The evolution of the baking industry is best exhibited through the paradigm shift that has been occurring in the bread industry for the past 20 years. What once was an industry dominated by white bread has slowly been overtaken by whole grain breads and multi-grain varieties promising better flavors and health benefits.
And, this evolution of the bread aisle continues today, where now, whole grains are not enough. High-volume manufacturers are now focused on cleaning up labels and formulating products free of artificial ingredients. It’s happening beyond the bread industry as well. 2017 is lined up to be a year of innovations across the baking industry with companies pushing the boundaries of new product development.
We spoke with a few of our baking industry customers about the top baking trends they’re seeing in the marketplace. Here is what they said.
Clean Label Baking: First it was the removal of refined grains and the addition of whole grains. Then, it was reformulating out all artificial ingredients in bakery foods. Today, consumers are expecting to be able to understand every ingredient on a label. This trend has led to significant reformulations of existing products and an influx of new clean label product launches. We expect this trend to continue to evolve even more to ingredient listings only featuring ingredients consumers can find in their own pantry.
Healthy and Convenient Snacking: Everyone is-on-the-go today. Rush, rush, rush. This has significantly impacted the way consumers eat. Three squares meals have been replaced by food bars, trail-mix and single-serve bakery food items. And, it’s not just junk food. Snacking is getting healthier, with alternative proteins such as lentil chips and seaweed replacing traditional potato chips and salty snacks.
Flavor Innovation: From global flavors to sweet and heat to sweet and salty, bakers are getting more adventurous in their development of flavor combinations to appeal to millennial customers that are willing to take more chances with the foods they consume.
Packaging Innovation: Single-serve bakery foods have experienced explosive growth over the past few years, and continue to do so today. In addition, bakers also are playing with product size and shape to stimulate consumer excitement for existing products. Often, these products require significant investment in manufacturing processes and equipment. LloydPans has you covered with custom pans built to accommodate your new product ideas.
What trends do you see dominating the baking industry in 2017? Let us know in the comments.