Snacks are big business. Statista Market Insights estimates the 2024 U.S. snack market – defined as food meant for at-home consumption – at about $51.6 billion, or $151.10 in revenue per person. It’s not surprising that a PLOS Global Public Health study1 from 2023 found more than 90% of Americans eat one to three daily snacks.
Food manufacturers have responded to Americans’ snacking obsession with a dizzying array of new or updated products. An increasingly relevant portion of these are snacks considered to be ‘better-for-you’ with fewer calories, more fiber and less sugar. This category of ‘healthy’ snacks is growing and reached more than $90 billion globally in 2022.
Big market, big competition. How can food manufacturers distinguish their snacks from the competition? A key factor in creating crave-able snacks is adding texture. Texture not only affects mouthfeel, it can impact flavor, appearance, even perceptions of whether a food is healthy.
Ingenient Inclusions®, a new line of plant-based crisps from MGP Ingredients, enhances both texture and nutritional value in snacks and cereals applications. The Ingenient product line includes crisps made with unique ingredients: hemp, canola, and pea crisps for protein enhancement; alternative botanicals, chickpea, and white and brown rice; and ancient grains such as millet, buckwheat, and sorghum. The crisps come in multiple shapes and offer consumer-friendly attributes including ‘gluten-free’ and ‘organic’.
Each option in the Ingenient line provides important nutritional benefits. For example, a 100-gram serving Pea-Canola 60 Crisps provides 60 grams of protein with a Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid score (PDCAAS) of 0.94, as well assignificant amounts of iron. There are high-fiber offerings, as well, including Millet, Pea-Hemp 60, Pea-Canola 60, and Pea 60, which provide 18-21% of the required daily value for dietary fiber.
Ingenient Inclusions represent a new approach to cereal and snack products from MGP, a longtime provider of quality wheat-based products to the commercial baking industry and a leader in textured proteins for plant-based meat alternatives.
“We’re excited to explore the nutritional power of legumes, oilseeds and ancient grains to help our customers meet 21st-century demand for ‘good-for-you’ snacks and cereals,” said Michael Buttshaw, Vice President of Ingredient Solutions Sales and R&D.
Buttshaw noted that the Ingenient product line is produced at MGP’s state-of-the-art textured protein plant in Atchison, Kansas. The $16.7 million facility also produces MGP’s ProTerra® textured wheat and pea proteins.
For more information on MGP Ingredient Solutions: https://www.mgpingredients.com/food-ingredients.
1Source: Forbes magazine.