Douglas J. Peckenpaugh

A sweet century

January 8, 2020

Hostess Brands celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019. The first Hostess CupCakes hit the market in 1919, marking the sweet beginning of one of the most-beloved American bakery brands.

The Best New Snack & Bakery Products of 2019

Pretzels from a famous Boston chef and a special offering from one of the most-beloved companies in baking climb to the top of voting for the year.

Douglas J. Peckenpaugh

January 7, 2020

In 2015, we launched the "Best New Snack & Bakery Products" of the year contest to honor outstanding new snack and bakery products entering the industry, with the online SF&WB audience voting for their favorites.

The Top 50 snack and bakery companies of 2019

The top companies in snacks and bakery find growth through strategic innovations and acquisitions

Douglas J. Peckenpaugh

December 12, 2019

The U.S. grain-based snack and bakery industry, as regularly covered in Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, accounts for over $100 billion in annual retail sales; and many companies add incrementally more revenue by serving foodservice and other customers.

Permissible snacking

Douglas J. Peckenpaugh

December 3, 2019

Part of our process in developing this month's annual "Top 50 Snack & Bakery Companies" list involves reviewing annual reports and communications with shareholders from some of the top companies working in grain-based foods today.

Foodservice bakery solutions

Main Street Gourmet has emerged as a leader in custom bakery product development for ISB and foodservice.

Douglas J. Peckenpaugh

November 20, 2019

With the right recipe and conditions for growth, greatness can arise from humble beginnings. Such is the case with Main Street Gourmet, located in Akron, OH, a bakery company founded by lifelong friends Steve Marks, co-founder, member of the board of directors and former co-CEO, and Harvey Nelson, co-founder and CEO.

Bakery workforce innovations

Douglas J. Peckenpaugh

November 11, 2019

Rarely does a week go by without the topic of workforce development crossing my desk. It's a problematic situation that’s central to industry performance as we deal with present challenges—and look toward the future.

Nature's Bakery comes out on top in 2019 'Best New Healthy School Snacks' voting

Douglas J. Peckenpaugh

October 24, 2019

Now in its fifth year, the “Best New Healthy School Snacks” contest, hosted by Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, strives to shine a spotlight on snack and bakery products that exemplify top healthy choices for kids of all ages—whether serving as part of an on-the-go meal solution or between-meals snack.

ADM opens new state-of-the-art flour mill in Illinois

Douglas J. Peckenpaugh

September 27, 2019

The Mendota facility is the largest flour mill ever built from the ground-up in North America.

TH Foods brings creative snacking options to specialized diets - and mainstream Americans

Douglas J. Peckenpaugh

September 25, 2019

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.

Exploring next-generation desserts

Dessert developers have a wide range of opportunities to infuse new life into their product ranges

Douglas J. Peckenpaugh

September 18, 2019

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.