Baking & Snack - November 2005 - 35

MARKET UPDATE

sectors like salty snacks. When
people buy dessert, they want to
indulge," she said.
HEALTHY INDULGENCE. Schwan's
has taken steps to provide consumers
with better-for-you frozen dessert
options. "We are currently rolling
out Mrs. Smith's pies that have been
reformulated to contain 0 g trans
fat per serving," Mr. Trombino said.
The company has also continued to
expand distribution of its Edwards
and Mrs. Smith's pie slices, which
are designed to enable consumers to
indulge in moderation.
Pennant is also reformulating
products. "We are starting to work
on putting whole grains into cookies
and muffins. Our existing Eat Well
line of healthy muffins is already low
in fat and high in fiber, but we are
looking to add whole grains to these,
too," Ms. Karner said.
And at Eli's, the idea is that claims
like all-natural ingredients, kosher
certified and no-preservatives are just
as, if not more, important to their
consumer than a "no trans fat" claim.
But still, no-sugar-added is a

ᮢ This deep dish Berry Burst pie is one of several
new product offerings hitting the market.
THE SCHWAN FOOD CO.

38 / BAKING & SNACK / November 2005

trend to which Eli's has
responded. "Our nosugar-added cheesecake
comes in our most popular flavor, the original
flavor," Ms. Marchok said.
FLAVOR FUSION. Flavoring sweet goods with
chocolate, especially cream
pies, is trendy, according to
Mr. Trombino. And at Pennant, the company sees cinnamon making a comeback.
Flavor once restricted to foods
such as cinnamon rolls is now
appearing in everything from
muffins to cookies.
"Combinations of flavors are also
very big right now," Ms. Karner said.
Although berry and fruit flavors have
always been popular, combinations
such as raspberry-chocolate and
cheese-apple are taking the helm in
Danish. "In addition to seeing new
flavor trends in fillings, we also see
ways to infuse flavors directly into the
dough to enhance it," she said. Pennant offers a mocha Danish that, in
addition to fruit or cheese filling, has
mocha swirled into the dough to give
it an upscale taste and appearance.
Savory flavors are also coming on
strong, observed Ms. Karner. "Traditionally, sweet goods
have been limited
to breakfast, but
we are trying to
extend applications
for these products
into the snacking
day part, and we are
using dough as a carrier," she said. Pennant now fills croissants with sun-dried
tomato mixtures and
tops puff pastry with
cheddar cheese or
Italian herbs.
Ms. Marchok said
that pumpkin is a
trendy flavor in cheesecakes. "More and more

ᮡ This Cinnabon Apple Crumb pie goes from
freezer to oven for a homemade taste.
THE SCHWAN FOOD CO.

of our competitors are entering with
a pumpkin flavored cheesecake," she
said. Eli's just introduced a pumpkin
praline-flavored cheesecake to its
in-store bakery customers.
On the food service side, trendy
cheesecake flavors include raspberry brulée and turtle, according
to Ms. Marchok.
Inspired by ethnic trends, Pennant uses mango and guava fillings
in Danish, but Ms. Karner warned
that while ethnic trends are definitely present, companies need to be
aware that in the true Hispanic areas
of the country, locally produced
sweet goods look different. While
such products are an important
part of Hispanic culture, for example, they are traditional and are
not what mainstream America has
branded as an "ethnic" sweet good.
"It's important for a company to
establish whether it is trying to bring
a Hispanic flavor profile to a baked
good for the American population,
or if it is trying to reach the Hispanic
market with something a bit more
traditional," she said.
Mr. Trombino recognized that a
variety of dessert products are influenced by ethnic trends and that
flavor combinations inspired by a
variety of ethnic cultures can be seen
Baking & Snack - November 2005

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