Articles by Tom Vierhile

Trends and innovations that took place in the cereals and bars market for 2023, and what formulators can look for going into 2024.

2023 was a solid year for cookies and bread with launches up 6% and 5%, respectively. New cakes, pastry and sweet good introductions also were in the plus column, up 2.7% for the year. Baking ingredients and mixes posted a 1.6% decline in launches while cracker introductions dipped 4.8% in 2023.

According to Innova’s 2022 Flavor Survey, 39% of Americans said they are most likely to experiment with flavors through sauces, seasonings, and toppings. These categories rank ahead of others such as bakery, soup, desserts and ice cream, cheese, savory snacks, and more.

Per the Innova Database of new products, snack bar new product introductions (cereal and energy bars) grew more than 6% while cold cereal launches expanded by more than 2% during the first 11 months of 2022 versus the same period in 2021. Hot cereal launches declined by around 10% during the same period.

Bread and bread products posted the biggest decline with launches down nearly 11% during the first 11 months of 2022. Crackers launches dipped just more than 2%. Innovation trends around specific health claims softened in 2022.

Innova Market Insights’ 2022 Snacking Survey found that more than 54% of Americans say they snack two or more times a day. Nearly one-fifth of Americans say they snack four or more times a day.

Just as there are so many ingredients combined in a good sauce, there are many factors that combine to impact new product development in sauces, dressings and spreads. And this is true—seemingly for better and for worse.

According to Innova Market Insights’ 2021 Lifestyles and Attitudes Survey, 37% of Americans said they were eating breakfast “more in home” versus just 6% who said they were eating breakfast “more out of home.”

For manufacturers, it’s good that one-third of American consumers say they have snacked more often during the past 12 months according to Innova Market Insights’ 2021 Lifestyle & Attitudes Survey. That’s in contrast to the 24% who said they snacked less.

One-fifth of US consumers described themselves over the past year as “highly stressed on a daily basis,” per Innova’s 2021 Health & Nutrition Survey. The good news is that stress management is easier thanks to an array of new bakery products in 2021.