Melissa Kvidahl Reilly

According to data from IRI, Chicago, sales of frozen pizza were up about 1.15 percent in the 52 weeks ending August 7, 2016, representing about $4.5 billion. Unit sales, though, were down about 2.14 percent. Why?

Frozen foods and snacks are meeting no shortage of challenges in the marketplace according to the “Frozen Foods in the U.S.: Hot Meals, Sides, and Snacks” report from Packaged Facts.

With Americans eating more of their meals on the go, it’s no surprise that breakfast is increasingly consumed behind the steering wheel, on the train or at the office.

American takeout standbys like pizza and Chinese food should watch their backs, because Mexican cuisine is close behind, says the “Global Palates 2015” report from the National Restaurant Association.

The appeal of snacking continues unabated. According to Jeff Manning, chief marketing officer, Cherry Marketing Institute, Dewitt, MI, consumers are snacking more than ever.

The puffed and extruded snack segment combines the best elements of tradition and forward-thinking better-for-you innovation.

According to findings by Rabobank, outlined in its Jan. 2015 report “The Popcorn Blockbuster,” popcorn is experiencing a renaissance. Once considered an unhealthy movie-time junk food, popcorn is now considered among consumers—especially choosy millennials—to be an appealing, healthy snack.

The cracker market, like many other snack segments, is in an evolutionary state. If you ask Craig Lieberman, president and founder of Denver-based 34 Degrees, changes in the category span “from the types and styles of crackers to the location and placement of crackers in the store.”

When it comes to sweet goods like doughnuts, Danishes, sweet rolls, muffins and coffee cake, the market is in a state of flux. As Walter Postelwait, president of Pak Group LLC/Bellarise Baking Ingredients, Pasadena, CA, puts it: “The total segment appears to be growing slowly, but has hot pockets of activity.”

With current food trends focusing on health-and-wellness, it may be tempting to dismiss the cookie category as out of touch or on its way out. And while most of the top companies operating in the cookie category have seen relatively flat sales activity—or, at best, modest gains—traditional cookies still account for a sizeable portion of this $8 billon category.