No longer relegated to taco night, tortillas are playing a major role in Americans' meal plans, both at home and when dining out.

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.

While the crackers market remains relatively flat, up a mere 0.29 percent for the year, it's a strong area of baked snacks, accounting for $7.4 billion in sales, per IRI, Chicago for the 52 weeks ending March 24, 2019.

Despite better-for-you and health trends transforming essentially every food and beverage category, the indulgent bakery snack market, including snack cakes, pastries, doughnuts, and muffins, is generally faring well.

According to IBISWorld, tortilla production in the U.S. has grown 3 percent in the past five years thanks to the fact that tortillas, especially ones boosted with ingredients like spinach and whole wheat, are perceived to be healthier than bread during a time when consumers value nutrition.

Buckle up. The top trend driving innovation in the snack and bakery industries has no formal definition, isn't regulated, and is shifting all of the time. Yes, clean label demands are touching every facet of the food industry, from formulation to packaging and marketing, and everything in between.

Anyone who thinks the gluten-free market has peaked needs to think again. According to a December 2018 report from Zion Market Research, the global gluten-free product market was valued at around $4.72 billion in 2017. By 2024, that value is expected to nearly double to reach $7.6 billion.

For a culture focused on convenience and clean-label nutrition, bars continue to deliver. Sales of snack and granola bars on the whole have grown 2.9 percent during the 52 weeks ending October 7, 2018, according to data from IRI, Chicago, hitting a value of $6.2 billion.

With better-for-you trends dominating virtually every food and beverage category, how do puffed and extruded snacks fare? As it turns out, this category is in a unique position to capitalize.

Thanks to Americans' increasingly hectic lifestyles, sales of grab-and-go items like salty snacks, including chips, popcorn and pretzels, are increasing, according to the June 2018 "Salty Snacks: U.S. Market Trends and Opportunities" report from Packaged Facts. Convenience is cited as a top purchase driver.