Snacks now have a larger base in the food and beverage industry due to well-received innovation in the category. Snacks continue to get healthier, simpler and smaller as consumers’ health and wellness goals have become more prominent. The most recent snack trends target specific meal occasions such as breakfast, and U.S. dairy ingredients can deliver in these product development efforts.

Packaged Facts recently distributed a report, Breakfast: Retail Market Trends and Opportunities in the U.S, where it was stated that consumers will move away from choosing traditional breakfast foods and towards quick, portable solutions. U.S. Dairy has always paired well within breakfast foods, ranging from lattes and cereals to yogurts and cheesy eggs, and can continue to deliver innovative options.

Breakfast is the rising snack occasion. According to the report, 24% of consumers snack in the morning instead of eating a full meal. This behavior is more prominent among consumers with children, as their morning routines call for a grab-and-go or fast preparation item. This trend also is popular with younger consumers who look for easy, high-protein snacks that provide energy and nutrition. These consumer groups are health conscious, but are looking for alternatives to  mesh with their hectic lives.

Early morning snacking was a popular topic at the 2016 Protein Trends and Technologies Seminar. Conference speaker Elizabeth Sloan, president of Sloan Trends Inc., explained that the average number of snacks consumed per day is up from 1.9 per person per day in 2010 to 2.7 in 2014. Some consumers even substitute meals with snacks since 49% of all meal occasions are, in fact, snacks. Sloan agreed that those substitutes occur more often during early morning eating occasions. So snack brands have an opportunity to create new items using ingredients associated with breakfast.

Consumers want their early morning snacks to be nutritious. Consumers want a healthy breakfast even though they seek easy preparation. This, and the need for more protein, explains the shift in sales of portable breakfast options. Frozen/refrigerated foods and yogurt have had increasing sales since 2010. Nutrition bars are growing as well and are predicted to outpace cereal and granola bars. The U.S. retail sales of nutrition bars is expected to grow 55.7%, from 2014 to 2019.  

Nutritional breakfast snacks made with dairy. U.S. dairy ingredients can help formulate a variety of on-the-go breakfast foods that are high in quality protein, contain essential vitamins and are free of unwanted ingredients. Here are four on-trend breakfast prototypes using U.S. dairy ingredients:

• Yogurt-dipped peach snack bar: Whey protein gives this yogurt-flavored bar five grams of protein.
• Breakfast bites: These cheesy, protein-packed breaded bites are conveniently portable while offering an excellent source of protein with sodium levels that are kept in check.
• Protein Chiller: Dairy proteins served up in a refreshing frozen option offers the convenience of high quality protein for the morning’s post-workout recovery snack.
• Hash brown casserole: This portion-controlled individual casserole combines aged premium cheddar with delicious hash browns for a convenient hot breakfast option.