The snack cake solution contains as much as 10% whey protein and 200 mg of calcium in each 100 calorie, 21 g serving. Arla is touting the ingredient as a sensible meal replacement for people who snack on the go.
The snack cake ingredient is set to be unveiled at the IBA trade show in Munich, taking place from September 12 to 17.
Thus far, the product is not being utilized by manufactures and has not been revealed to the public.
Taste and health
John Gelley, Arla Food Ingredients North American Sales Manager, told BakeryandSnacks that even with the higher protein content, the product still has “great mouthfeel and texture”.
“Snackification is growing rapidly and this solution is spot on,” he said. “With the growth of the wellness trend it has become very common to snack during the day instead of consuming three large meals.”
The snack cake recipe is also egg-free, an attractive attribute with avian bird flu still affecting the industry. Gelley said this should help bakers control costs and keep saturated fat and cholesterol down in their cakes and snack bars.
The snack cake ingredient may also be ideal for children, as Gelley said each serving gives 25% of the daily calcium intake.
The product is easy for manufacturers to integrate, he said, and scores highly for structure, moistness, stability and shelf life.
Snackification growing larger
Gelley believes the market for snackification products will grow even larger in the near future, and the numbers seem to be on his side. Research from Nielsen shows that 45% of consumers across the world regularly consume a snack as an alternative to a meal; 52% do so at breakfast, 43% at lunch and 40% at dinner.
In order for this market to grow further, Gelley said products must be healthy, taste great, be convenient and not induce guilt, also allowing consumers to eat them between meals.
“If this is fulfilled, bakery companies can turn the snackification trend into a major commercial success,” he said. “Consumers look for healthier and smaller with fewer calories and natural ingredients to fit their active lifestyle. Often snacking is ‘on the go’.”
With this snack cake ingredient, Gelley said the company is targeting these on-the-go and active customers, specifically millennials.
“Millennials are looking for healthier and more natural snacks as they tend to snack more frequently to replace a full meal,” he said.
John Kjaer, global sales manager for bakery at Arla Foods Ingredients, said most snacks leave something of a gap in people’s nutrition, but the Arla snack cake ingredient can work as a meal replacement for millennials and children alike.
“Millennials and parents of young children are two groups for whom snackification is becoming more and more relevant, but they also tend to be very health conscious, and prefer to choose snacks they consider to be ‘guilt-free’,” Kjaer said.
“By offering these demanding consumers cake snacking products that deliver all the qualities they are seeking – taste, convenience and nutrition – bakery companies can turn the snackification trend into a major commercial success.”