Nuts are fantastic sources of healthy fats, protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, while also being associated with reduced obesity and positive health benefits such as protection from heart disease and other conditions. There is a growing national and international focus on healthy eating and the market for nutritious snacks and confectionery is undoubtedly on the increase.
Since the misguided and generalist fear of fat as a dietary threat has evolved into much better informed nutritional knowledge, nuts in all their forms are enjoying a strong renaissance. Over recent years, nut inclusions have almost completely reinvented their role within the worldwide market. Firstly, they made their way into tub, foodservice and stick ice cream in multiple applications, then tray bakes, bakery and patisserie.
Finally, delicious desserts, confectionery and cereal bar snacks succumbed to the lure of nut inclusions supplied in the perfect format for their respective markets, whether it’s frozen or ambient, bagged or loose product, processed or not, and in whatever quantities are required. Now, increased consumer interest in weight loss and healthy eating, in conjunction with the inevitable evolution of eating patterns, is leading to the development of new offerings that will meet consumer demand for healthier snacks to better fit into a time-poor lifestyle.
As for the future of nut inclusions, it will be innovators who take the lead in a competitive market. There’s no doubt that snacking is a growing market and will remain so, as will the focus on choosing healthier snacks.
After-school snacking and over-55 markets were recently identified as offering significant untapped potential, and with both sectors likely to favour healthier options, nut inclusions are certain to play a key part in snack and confectionery products for many years to come.
The value of the world snack foods market is expected to reach almost $335bn by 2015. Nuts feature in almost a third of all global chocolate confectionery products, with an even greater proportion of recent new product launches containing nuts.
Hazelnuts and almonds are the most popular inclusions, with the chocolate sector accounting for around 31% of all product launches featuring almonds every year.
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