“You’ve come a long way, baby” is more than just a classic advertising slogan. It’s a phrase describing the innovation trajectory that inclusions have enjoyed in recent decades in the food industry. Inclusions have come a long way in a relatively short amount of time. We’re talking about those nuts, fruits, chips, candies, seeds and more that add texture, flavor and craveability to foods like ice cream, chocolate, baked goods and yogurt.
Although it’s difficult to pinpoint the first use of inclusions in food products (candy bar makers have been using peanuts for decades), inclusions really began to lift off in the 1970s and 1980s with ice cream product innovation. New York, N.Y.-based Steve’s Ice Cream claims to have pioneered the use of innovative “mix-ins” like Heath Bar Crunch in 1973 when it says that consumers would form lines—even during snowstorms—for a crack at the ice cream shop’s novel mix-in ice cream.