Better-for-you options and innovative flavors have been a large part of the overall snack industry. Now, they’re making their way into the extruded snacks segment.

Innovations in extrusion technology, ingredients and product R&D have built new interest in multiple snack segments.

Bunge North America purchases Heartland Harvest, a producer of die-cut pellets used to make extruded foods.

Improved weight accuracy, high-speed production, flexibility and easy sanitation are just some of dynamics bakers are looking for in depositors, dividers and rounders.

Puffed and extruded snacks are shedding their junk-food image with more nutritious ingredients and no-fry processing, plus on-trend flavors, textures and shapes to add more fun.

Consumer demand for artisanal baked goods and better-for-you snacks are making new laminators and sheeters must-have equipment for many manufacturers.

Processing Technologies International will invest $10 million in its Illinois headquarters in response to growing demand for its sheet extrusion equipment.

While all of the content that we put forth generates interest, the most-read articles from 2015 point to top industry interests and trends.

Growing consumer demand for better-for-you, gluten-free and innovative baked goods and snacks continues to drive bakers and snack manufacturers to explore new ingredients and formulations. It’s also prompting them to re-examine their equipment needs, as they discover that their existing machinery may not be able to efficiently handle today’s in-demand products. For some manufacturers, a new extruder may be just the ticket.

Handtmann has announced the appointment of Christian Strohm and Sean Gorman to bakery sales specialist positions in Canada and the U.S.

The puffed and extruded snack segment combines the best elements of tradition and forward-thinking better-for-you innovation.

The collective puffed, popped, pellet and extruded snack segment continues to see positive sales activity and a strong level of product innovation.

The Honey Fruit Bar uses a combination of raisin paste, honey, rolled oats and cookie flour to deliver a great tasting meal replacer with a health halo.

Snack manufacturers are looking to build in healthfulness through the use of raw materials, including vegetables and fruit, as well as cleaner ingredient profiles with more protein and fiber.

A new generation of extrusion equipment for the food industry has been launched by Baker Perkins.

SNAXPO18, taking place March 12-14 in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center, is a must-attend event for anyone working in today’s snack food industry.

Hygienic design, quicker changeovers, reduction of maintenance time, improved cooling ability and the modularity and flexibility to run more-diverse products-sometimes with exotic raw materials that need gentler processing-are the top-of-mind issues for customers of extrusion equipment.

Egan Food Technologies, a confectionery and baking process equipment manufacturer and service provider, will unveil at Pack Expo a new four-roll co-extruder featuring a design that significantly reduces product changeover and cleaning times.

The soft-dough and cookies sector of the biscuit market comprises a wide-ranging family of products.

Customers of machines that handle puffing and extruding of snack and bakery products are focused on accommodating protein- and plant-based inclusions, hygienic design and rapid cleaning, speed and quick changeovers, better integrated controls, easy data extraction, and smaller machines that can produce specialized batches.

Flexibility, greater sanitation, gentle handling of ingredients, quicker changeovers, more precise weight control, and the ability to make products with healthier ingredients are top of mind features and benefits for snack and bakery customers of extrusion equipment and technology.

Baker Perkins has exploited innovative technology to improve process control, performance and hygiene on all the units in its Co-Ex Master co-extrusion systems, which create high-value products by adding a center filling into a cereal outer.

Snack and bakery companies looking at new or improve extrusion equipment to create puffed and popped snacks, bakery items like nutrition bars, and other types of SKUs have features and benefits like cleanability, flexibility, and remote support high on their list of considerations, according to companies that make extrusion equipment.

Snack and bakery producers are demanding more features than ever from extrusion equipment.

Puratos recently launched two new sourdough starters.

As the artisan bread movement continues to gain momentum across the U.S., one of its most-ancient forms—sourdough—is garnering more-widespread attention.

BreadPartners, Inc. Paste Product range, Superior, offers an alternative to running a scratch formula, which involves scaling a minimum of 5-7 ingredients. 

Passion underpins the dedication to invest the time and resources required to bake bread with unmistakable Old World artisan flavor, appearance and texture. And strong business sense leads such bakers to judiciously capitalize on the technological tools available to help bring those truly artisan breads to a wide customer base without compromising craftsmanship.

The Essential Baking Co. also now reaches a national audience with its Take & Bake line of artisan sourdough batards and baguettes, which get a notable 190-day ambient shelf life thanks to modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP).

There is a lot of confusion in cookie and cracker manufacturing today. Let’s focus on one of the major areas of confusion: leavening.

To successfully bake products requires an astute blend of art and science. A fundamental ingredient in the baking process is the leavening agent. Leavening contributes essential sensory characteristics to bakery products.

Biospringer North America Corporation has announced an expansion on its yeast extract site in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to support the growing market trend for natural origin ingredients derived from fermentation.  

One of the concepts often overlooked in the baking industry is that baking is really fundamental chemistry in action.

Leavening is a fundamental ingredient category in baking that performs some serious heavy lifting. Leavening agents help create the textural quality in many baked goods.

Industry suppliers offer new and updated leavening ingredients for the development of clean-label snacks and baked goods.

Bakery ingredient supplier Puratos USA has announced a new addition to their sourdough product range with the launch of Sapore Leo Organic.

Leavening ingredients and leavening aides are important ingredients that help consistently create the textural qualities of various baked goods. And like every ingredient segment within bakery, leavening agents are subject to ongoing shopper trends.

LEVAIR Select leavening solution is a non-aluminum based alternative to traditional sodium aluminum phosphate.

Welcome back a classic campfire treat turned bite-sized muffin just in time for warm weather activities: Little Bites S’mores Muffins.

Brand also expands dessert bar offerings with new Chocolate Pie Bar Mix.

New collection, available only at Williams Sonoma, will focus on mindfulness of ingredients and sustainable sourcing to address growing consumer demand for food products that accommodate various dietary and lifestyle preferences.

The bakery snacks category overall experienced an increase in sales in 2021, the possible reason for that being that consumers are now returning to the office and want on-the-go snacks to keep them company at their desks. 

Organic baking brand debuts redesigned logo, refreshed packaging, and two new SKU's.

Dunkin’ debuts three items for the holidays and, by popular demand, brings back its Cranberry Orange Muffin.

The limited-edition muffins are made with real apples and no high fructose corn syrup or trans fat.

New products from Cinnabon and DAVID Seeds, both in the Conagra Brands portfolio.

Bimbo Bakehouse recently introduced Entenmann’s Little Bites for foodservice distribution in both Chocolate Chip and Blueberry varieties.

Checking in on what’s new in the muffins bakery category.

Available in Mott's Apple and Hawaiian Punch Fruit Punch flavors, the new products can be found in select grocers nationwide next month.

Muffin brand rereleases limited-edition flavor for spring and summer snacking.