For bakery and snack producers, the future looks bright. The market is projected to reach $108 billion by 2027. A paradigm shift in eating behaviour has seen snack foods emerge as an alternative to full meals. And producers of tasty, nutritional snacks are experiencing strong demand as they meet the ‘on-the-go’ lifestyles of consumers the world over. So looking beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, and into 2022, what are the top trends that are poised to reshape the snack scene? 

1. Plant Based Power

Plant-based ingredients have been driving innovation and creativity across the snack food industry for some time. Plant based snacking will continue to be a growing trend in 2022, since now more than half of young Americans (aged 24-39) identify as ‘flexitarians’; eating mostly plant-based foods. 

2. Personalised Nutrition in Snacking

Lifestyle-specific personalized nutrition is proving popular across the whole food and beverage industry, including in snacking. Consumers are looking to become more active participants in their own diets and health journeys. One example of a company who have developed an entirely personalised nutritional snack, is a UK startup called Nourished. They have developed a “daily nutrition gummy stack”, made by a 3D printer, which combines technology, data and ingredient recommendations to deliver gummies which perfectly match the health and lifestyle goals of each of their consumers. 

3. Salty Snacks

Interestingly, salty snacks saw a huge increase in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. And this has encouraged many innovative snack manufacturers to develop new products which maintain a strong salty taste but have reduced salt content, often utilizing nutritious base ingredients such as nuts. 

4. Healthy Snacks and Protein

The global healthy snacks market size is expected to reach $32 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 5.2%. Demand for gluten free, sugar-free, low salt content, and low cholesterol level snack products have resulted in increased demand for nut and seed snacks, fruit, cereal bars and meat snacks. According to FMCG Gurus, high protein is another popular trend — with 51% of global consumers stating that they’ve switched from traditional snack products like chocolate to high protein replacements. 

5. Farm to Fork and Food Safety

Full ‘farm to fork’ strategies are becoming increasingly popular with snack food manufacturers. Consumers are seeking greener food production, traceability across the supply chain of the products they’re buying, and snacks which can support their healthier and more sustainable diets. Manufacturers are using traceability software solutions to effectively and productively manage their production quality, in order to fully comply with FDA requirements and increase consumer confidence. Leading players in the the global snack food market such as PepsiCo Inc, Kellogg Company, Nestle SA, and General Mills Inc are all leading the way — tracking every ingredient in their supply chains, from origin to consumption. 

It’s an exciting time for the snack industry! If your snack food company is looking to scale and grow via ERP solutions, traceability and demand planing software, and meet all the FDA requirements, get in touch with Cashmere today!