The appeal of snacking continues unabated. According to Jeff Manning, chief marketing officer, Cherry Marketing Institute, Dewitt, MI, consumers are snacking more than ever.

The puffed and extruded snack segment combines the best elements of tradition and forward-thinking better-for-you innovation.

While overall growth is minimal, classic pretzel products are clearly alive and well in today’s snack foods market.

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.

The Original Cannoli Chips was one of 45 new confectionery and snack products innovation and packaging among hundreds of other new products.

Farmer’s Pantry Meal Snacks were developed with proprietary natural spices and a proprietary slow cooking method for the beef, chicken and turkey, blended together with slow roasted, hearty and crunchy vegetables in a double-pouched bag.

Rhythm Superfoods has launched a nationwide snack made from thinly sliced beets.