Ed Finkel

Automation, ease of operation, cleanability, sustainability, and flexibility are among the characteristics that snack food and wholesale bakery customers say they want to see in laminating and sheeting equipment, according to manufacturers. Many of these concerns are driven by the “great resignation” and resulting difficulties attracting and retaining workers.

Snack and bakery companies looking at new or improve extrusion equipment to create puffed and popped snacks, bakery items like nutrition bars, and other types of SKUs have features and benefits like cleanability, flexibility, and remote support high on their list of considerations, according to companies that make extrusion equipment.

Industrial commercial bakeries look to dough customization machines like water chillers, water meters, ice makers, and automated dough scoring units to improve and automate the dough process, primarily during mixing.

Snack and bakery companies looking to purchase new or improved ovens, proofers, fryers, and dryers have a long list of requests when it comes to features and benefits, according to manufacturers of those types of equipment.

Snack food and wholesale bakery manufacturers in the market for dividers, depositors and rounders have a long list of considerations. These include automation, reliability, scalability, integration, flexibility, communication, customization, ease of maintenance and sanitation, and different packaging capabilities, according to companies that produce such machines.

The hard pretzel category grew steadily in the past year as consumers stuck at home continued to snack, although fortunes varied significantly from brand to brand. During the past year, consumer focus on cleaner labels and healthier ingredients has ramped up, while manufacturers have continued to experiment with a wider variety of flavors. Pretzel product and ingredient makers predict those trends will continue.

State of the Industry analysis of the buns and rolls category, including hamburger buns, hot dog buns, dinner rolls, and more.

Ingredient handling equipment runs the gamut from storage and transport, to metering, dispensing, and automation addition. Snack food and bakery customers of this equipment are particularly interested in features and benefits like automation, food safety, flexibility, adaptability, quick changeover, ease of maintenance and cleaning, explosion protection, lot tracking, and inventory control.

Companies in the market for new or improved mixers for snack and bakery dough applications have displayed a recent focus on specific features and benefits. These include efficiency, cost savings, pre-hydration, handling of ancient grains, automation of processes, and stepped-up sanitation and maintenance, especially in the wake of COVID-19.

Compact belts and conveyors for snack and bakery production meet demands for cleanability and automation.