Specialty Food Magazine

State of the Specialty Food Industry report, 2021- 2022 Edition (see story on p. 27), it underperformed the overall brick-and-mortar retail specialty food market, up 19.4 percent, in 2020, due in part to the closure of schools, gyms, and workplaces. Still, Americans continue to reach for salty snacks, with 76 percent consuming them on a weekly basis, according to The Hartman Group's Snacking, Emerging, Evolving, and Disrupted report, and one-third (33 percent) seeking them more than they did a year ago. In an increasingly crowded snack market, of which specialty chips, pretzels, puffs, straws, popcorn, meat crisps, and other salty snacks hold 20.4 percent share, better-for-you ingredients and flavor innovations are standouts, according to Mintel's Trending Flavors and Ingredients in Snacks report. Healthier Formulations Cauliflower, beans, and legumes are being featured in the form of chips, crackers, and puffs, and mixing seeds and vegetables that provide micronutrients or reduce sugars, carbs, or calories, present opportunities to balance health with the fun side of snacking, according to the report. These ingredients are piquing consumer curiosity, with more than three-in-four shoppers (77 percent) interested in trying some type of alternative ingredient. When asked which specific ingredients they would be interested in trying in a snack, pumpkin seeds were most popular (38 percent), followed by cauliflower (35 percent), chickpea (33 percent), black beans (32 percent), plantain (29 percent), kale (26 percent), edamame (25 percent), lentil (22 percent), chia (21 percent), hemp seed (19 percent), and seaweed/kelp (18 percent). At West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee, health-minded shoppers are gravitating towards plant-based chips made with vegetables such as cauliflower, beans, or ancient grains, as well as grain-free, and keto-friendly snacks, and options that are high in protein, says dietitian Elisa Sloss, who is vice president of the grocery chain's HealthMarket store-within-a-store concept. "The start of the pandemic was an anxiety- ridden time where people were naturally reverting to what they could control and how to find comfort, so there was a big uptick in snacking," she says. "Now, as life returns to normal, people are looking for better-for-you foods." S nacking to distract gained prominence during the pandemic as Americans helped ease their nerves with mainstream varieties of chips, pretzels, and other snacks. But now as COVID restrictions lift, consumers are prioritizing their health and looking to better-for-you varieties. "We saw a lot of emotional eating early on and a resurgence around comfort foods from childhood and legacy-branded salty snacks, and as it dawned on everyone that the pandemic was more of a marathon than a sprint, folks recognized 'I should eat with health and wellness and immunity in mind to have greater physical, mental, and emotional resilience,'" says Shelley Balanko, senior vice president at The Hartman Group. This mindset bodes well for the specialty chips, pretzels, and snacks category, which boasts better- for-you innovations, inventive forms, and upcycled ingredients. While sales in the category were up a sizeable 14 percent in 2020 versus 2019, according to the Specialty Food Association's newly released OMG! Pretzels Pretzel Nuggets Port City Pretzels Tangy Mustard 'N Honey Dream Pretzels Plant-Based Protein Pressels 22 SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT

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