Growing consumer demand for better-for-you, gluten-free and innovative baked goods and snacks continues to drive bakers and snack manufacturers to explore new ingredients and formulations. It’s also prompting them to re-examine their equipment needs, as they discover that their existing machinery may not be able to efficiently handle today’s in-demand products. For some manufacturers, a new extruder may be just the ticket.

Equipment manufacturers offering scales and checkweighers now offer systems that feature data connectivity, hygienic design, high speeds, improved accuracy, less waste and the ability to maintain traceability. And in addition to all these improvements, today’s scales and checkweighers are easier to use than earlier models.

With the consistent growth of the snack bar category over the past few years, the Almond Board of California wanted to better understand consumer usage, consumption and perceptions of various types of bars.

The recent Sanitary Design Workshop explored core principles to help snack producers and bakeries position their businesses to meet and exceed regulatory standards.

The annual Sanitary Design Workshop took place on March 29 and 30 in Chicago, attracting participants from across the snack and bakery industries representing equipment companies, snack producers, bakeries and more.

The recent “simplicity initiative” put forth by The Schwan Food Co. encompasses both its retail and foodservice business.

Product manufacturers need to continuously evaluate portfolio strategies to defend financial goals and positioning for the short- and long-term.

The Bakery World Cup is a primary draw at the Paris-based Europain & Intersuc exposition.

Many snack and bakery companies continue to work toward compliance with directives outlined in the Food Safety Modernization Act, from minor procedural tweaks to major shifts in the standard operating procedures.

Nadia Leonelli, general manager of clean-label, non-GMO, gluten-free Element Snacks, talks about the company’s background, growth and future.