Crispy, salty, crunchy … savory snacks are healthier than ever. But what’s next? Manufacturers and ingredient companies are working together to help build the next generation of savory snacks.
Making healthier savory snacks is leading to paradigm shifts in some categories. The merging of the cracker, chip and pretzel segments is an example pointed to by Suzanne Mutz-Darwell, marketing manager for National Starch Food Innovation, Bridgewater, N.J.
“Cracker companies are getting into chips — for example, Kraft/Nabisco Garden Harvest Toasted Chips — and chip makers getting into crackers, such as Frito-Lay’s True North nut crisps. [The result is] healthier chips and crackers, not fried but baked, and low in fat but with good texture. Also, clean label products are important.”
Late July’s Dawes admits there are technical challenges in building healthier savory snacks. “Finding ingredients in the form we need them is one,” she says. “We require all our vendors to meet a series of requirements. Not just kosher and organic but sometimes vegan and lactovegetarian, plus sustainability, Fair Trade, and [submission to] third-party audits.
“But we still find a lot of really wonderful suppliers to work with,” she continues. “At the end of the day, you have to be really close to your suppliers. I’m feeding these products to my children and other people’s children. I feel very strongly about having that connection.”
