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.

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

Snack manufacturers are looking to build in healthfulness through the use of raw materials, including vegetables and fruit, as well as cleaner ingredient profiles with more protein and fiber.

A new generation of extrusion equipment for the food industry has been launched by Baker Perkins.

Hygienic design, quicker changeovers, reduction of maintenance time, improved cooling ability and the modularity and flexibility to run more-diverse products-sometimes with exotic raw materials that need gentler processing-are the top-of-mind issues for customers of extrusion equipment.

Customers of machines that handle puffing and extruding of snack and bakery products are focused on accommodating protein- and plant-based inclusions, hygienic design and rapid cleaning, speed and quick changeovers, better integrated controls, easy data extraction, and smaller machines that can produce specialized batches.

Flexibility, greater sanitation, gentle handling of ingredients, quicker changeovers, more precise weight control, and the ability to make products with healthier ingredients are top of mind features and benefits for snack and bakery customers of extrusion equipment and technology.

Baker Perkins has exploited innovative technology to improve process control, performance and hygiene on all the units in its Co-Ex Master co-extrusion systems, which create high-value products by adding a center filling into a cereal outer.

Biospringer North America Corporation has announced an expansion on its yeast extract site in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to support the growing market trend for natural origin ingredients derived from fermentation.  

Industry suppliers offer new and updated leavening ingredients for the development of clean-label snacks and baked goods.

Leavening ingredients and leavening aides are important ingredients that help consistently create the textural qualities of various baked goods. And like every ingredient segment within bakery, leavening agents are subject to ongoing shopper trends.

LEVAIR Select leavening solution is a non-aluminum based alternative to traditional sodium aluminum phosphate.

New collection, available only at Williams Sonoma, will focus on mindfulness of ingredients and sustainable sourcing to address growing consumer demand for food products that accommodate various dietary and lifestyle preferences.

The limited-edition muffins are made with real apples and no high fructose corn syrup or trans fat.

New products from Cinnabon and DAVID Seeds, both in the Conagra Brands portfolio.

Bimbo Bakehouse recently introduced Entenmann’s Little Bites for foodservice distribution in both Chocolate Chip and Blueberry varieties.

Upcoming film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse themed packaging will be on select Tastykake items in conjunction with a National “Swing into Tastykake” Sweepstakes.

The muffins are available now through October, and each pouch is 200 calories.

The company creates plant-powered, gluten-free products rooted in Konjac—a fiber-rich Asian root plant that can be used to empower flour substitute applications.

The bakery snacks come in multi-packs of single-serve pouches for portable convenience.

Available now through July at most retailers, the muffins are made with real ingredients like cinnamon and maple syrup, and no high fructose corn syrup or trans fat. 

Motion Controls Robotics' Collaborative, End of Line Palletizer can be used with multiple lines without extended downtime or setup costs.

Thanks to manufacturing improvements to its standard plated paddle agitator, Marion can speed up lead times on its popular 30-inch diameter and smaller-sized horizontal mixers.

The TheiaVu E-Series is a standalone vision inspection system that collects measurements of features of many types of baked goods, such as buns, rolls, English muffins, doughnuts, cookies, and more.

Paxiom has announced the installation of its turn-key bulk nut packaging system, designed to streamline the packaging process for peanuts and ensure freshness and efficiency at every step.

The Coperion line of ZSK Mv PLUS high efficiency extruders have been upgraded to include options for easier clean design to meet the highest standards of hygiene, ideal for the processing of food products.

CleanTech Evo is an automated handwashing station clinically proven to remove more than 99.9% of pathogens with each hand wash.

The SiftAI Smart Table from Smart Vision Works, a KPM Analytics brand, promises better contaminant detection and product grading.  

The X52 is designed to meet the demands of challenging applications in packaged products.

The item is suitable for snack and bakery manufacturing, as well as other production environments.

In partnership with System Square, Prospection Solutions is set to unveil its dual-energy x-ray inspection system at PACK EXPO from November 3–6, in Chicago.

The idea of "better for you" encompasses much of what consumers desire today in many of their snacks and baked goods: clean label, non-GMO, natural and—at its core—solid nutrition to make those foods a healthy part of their daily diet.

Crackers grow more sophisticated as shoppers seek nutrition and flavor in their snacks.

Fresh bread, bagels and English muffins comprise the largest segment in bakery, valued at over $10 billion per IRI, Chicago. But sales overall remain relatively flat. Nevertheless, several strategic options exist for bakers to infuse new life into bread sales.

Consumers want to achieve better overall health and wellness, and adding more dietary protein and fiber helps. FDA defines dietary fiber as "certain naturally occurring fibers that are 'intrinsic and intact' in plants, and added isolated or synthetic non-digestible soluble and insoluble carbohydrates that FDA has determined have beneficial physiological effects to human health."

There's a reason why better-for-you is trending and "perfect-for-you" isn't. According to the August 2018 "U.S. Better for You Eating Trends" market report from Mintel, just 7 percent of consumers say they're strict with themselves to make sure their diet is as healthy as possible, and just three in 10 say they maintain a healthy diet most of the time.

While taste will remain a dominant factor for all food products, health, wellness and the nutritional value of the product is growing in importance. Several studies point to the fact that consumers are looking to achieve better overall wellness by selecting foods and ingredients that provide a functional health benefit.

Ingredion Incorporated has launched a dietary fiber in the U.S.—NOVELOSE 3490.

Grains are a fundamental ingredient in snack food and bakery products and an important food in consumer diets. In fact, based on the 2020 IFIC Food and Health Survey, consumers view fiber, whole grains, and protein from plants as the healthiest, and most-sought-after, nutrients. 

Consumer interest in foods that support holistic health and well-being is increasing. According to the 2020 IFIC Food and Health Survey, over half of consumers report that healthfulness has more of an impact today versus 10 years ago on their food and beverage purchase decisions.

Tate & Lyle PLC (Tate & Lyle) is pleased to announce the launch of Fibre University, a new online modular course designed to help formulators and food scientists solve even the toughest fibre formulation challenges in a time when most people are not getting enough fibre in their diets.

The pandemic has heightened consumers' interest in health and well-being. According to the 2021 IFIC Food and Health Survey, 58 percent of respondents stated that healthfulness had an impact on their food and beverage decisions.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it intends to propose that “Acacia (Gum Arabic),” also known as gum acacia, be included as part of the FDA's definition of dietary fiber.

Increasing the fiber content of everyday UK foods will enable 50 percent more adults to get the recommended daily amount of fiber in their diets and lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes for the majority of UK adults, new study finds.

Tate & Lyle PLC has announced that it has today completed the acquisition of Quantum Hi-Tech (Guangdong) Biological Co., Ltd (Quantum), a prebiotic dietary fiber business located in China.

Producers are serving up new nutritional ingredients to consumers craving better-for-you foods.

After the very successful introduction of the air-cooled Bantam-Series Post-Baking dryers two years ago, RFC is now offering the air-cooled design in a more powerful two-zone design

The latest generation of the MATADOR STORE Colour Edition instore baking oven will be presented at the iba with the new control system generation WP NAVIGO 3.

The new TruBake HiCirc convection oven launched by Baker Perkins brings higher rates of convection, higher heat flux, and a broader range of product capability than its predecessors. 

Companies that make pans for the baking industry, whether for breads, baguettes, muffins, cookies, cakes, pies, etc., are focused on issues like larger sizes, a desire for energy and material efficiency, stick resistance, and the ability to help produce specialty and artisanal products.