Five trends reshaping the snack food industry

The snack aisle is evolving. No longer is it enough to simply keep pace with volume and demand. Producers are now expected to anticipate and adapt to a fast-changing landscape of health trends, sustainability targets and market volatility — often all at once. From the raw materials that enter the line up to and including the packaging that leaves it, every step must work harder, smarter and more flexibly than ever before.

Here are five of the big trends currently reshaping the snacking landscape and how they’re influencing production planning, investment and performance.

1. Function-first, better-for-you (BFY) positioning

Consumers no longer see snacks as indulgent extras, but increasingly more as part of the daily health routine. According to NIQ’s State of Snacking 2024, BFY snack segments are growing at twice the rate of indulgent categories, with low-sugar and functional claims — such as protein, fibre or immune support — driving the fastest gains.

For manufacturers, this translates into more complex formulations that include protein isolates, prebiotic fibres, seeds, pulses and fruit-based ingredients. Naturally, each of these introduces new behaviours and processes in frying, seasoning and packaging. Equipment must now accommodate more delicate or oil-sensitive inputs while still maintaining high throughput and low waste. Lines designed for traditional potato or corn products may no longer suffice.

2. Plant-powered snacking

A growing number of consumers are committing, either partially or entirely, to plant-based diets. Around 80 million people globally now identify as vegan, with many more leaning into flexitarian habits. With the broader ‘meat-reducing’ category far outpacing both, the growth potential for plant-forward snacks is undeniable. To cater to this growing demand, plant-based snack products are on the rise.

This growth brings a need for unprecedented line flexibility. Each plant-based input — whether starch-heavy, high in moisture or unusually shaped — demands different slicing, frying, dewatering and conveying parameters. Manufacturers must build in process adaptability to switch between bases while maintaining consistency in seasoning distribution, oil absorption and moisture retention.

3. Control of carcinogens and trans fats

Regulatory scrutiny over acrylamide and trans fats is intensifying. Acrylamide, a naturally occurring substance that forms when starchy foods are cooked at high temperatures, has caused health concerns among consumers. In response, technologies such as low-temperature finish frying (LTFF), vacuum frying and pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment are becoming essential for snack producers.

Multi-zone fryers like the tna conti-pro PC3, the tna thermo-wash HW3 (blancher), and continuous vacuum fryers like the tna vac-pro 3 allow control of temperature and pressure to minimise acrylamide formation and reduce oil content without compromising texture or flavour. For example, PEF technology gently pre-treats the raw material by using pulses of electricity to puncture cell membranes, allowing fluid to exit. As a result, sugar and moisture are removed. This enhanced sugar extraction results in reduced acrylamide formation during cooking, while also allowing the use of all potato varieties, including those with high sugar levels/late-season potatoes. Integration with in-line oil filtration and defatting is designed to ensure good oil quality and reduced waste.

4. Planet-friendly treats

Sustainability is no longer just a brand value; it’s an operational requirement. Leading retailers have set aggressive carbon and packaging reduction goals, and snack manufacturers are expected to meet them with both design and data.

This means incorporating energy recovery systems, smaller oil volumes to improve turnover time, reclaim systems to recycle wash water, and low-footprint frying solutions. According to Towards Packaging, the reusable packaging market will grow from US$114bn in 2022 to nearly US$200bn by 2032, driven by legislative mandates. Equipment must now enable thinner, recyclable films and seamless integration of digital pack-level traceability.

5. Bold tastes

The final trend is less about health and more about delight. Consumers are gravitating towards bold, globally inspired and hybrid flavour experiences. Hot honey, smoky lime and ‘newstalgia’ flavours — offering modern interpretations of enduring products such as cinnamon toast — are entering the mainstream.

But creating products that deliver layered flavour and crisp textures consistently requires precise control over seasoning and product handling. Gravimetric on-machine seasoning (OMS) systems such as tna intelli-flav OMS 5.1 are designed to apply exact amounts of dry and liquid flavours per recipe, reducing waste and flavour variance. Meanwhile, horizontal motion conveyors are designed to ensure fragile or heavily seasoned products reach the packaging line intact.

Staying a cut above

These five trends demand not just better equipment, but better integration. It is no longer viable to address each new requirement in isolation. What’s needed is a holistic approach to production line design and execution.

This is an edited version of the TNA Solutions article titled ‘Feeding the future of snacking from end to end’, republished with permission.

Image credit: iStock.com/DenisMArt