According to findings by Rabobank, outlined in its Jan. 2015 report “The Popcorn Blockbuster,” popcorn is experiencing a renaissance. Once considered an unhealthy movie-time junk food, popcorn is now considered among consumers—especially choosy millennials—to be an appealing, healthy snack.

The frozen snacks and appetizers category is seeing growth as consumers ask for—and brands attempt to deliver—bold, international flavors to complement traditional, tried-and-true favorites. As always, millennial consumers remain vital to the success of this segment of frozen foods.

The cracker market, like many other snack segments, is in an evolutionary state. If you ask Craig Lieberman, president and founder of Denver-based 34 Degrees, changes in the category span “from the types and styles of crackers to the location and placement of crackers in the store.”

The chips segment has grown quite lively over the past year, with new product areas emerging and others, like apple chips, seeing considerable growth and maturation. Snack producers are also starting to grow beyond potatoes, offering sweet potato, beet and parsnip chips.

Earlier this month, Pak Group released its clean label Bellarise Freezer-To-Oven (FTO) Improver Plus to simplify baking at in-store bakeries, fast food retailers, and frozen dough manufacturers’ facilities while maintaining a cleaner label.

When it comes to sweet goods like doughnuts, Danishes, sweet rolls, muffins and coffee cake, the market is in a state of flux. As Walter Postelwait, president of Pak Group LLC/Bellarise Baking Ingredients, Pasadena, CA, puts it: “The total segment appears to be growing slowly, but has hot pockets of activity.”

Buns and rolls continue to emerge from ovens nationwide at a steady pace. While overall category growth has been minimal, several companies saw comparatively significant gains. And while traditional products maintain perennial allure, new interest comes from ingredients like whole grains and sweeteners.

The fresh bread category remains the most important segment in bakery today. It’s highly competitive, and the playing field continues to grow more crowded as more product dynamics like artisan and better-for-you come into consideration with increased frequency.

The bars category continues show good to strong levels of growth, with sufficiently diversified product offerings to appeal to nearly every type of shopper. Few product categories so seamlessly fit into today’s on-the-go lifestyle suited to on-demand snacking.

Sensient Natural Ingredients now offers an organic-certified, California-grown line of chili peppers, paprika and onions in a variety of forms.