Over the course of a very difficult year, one thing that remained a constant source of inspiration and innovation has been creating new products along with our valued clients. While the in-person meetings around a tasting panel inside bakeries has been all but eliminated from our itinerary, the development of new and exciting projects has not slowed down as the baking industry continues to introduce new items to the ever changing marketplace. As ever, Stewart Ingredient Systems flexible and fast paced development services have led to multiple nationwide launches of new items developed post-March shutdown.
According to Mintel’s 2020 in-store bakery report, 89% of consumers said that they purchased a bread or a bakery item in the last 3 months and 70% purchased a cake or a sweet good. While many of our new development projects this year included better-for-you ingredients claims for marketing to attract the younger consumer into the bakery snacking isle, the traditional snacking items remain a source of dependable indulgence.
With our model of custom development in partnership with our clients leading directly to in-plant production of the filling or topping, SIS remains ideally placed to build into 2021 with our valued bakery partners. Do not hesitate to reach out via our Sample Request form or contact Ross Stewart @ rstewart@Stewartis.com at anytime!
Source: https://reports.mintel.com/display/986828/
Given all of the product innovation that SIS engages in on a daily basis, we are very familiar with chasing the trends of the day and find ourselves meeting the consumer in increasingly health and wellness focused grocery aisles. This has been a decade plus long process and the opportunity in the health and wellness fields has grown tremendously during that time. So while health and wellness is going nowhere, its crucial to note that Cheese and Cream Cheese pastries aren’t either. In the Pastry and Sweet Goods categories, product innovation with Cream Cheese & Cheese varieties saw a 36% compound annual growth rate between 2017 & 2019.
Summer is ice cream season and what better time to talk about variegates, and Stewart Ingredient Systems’ product offerings in this category.
As we have advertised, and as demonstrated in this space in previous posts, SIS is one of, if not, the longest standing and most experienced Low Water Activity fillings developer and manufacturer in the country. Our experience in this field quite literally goes back to the first introduction into the US market of fruit-filled breakfast cereals more than three decades ago.
“The landscape for prepared foods has been changing rapidly over the past decade, due largely to changes in consumer perception about the healthfulness, nutritional value, safety, and sustainability of prepared foods”. Prepared Foods Magazine, February 2019
Stewart Ingredient Systems, Inc. has been formulating solutions for smaller portions and higher flavor intensity to specifically combat the marketplace reaction over the past 5 plus years to smaller portions and better-for-you options in the grocery aisle. Our products can be found on the shelves today in GMO-Free, HFCS-Free and All-Natural snacking options.
Millennial-parents are dedicating space in their cupboards to snacking food options that, as early as a few years ago, were not available in grocery aisles. Weighed against Gen X & Baby Boomers, Millennial-parents are in a league of their own when it comes to what foods they allow their kids to consume and the market which they represent is only growing and becoming more influential to the food industry each year. More conscious of processed ingredients & less likely to purchase foods that are perceived to be ‘unhealthy’, the industry is scrambling to rush product to market that better fits their demands.
The annual IDDBA report (What’s in Store – 2015) provides excellent data and analysis on evolving consumer trends spreading across all platforms of 
We wrote in this space back in March 2014 about the changes that had been proposed by the FDA to overhaul nutrition labels on packaged foods. At that time, public comment on the proposal was opened up and we waited for the industry to respond. Turns out, the American Bakers Association had significant criticism to offer in a 31-page dossier filed to the US FDA prior to the August 1 deadline for comments.