Per IRI, Chicago, the salty snacks category was valued at $22.6 billion for the 52 weeks ending April 16, 2017—a number that encompasses potato chips, tortilla chips, extruded/puffed snacks including cheese puffs, ready-to-eat (RTE) popcorn, corn chips, pretzels and pork rinds—and sales were up 3.60 percent for the year (see the July “State of the Industry—Snacks” issue for detailed category data).

A warehouse management system (WMS) centers on software that supports day-to-day operations. WMS programs enable centralized management of a wide range of tasks, including tracking inventory levels and stock locations, order fulfillment, and shipping and receiving.

The current plant-based protein trend is directly in line with public health findings, including recommendations to increase intake of nuts to improve overall diet quality. Nuts and seeds contribute dietary nutrition, as well as adding flavor, visual interest and texture to snacks and baked goods.

The brand-new Enjoy Life Foods bakery, 
located in Jeffersonville, IN, is a sight to behold. After acquiring Enjoy Life in 2015, Mondelez International showed its commitment to growing the brand by investing in construction of the state-of-the-art bakery, thereby giving the allergen-free brand the resources and positioning it needs to significantly grow its global presence.

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.

According to FDA, more than 160 foods can cause allergic reactions in people with food allergies. In the U.S., federal regulatory bodies identify eight most-common allergenic foods, which FDA says account for 90 percent of allergic reactions related to food.

As students of all ages head back to school, parents find themselves searching anew for the latest, better-for-you, healthy school snacks that their children can pack into their lunchboxes and backpacks—snacks that feed their mind, as well as their belly.

CPG growth is anemic and marketplace competition is fierce, so winning in this environment requires a keen understanding of consumers’ evolving path to purchase and dynamic marketplace shifts.

At its core, eating quality seals the deal on the repeat purchase of a snack. Those of us in the industry might rank a snack’s hedonistic level—the level of pleasure consumption delivers. Snacks can also face organoleptic scrutiny, determining its positive (or negative) interactions with our senses.

Registration is now open for the largest-ever PACK EXPO Las Vegas, co-located with the Healthcare Packaging EXPO, taking place September 25–27 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.