Tempting snacks with a healthy twist: the leading trend influencing bakery and confectionery this autumn-winter
Autumn and winter are traditionally a time to enjoy foods that are a little more comforting and indulgent than in the warmer summer months. Cooler temperatures and shorter days typically encourage consumers to treat themselves to warming and nostalgic foods, with traditional baked goods in particular offering a welcome hit of cosines and conviviality that consumers crave at this time of year.
At the same time, to ensure guilt-free indulgence, consumers are looking for healthier alternatives to sugar-laden snacks. So how to deliver on healthy treats without compromising on taste? Here’s our take on the leading trend that will inspire bakery and confectionery producers during the autumn-winter season.
Sweetness without the added sugar
Sweet bakery snacks remain enduringly popular; however, today’s consumers are increasingly well-educated around the issue of sugar content in food and its resultant impact on health. In the recent Snacks, Bakery and Confectionery Report 2022, published by Fi Global Insights[i], 74% of participants stated that they believe a snack to be healthy if it contains a serving of real fruit. The same report showed that low, and no-sugar options were favoured by 64% of respondents, while the use of natural ingredients were important to 62%.
This detailed insight presents manufacturers with an ideal opportunity to enhance the nutritional content of their recipes, effectively addressing consumers’ health and wellness concerns. SVZ’s ingredients like fruit and vegetable purees, concentrates and NFC juices are ideal to add sweetness, colour and flavour without the guilt.
For instance, yellow carrot delivers a vitamin-and-mineral-packed punch, while adding a complex, naturally sweet flavour to cakes, biscuits and pastries. Raspberries are popular as they provide a fresh, fruity flavour, while both beetroot and pumpkin offer attractive colours and a distinctively autumnal flavour that can be used as ingredients, fillings and toppings for a wide range of baked goods.
Health-first snacking
Many manufacturers have already begun the transition away from added sugar, with the superior textures and flavours available from natural fruit and vegetable ingredients enabling them to create healthier versions of classic treats while, still delivering that all-important indulgent appeal.
Recent products that use healthier natural ingredients to create moments of indulgence include Simple Mills’ pumpkin muffin and bread mix, Nature’s Bakery’s Strawberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars and their seasonal favourite Pumpkin Spice Fig Bars.
With its near-endless uses in bakery and dessert products and a growing movement towards healthier snacking, the use of natural fruit and vegetables as a sugar substitute seems like more than just a trend. We know our fruit and vegetables inside out, and we’d love to work with you to find out how our versatile purees and concentrates can help you cook up your next creative and delicious treats!
[i] https://issuu.com/figlobalinsights/docs/snacks_and_bakery_report_2022_fie
