CHICAGO — As cookies are making a projected comeback in 2021, manufacturers have the chance to make some serious gains with healthier sweet confections.
While the connection between indulgence and cookies remains a recipe for success, manufacturers are also receiving more calls for better-for-you (BFY) and allergen-friendly options. As health and immunity remain serious trends in multiple packaged food categories, cookies are no exception.
Consumers are looking to ensure the accuracy and legitimacy of claims such as natural or simple. They are hungry for information and are looking for updated callouts on labels and packaging and easy-to-access information online.
Manufacturers and retailers are definitely looking to accommodate these demands and are staying current by making improvements to their website search engine optimization (SEO) and utilizing social media. Some are even working with influencers to tout messages of sustain-ability and traceability.
Sally Lyons Wyatt, executive VP and practice leader, client insights for IRI, predicted a rise in the number of BFY introductions around gut health and immunity, diet-related introductions (keto, paleo and gluten-free), free-from attributes and higher protein claims. But manufacturers looking to provide these often disparate claims definitely have their work cut out for them.
Good practices will necessitate sound formulations and current food science. For example, formulators who want to up protein levels in a dough might naturally look to the use of eggs, but this may not be possible if the formula must also meet allergen claims and therefore have to look for another protein source.
Likewise, manufacturers who successfully meet requirements for gluten-free could soon find themselves needing to reformulate to meet growing requests for cookies free from both gluten and grains.
The possibilities for cookies with benefits show no limits, offering “cures” for everything from insomnia relief to better immunity. In the near future, cookies in many forms could soon become a very desirable prescription for those looking for a delicious, yet temporary, escape from demands of the day.
