Sweet Success: The status of sweet goods

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Sweet Success: The status of sweet goods

18 Nov 2025

KANSAS CITY, MO — The sweet goods category produces pre-made, fresh and packaged indulgences to meet every taste and occasion. According to Mintel’s “US Prepared Cake and Pies Market Report 2025,” a wide range of ready-made treats offers variety, convenience and affordability, providing a practical solution for busy consumers.

Fresh look at croissants

Perimeter croissants reported more than $1 billion in sales, with 9.8% dollar and 7.8% unit gains, according to Circana sales figures for the latest 52 weeks ending July 13, 2025. In the perimeter, the plain/butter/white croissant group has the largest percentage of dollar sales, at nearly 89%, with annual dollar sales growth of 8.5%. Other perimeter croissant flavors that are showing sales growth vs. a year ago include cheese-filled, chocolate-filled and fruit-filled, although they are much smaller in absolute sales.

“Croissants have shown growth over the past several years, driven by their versatility and unique uses,” said Dawn Aho, principal of client insights, bakery vertical, at Circana. “Cronuts led the charge in 2013 and have been followed by other croissant trends such as flat croissants, croissant-baked desserts, croissant waffles or ‘croffles’ believed to originate in South Korea, and croissant cookies or ‘crookies,’ which hail from Paris. All have gained popularity, often fueled by social media and bakeries experimenting with unique flavors and textures.”

Perimeter traditional croissants, which consist primarily of plain butter, grew in dollars and units vs. a year ago. This subsegment includes both fixed UPC and random weight PLU or bulk bin items. Although they represent a small market share, perimeter filled croissants had significant dollar and unit gains at 26.8% and 27.8%, respectively.

“With nearly 92 percent of dollar share, private label is the largest brand within perimeter traditional croissants,” Aho said. “Perimeter filled croissants are also driven primarily by private label products, representing nearly 60 percent of dollar sales.”

Center-store croissants grew 6.9% in dollar sales and 7.3% in unit sales, with little to no price increases. Representing 63.4% of market share, center-store traditional croissants showed significant gains for dollars and units, at 10.6% and 9.1%, respectively. While Aho didn’t observe new brands driving increases for this subcategory, she did note that private label, Horsham, PA-based Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU)’s Cuernitos brand and Clifton, NJ-based Oven Delights were the three largest with dollar and unit growth.

Muffins rising

Perimeter muffins posted more than $1.6 billion in sales, with 6.6% dollar and 6.9% unit gains and minimal price increases, according to Circana data. Perimeter muffins offer a range of flavors and sizes, including mini and full-size items. Some perimeter multi-serve muffin packs contain several flavors, many of which are not available in center store.

“Both perimeter full-size and mini muffins showed strong growth, with 17.6 percent and 6.7 percent increases in dollar sales, respectively,” Aho said. “While nearly all perimeter muffins are private label offerings, Mondelez International’s Give & Go Two Bite brand of mini muffins is the only other brand of note reporting dollar and unit growth.”

Private label perimeter brands provide an array of choices at affordable prices, including multi-serve items for family gatherings, sporting events and group functions. Aho noted the three most popular flavors for perimeter muffins are blueberry, banana and chocolate chip, all of which showed dollar sales gains.

Mini muffin potential

Within center store, mini muffins account for 76% of dollar share and represent the mini-muffin multi-pack universe. Aho explained that BBU’s Entenmann’s Little Bites and Bimbo are the top two brands, followed by private label and McKee Foods’ Little Debbie line. However, top brands all show a decline in dollar sales, with the exception of private label and Bimbo, which grew 17.6% and 5.9%, respectively.

While chocolate chip and blueberry are the most popular flavors for center-store mini muffins, they both showed dollar sales declines. However, Aho observed the All Other subcategory reported dollar sales gains vs. a year ago.

“Expanding flavors and combinations with seasonal limited-time offers, mystery flavors, mix-ups, mash-ups and unique profiles help keep consumers engaged,” Aho said. “Indulgent treats are on-trend for many products made with premium chocolate and caramel lava fillings, drizzles or other decadent toppings for those special moments.”

This story has been adapted from the October | Q4 2025 issue of Commercial Baking. Read the digital edition here.