Chefs and food scientists alike are still focusing on developing the next new groundbreaking snack, but now with a back-to-basics approach focusing on whole and natural food ingredients to meet consumer demands.

The desire for safe, healthy food isn't necessarily new, but it has been picking up steam ... big time. While the FDA may not have a definition for what exactly counts as a "clean label," consumers are asking to buy them. As bakers, we need to simplify our formulas with natural solutions.

The U.S. retail snack industry is currently valued at nearly $40 billion, accounting for sales of salty snacks like chips, popcorn, pretzels, puffed/extruded snacks and tortilla chips, as well as crackers, frozen grain-based snacks and appetizers like pizza rolls, and snack mixes and nuts.

The idea of "better for you" encompasses much of what consumers desire today in many of their snacks and baked goods: clean label, non-GMO, natural and—at its core—solid nutrition to make those foods a healthy part of their daily diet.

As the artisan bread movement continues to gain momentum across the U.S., one of its most-ancient forms—sourdough—is garnering more-widespread attention.

After centuries of bread baking it is difficult to find or uncover a “new” ingredient or technique. However, American innovation and the local grain movement have provided a revived opportunity to explore the baker’s staple, grain, in the sprouted version.

Trends, highlights and new ingredients, equipment and technology from IFT17.

Carefully considered products all have a sweet spot, that central nexus where everything comes together for a strong hit into the outfield—and for particularly astute product-development teams, the occasional home run.

The buns and rolls segment showed pockets of growth, with a mix of gains and losses across the board. While traditional products still maintain the lion’s share of the buns and rolls category, growth in gluten-free, organic and healthy options are starting to pick up.

No segment of the U.S. food industry is as productive and lively as snack and bakery today.