9 minute read
Category Insight
Tiny ... but mighty
BY ANNIE HOLLON
As schools return to in-person learning, the long-held tradition of lunchtime treat trading remains, with the ever-valuable snack cake continuing its reign in cafeterias across the country.
Not to mention, with an uptick in travel for all ages and a spike in snacking culture driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer interest in snack cakes aligns with rising interest in individually wrapped, convenient snacks. Tiny but mighty, the sweet goods in this category have seen steady loyalty — and growth — from consumers, even in the face of further challenges like inflation.
In its own proprietary research, Lenexa, KS-based Hostess Brands has seen this continued interest in snack cakes and a rise in snacking to further expand its product portfolio and accommodate for a wider range of consumer interests. Known for its host of products that induce nostalgia and fix a craving for something sweet, the company has not only expanded its offerings in unique ways but also played off their own creations to spur the next snack cake innovation.
“We know consumers increasingly are looking for snackable, shareable treats that offer a sweet reward without a mess,” said Tina Lambert, VP of the Marketing Center of Excellence for Hostess. “We saw an opportunity to reimagine and recreate some of our most-loved snacks and turn them into a new format that can easily be packed along for on-the-go snacking or placed in a lunch box for a surprise moment of joy.”
Enter Hostess’ latest product: Bouncers. Designed to match current consumer needs and interests, the bite-size snack cakes pull inspiration from the brand’s most iconic products and flavors: original Twinkies, chocolate Ding Dongs and cinnamon Donettes. As a result, Hostess’ hybrid innovation provides consumers with a shareable, micro variation of a beloved product consumers already recognize in a new package that lends to the need for travel-friendly snacks.
Hostess combined its popular snack cake flavors and consumer needs to create travel-friendly Bouncers.
Hostess has a history of creating variants of its products, whether it be seasonal offerings like Halloween-inspired chocolate CupCakes topped with orange frosting or pop-culture-influenced sweets like $TWINKcoin, its take on the rise of cryptocurrency with a classic Twinkie converted from its standard finger cake form to a medallion shape.
While snack cake category strongholds like Hostess retain their spot in lunchrooms and snack cabinets, emerging brands are also presenting convenient ways for consumers to feed their sweet tooth. New from across the pond, UK-based
Photo courtesy of Mr. Kipling
Mr. Kipling entered the American snack cake market with three bright flavor varieties.
Mr. Kipling, a Premier Foods brand, has found its place in the snack aisle of US Target retailers nationwide.
Currently, American consumers can choose between brightly decorated flavors including Vanilla; Unicorn Cake, its vibrant pink, limited-time doppelganger; Lemon, which features the acidic citrus flavor from frosting to filling, and more. The individually wrapped cake slices fall in with American snack cakes by matching an increased demand for smaller pre-portioned products.
“We have heard from consumers that the individually wrapped packaging allows the product to stay fresher for longer and it helps their portion control,” said Diana Horwitz, US general manager for Premier Foods. Premier Foods has also been able to balance product freshness and environmental impact with individual packaging. Through the pod packaging that envelops each cake slice in recyclable plastic, Horwitz noted, the company’s products can retain their quality while Premier Foods lessens its environmental impact.
The continuing issues stemming from supply chain disruption and staffing shortages leave a bitter challenge for bakery manufacturers as they stretch operations thin to keep shelves stocked with their products. Lambert noted that like many others in the industry, supply chain problems and ingredient shortages have been tough to navigate.
“We’ve had to become more agile in the past few years to address external and internal challenges,” Lambert continued. “When we’ve encountered supply chain challenges sourcing certain ingredients, we’ve had to remain incredibly nimble on our production time. If we haven’t had a necessary ingredient on-hand to produce one snack, we’ve flipped our production lines to instead bake other snacks while we wait on the ingredients needed for others.”
Hostess has also had to stay flexible on delivery dates and timing to continue a consistent production level. Supporting its workers has also been at the front of mitigating these challenges. Hostess recently gave its bakery and warehouse employees a second bonus of up to $1,000 per person as gratitude for their work during the challenges the industry has faced over the past few years.
Photos courtesy of Hostess Brands
Adapting to evolving consumer needs, especially when entering a new geographical market, keeps snack cake manufacturers like the team behind Mr. Kipling heavily focused in R&D. With its recent entry into the US market, Horwitz shared that a key challenge Premier Foods faced in bringing Mr. Kipling products across the pond was not only adapting to local demands but also creating products that meet or exceed the expectations Americans have for their sweet treats.
“We have carried out extensive consumer research in the US to inform our R&D and innovation pipeline, not only in terms of flavor but format too,” Horwitz said. “We’re fortunate our product format and flavors resonate well across multiple markets, and we are continuing to develop bespoke US products to ensure Americans can find their favorite flavors, tailored to a US palette, in our Mr. Kipling range.”
This research also extends into knowledge regarding wider-spread trends in food such as sustainability and flavor innovations to retain relevance into the company’s future.
Beyond adding some portion (and impulse) control for consumers, individually packed snack cakes provide convenience for the increasing popularity of snacking. Lambert shared that the company’s research indicates consumers are still grazing throughout the day, which is guiding Hostess to focus product development on when those snacking moments occur.
“We see the ‘morning sweet start’ and ‘afternoon sharing’ snacking occasions as two of our biggest opportunities for growth,” she said. “Research shows that
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some consumers forego sitting down for a regular meal and are instead opting for snacking throughout their day, looking for snacks that are no-mess and resealable.”
The “afternoon sharing” time segment is among the largest with $19.3 billion in sales, Lambert said, which provides companies like Hostess some inspiration for future product development. With continued innovation in the snack cake space, efficiency has been the primary directive for Hostess’ manufacturing capabilities as the company adds new products like Bouncers to its portfolio and production lines.
“One thing that’s incredibly important to us is that we’re making efficient use of the cake lines and production facilities we have available,” Lambert said. “Whenever we develop a new product like this, we aren’t building a new bakery to support it; we’re making sure it can be created on our existing lines.”
In shifting product size and scalability to accommodate for new snack cake products, Hostess has remained flexible. Though the ingredient supply chain problems can hinder operations, Hostess utilized the challenge as an opportunity to “get more creative,” swapping ingredients as needed to keep the same products running on the lines.
While Hostess is well established in the category, newer brands in the US market like Mr. Kipling are investing in the future in more ways than one. To ensure not only environmentally conscious practices but also quality products for consumers, Horwitz shared that Premier Foods is hard at work improving in both spaces.
“We have invested in production lines that ensure our cakes have a crafted look and feel to ensure the best possible consumer experience in a convenient format,” Horwitz said, noting the effort made to develop recipes for its cake slices that excel in flavor and taste, along with extended shelf-life while also using no artificial flavors.
Even as consumer trends reflect an increase in better-for-you and healthforward bakery items, indulgences like snack cakes keep the baking industry growing. Whether it’s a new product, a flavorful or seasonal spin on an old-school classic, or both, there will be no snack swap equivalent to the snack cake at any age. CB
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