Articles by Douglas J. Peckenpaugh

Rudolph Foods speaks on what's currently driving growth in the pork rinds category.

After nearly eight years as editor, on August 1, I succeeded my longtime colleague, mentor, and friend, Chris Luke, as publisher of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery. 

Not all potato chips are created equal. And competition among up-and-coming chip brands is fierce in this highly mature retail snack segment valued at $8.9 billion, per IRI, Chicago. In chips, a select few companies and longstanding legacy brands dominate annual sales and market share.

The past few years have contributed elements that have combined into a “perfect storm” of challenges for grain-focused food companies, including many snack and bakery companies.

A recent mailing from the Almond Board of California highlights regional product innovations that prominently feature almonds—this one from Chicago, a “hub for culinary innovation with abundant opportunities for all sorts of food professionals."

Clextral USA and Clextral SAS offer R&D and processing perspectives on puffed and extruded snacks.

ADM and tna solutions speak on prevailing R&D trends in the expanding chip market.

Pete Levangie, CEO, Bay State Milling, speaks on the current global grain sourcing situation.

This year's IFT FIRST event took place in Chicago from July 10–13 and attracted an expected 18,000+ people, with an expo featuring nearly 2,000 booths.

Thanks to early immigrants from Germany and the Netherlands, hard pretzels today continue as a quintessential American snack. In their most-basic forms, they are a study in beautiful simplicity. Adorned, they can carry a world of flavors.