bake - June 2015 - PAN34

BREADS AND BAKING

Snacks on the Go
Empanadas de manzana and margarita
cookies are just a few examples of
the many sweet snacks available
at La Baguette de Paris, one of the
most popular Hispanic bakeries in
Maryland. Hispanic shoppers are
increasingly on the go, so it is important for panaderías to keep pace with
the latest consumer trends to maximize sales opportunities.
In sweet breads, pastries and
co o k ies , p an ad erías h ave the
perfect solution for catering to this
emerging and growing trend across
the United States
Traditional snack foods consumed
at main meals is expected to grow
approximately 5% to 86.4 billion
eating occasions in 2018. "What
seems to be happening is consumers
are using these convenience types
of foods to maybe round out their
meals a little more," says Darren Seifer,
food and beverage industry analyst
for The NPD Group. "It's more of
those snack foods that can flexibly
go between being a snack food and
maybe something that can go alongside a main meal."
Better-for-you snack foods such as
nutrition bars are leading the growth
of snacks consumed at mealtimes.
Savory snack foods are expected to
be flat or decline in the next five years.

34

JUNE 15

|

PANADERIA

"The population is expected to
grow just under 5% over the next
five years, and so are better-for-you
snack foods," Seifer says. "So it's going
to keep pace with the population.
Savory snack foods are not going to
keep pace."
The rise in solo dining may
contribute to the increase in snack
foods eaten at mealtime. NPD found
that more than half of eating occasions happen when consumers are
alone, which may also be a factor in
the long-term decline of side dishes.
"People don't want to prepare
something else in addition to their
main dish," Seifer said. Driving growth
in better-for-you snack foods between
and at main meals are Generation
X, ages 38-48, millennials, ages
24-37, and Generation Z, ages 0-23,
who have positive attitudes about
snacking, a desire to eat more healthfully and a need for convenience.
Popular items also include granola
bars and protein bars.
"People are not just thinking of
snacking occasions as that time when
we get extraneous calories anymore,"
Seifer said. "In fact, 30 years ago we
asked a question that said 'I try to avoid
snacking,' and about 70% of people
used to agree with that. Now more
people disagree with that statement.

People now think of snacking as a
way to get extra ingredients into their
bodies or as a way to eat more sensibly
throughout the day."
GAINS FOR GRAINS

Good news for bread snacking
trends: The International Food
Information Council Foundation's
10th anniversary food and health
survey points out that whole grains
and fiber again ranked as the top
nutritional items that Americans
want to consume. This year's survey
titled "What's Your Health Worth?"
also found an increasing desire to
consume calcium, omega-3 fatty
acids and potassium.
When asked what they were
trying to get a certain amount of
(or as much as possible), 56% of
the survey respondents said whole
grains and 55% said fiber. Last year the
percentage was 53% for both whole
grains and fiber. Protein, at 54% this
year, again came in third.
The percentages for the items
ranked No. 4 through No. 6 in 2015
all rose. Calcium increased to 43%
from 36% in 2014. Omega-3 fatty acids
rose to 27%, up from 21%, and potassium increased to 26%, up from 19%.
The survey also asked people
what they were trying to limit or avoid
bake - June 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of bake - June 2015
