Schwan's Company speaks about trends in the cheesecake and frozen dessert category.

Despite snack mixes and nuts being known for having many “on-the-go” options, during the pandemic—when consumers have been staying home more—they have still been flocking to the category.

The puffed and extruded category mostly experienced growth from 2021 to 2022. Consumers are also searching for better-for-you flavors, and the category aimed to accommodate.

Ideas testing rooted in behavioral science is an essential component of the product development and marketing processes.

This year's IFT FIRST event took place in Chicago from July 10–13 and attracted an expected 18,000+ people, with an expo featuring nearly 2,000 booths.

Thanks to early immigrants from Germany and the Netherlands, hard pretzels today continue as a quintessential American snack. In their most-basic forms, they are a study in beautiful simplicity. Adorned, they can carry a world of flavors. 

Growth in the popcorn category is being driven by new flavor innovations and new packaging sizes and formats. Hot and spicy microwave popcorn and cheddar jalapeño popcorn in family-size bags are just two examples. Expect to see more innovation in the near future.

The tortilla chip category enjoyed a healthy boost in sales during the past year, in spite of the fact that the numbers of bags placed in shopping carts barely budged—thanks to the price increases seen throughout the grocery store and elsewhere.

Consumers are continuing to spend more time at home versus pre-pandemic and this is influencing what they are buying and how and what consumers are eating. 

Crackers share a direct lineage with bread, finding their innovative genesis as a tool of necessity. The notably long shelf life of crackers makes them a resilient go-to food staple throughout the past two centuries.