The Ongoing Expansion of Snacks
Changing eating habits and consumer demands will present opportunities for bakery manufacturers within the snack foods market. The next few years are likely to witness the emergence of more opportunities for manufacturers of savory bakery snacks.
by Jonathan Thomas
Even before the pandemic, there was ample evidence that consumers were seeking out a wider range of products for consumption throughout the day – often in place of traditional meals such as dinner and lunch. The post-pandemic world is likely to see the snack foods market evolve still further, encompassing various types of savory baked goods. Some of these will be influenced by the growth of ethnic cuisine – for example, wraps made from tortillas and flatbreads are now making inroads into the global snack foods market.
With snacks now being consumed during a wider range of occasions, it also highly possible that hot-eating savory bakery goods will begin to encroach upon the market in regions such as Western Europe. This trend is already well-established in the US, as evidenced by the longstanding presence of brands such as Bagel Bites from Kraft Heinz. These foods fuse together bagels with pizzas, creating bite-sized snacks, which can be heated from frozen in ovens or microwaves. The range includes Pizza Snacks and Bagel Dogs.
The Current State of Snacking
The global market for snack foods continues to evolve, driven by factors such as changing consumer tastes and eating habits, health and sustainability considerations and the lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. For some time now, snacks have come to be viewed as replacements for meals or ‘mini meals’ in themselves – this represents a logical progression of the trend where people were starting to eat throughout the day at irregular occasions, instead of sitting down for three formal meals as had been the case with past generations.
You can read the rest of this article in the March-April issue of European Baker & Biscuit magazine, which you can access by clicking here.