Consumers go beyond just flavors, look to companies' promises when choosing a snack.

Packaging can be used to enhance products, improve the overall consumer experience, and make sales.

Fruit ingredients and nutritional bar products are a natural fit.

Sales of cake, pie, and cheesecake products are up, and formulators need ingredients that deliver on functionality.

As a food writer, SF&WB Editor-in-Chief Doug Peckenpaugh is continually making notes about interesting products hitting the market.

The sweet goods category, which includes everything from brownies to doughnuts to Danishes, overall experienced growth from 2021 to 2022.

Consumers still have a sweet tooth for desserts. In fact, 53% of consumers said that they had dessert within the past day based on a recent survey from Datassentials. Even as we emerge from the pandemic, desserts are still very relevant as consumers look to indulge a sweet craving, with a treat that can offer familiarity, comfort, or nostalgia.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have been staying home more often, and searching for familiar snacks. Cookies fill that void, and brands have taken note of what is trending.

The tortilla category largely flatlined during the past year, with some variation by type or brand of shell, as the world began to reopen after the worst of the pandemic and fewer consumers worked at home. 

State of the Industry Overview for bakery, including a look at baking industry challenges like the supply chain, workforce development, impact from the war in Europe, and the pandemic.