Click the photo for a closer look.According to Innova Market Insights, a research firm, new-product introductions with almonds have overtaken hazelnuts in Europe for the first time. Almonds’ momentum in new-product introductions was driven in part by their dominance in the snack and bars categories. Almonds are also No. 1 among nut introductions in North America, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific.1 Almonds are being seen as a “hero” nut by product developers, as they work as a whole food or as an ingredient, offering flexibility in terms of flavor and form.
Top Nut in Many Categories
Compared to other tree nuts, almond introductions hold top spots across the categories of confectionary, bakery, snacks, bars and cereals, substantiating endless opportunity in new-product innovation.1 With regard to top trends specific to the snacking category, Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation at Innova Market Insights notes, “More foods are considered a snack today, and flavor innovations continue to deliver excitement in the industry. We are seeing almonds used in an even wider variety of snacking products, including protein snacks, fruit and vegetable products, and yogurt snacks — catering for indulgent, convenient snacking for a multitude of occasions.”
A good opportunity for new uses of almonds is the different forms available. Almond paste and butter surpassed almond pieces in 2015 as the No. 1 form tracked in new launches. It grew by 24% from 2011 to 2015. Almond butter is a great filling in bars, in breakfast cookies or even as a center in chocolates. Almond flour has also seen fast growth over the same period, with gluten-free products driving much of the growth.
Rise of Almond Flour, Milk
There are many options for baked snacks using almond flour. Almond milk grew fastest, up 65% from 2011–2015, and this is also a snacking opportunity. It is being used in lactose-free chocolates and in snack drinks such as almond milk lattes. Novel uses of all the different forms is a great opportunity for snack producers. Different flavors of almond pieces are being used in clusters and bound with almond butter, for example, to create a completely new taste and texture experience.
This is an exciting time for the almond industry as almonds work well in so many of the platforms within snacking today: occasions, healthy on-the-go, functional snacks, free form and taste experiences.
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1 Innova Global New-Product Introductions Report, Sterling- Rice Group, 2015
