Consumer eating habits today reflect our society’s new flexibility and spontaneity. “Specific mealtimes are increasingly being replaced by spontaneous snacking at no set times,” says the latest Food Report by trend researcher Hanni Rützler. The annual study is published by Zukunftsinstitut, Lebensmittel Zeitung, gv-praxis and foodservice. Snacks such as burgers, bowls and ramen are gaining in popularity because they capture the spirit of the times. But they have to be creatively prepared, fresh and healthy. The expert is sure that snacking is not a short-lived hype because it is being driven by trends such as health, urbanisation, globalisation and individualisation. Also, a growing awareness about environment and climate issues is affecting people’s food choices, and consumers are increasingly turning to regional and seasonal products, as well as plant-based alternatives. Now it’s up to the industry to adapt its product ranges to the trend.
Bread is one of the most popular snack foods. “You can make all kinds of creative open and closed sandwiches with sweet or savoury fillings,” knows Felix Rommel from the Weinheim Academy. Food service specialist Salomon Food World has also tuned into the snacking trend by developing a new concept with Wild Bakers called ‘Handwerk – Snacks neu gebacken’. Snacks are also the main attraction at Backring Nord’s concept workshop at INTERNORGA, where application engineers, master bakers and pastry chefs will be sharing their extensive knowledge and putting the spotlight on bread.