Prepared Foods talks inclusions and ice cream trends with Jeni Britton Bauer, founder and chief creative officer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.

The versatility of California Walnuts makes them the perfect inclusion to bring flavor and texture to a variety of products—from brownies to food bars to ice cream to plant-based meat alternatives.

Call them bits, pieces, inclusions, mix-ins, or add-ins, inclusions bring both flavor and textural elements to foods. Color, too, can make it to the show by way of inclusions.

With three times the capacity of Parker Products’ previous location, the new 90,000-square-foot facility houses all of the company’s operations and allows for new processes to maintain the quality Parker Products is known for while further improving efficiency. For example, real-time quality control checks and overall equipment effectiveness feedback is now available digitally from the production lines. Additionally, each production room in the new facility features a separate air handling system to prevent cross contamination.

These customized flakes are flavor and color delivery systems that have been formulated without any of the “major food allergens” as defined by the FDA: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (e.g. walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish.

TIC Gums will take the idea of “cling” to a new level.

Infusions might be most often associated with ice cream and frozen desserts, but the concept is establishing a place for itself in other segments and categories. In incorporating these elements, manufacturers are discovering inclusions have a variety of selling points.

Although Ben & Jerry’s may be better known for ice cream concoctions, the company has introduced a line of Greek Frozen Yogurts to grocery aisles, in flavor combinations that echo the company’s fun and indulgent sensibilities.