Convenience is a top demand for consumers in 2023, and no “meal” is easier to grab-and-go than a food bar. It’s one of the main reasons we are seeing the category bounce back after recording sales declines during the pandemic. How important is convenience to consumers?
Convenience was named as a need by 38% of consumers who anticipated more bar releases in the past year. (Kantar Profiles/Mintel)
Denise Purcell, vice president of resource development at the Specialty Food Association, said that trends in 2023 will be driven by convenience, along with better-for-you ingredients.
Euromonitor predicts ongoing growth in the global bar market, which sits at $13.4 billion in annual sales. The rising awareness about clean labels and healthy snacking — along with mobility of the products — is propelling growth. Formulators are exploring options for innovation with ingredients such as proteins, grains, sweeteners and more, according to Natural Products Insider.
Convenience alone will not lead the food bar category to greener pastures. Innovation also must play a strong role, and successful food bar makers are turning to whole food ingredients, nuts and seeds to provide nutritional value in a convenient format.
In these bars, honey performs roles as a sweetener and binder. The sweetness honey delivers is especially important because it’s coming from a natural source that consumers love (honey bees!).
Equally as important is the binding capabilities that honey provides. Its sticky nature is due to a combination of more than 20 different types of carbohydrates and a 17.2% moisture content. This makes it the perfect binder for nut and seed dense bars, as well as any food bar that uses whole foods and proteins. Don’t take our word for it, Perfect Bar summed it up perfectly in this blog post about how the bar maker uses honey to keep ingredients bound together in one nicely, combined bite. No mess? Convenient!
Check out Perfect Bar and some of our other favorite food bars that were launched in the last year.
