Baking&Snack - November 2016 - 50

PRETZELS

million, according to IRI.
"We are seeing significant growth in
pretzels as a component in snack mixes
and various other products - whether
they are dipped, enrobed or even seasoned," Mr. Carpenter observed. "They
can be a more cost-efficient alternative
that can not only add value to the ingredient panel, but with distinctive shapes,
sizes and ingredients, can really help differentiate a product."
Often it may be a matter of economics
when it comes to incorporating pretzels
into snack mixes. Mr. Green noted that
pretzels are much more affordable than
nuts, and combining the two can create a
mix that appeals to consumers who crave a
little bit of everything. "It's on the rise," he
said. "During the past five years, pretzels
as a component have definitely grown."
Mr. Brick suggested that the potential for pretzels in snack mixes remains
strong. Utz Pub Mix for club stores remains one of its most popular items, for
example. "There is a lot of interest there,
and we have to take snack mixes forward
and play with them more," he said.

Creating crunchy indulgence
From a flavor perspective, sweet and
salty complement as well as counterbal-

Always a Dutch treat in the Keystone state
Pennsylvania is home to many of the nation's leading
and regional pretzel manufacturers. Not surprisingly,
it's also the market with the highest per capita consumption of the baked snack.
"Pretzel consumption is significantly concentrated
in the mid-Atlantic area of the country due to the origins of the category," noted Bob Clark, vice-president
of marketing, Herr Foods. "For example, pretzels represent 15% of salty snacks in the Philadelphia market,
compared with only about 5% of salty snacks in the
total US based on IRI purchase data."
Specifically, in the central Pennsylvania market, the
snack's strength dates back to the settlement of Dutch
and Germans centuries ago. "It goes back to immigration of those folks who make pretzels part of their
everyday snacking occasion from Germany and other
places," Jeff Martin, executive vice-president of sales
and marketing for Utz Quality Foods.
Pretzels' popularity continues to expand, providing
increased opportunity for category growth. "Pretzels
years ago were seen as an 'east of the Mississippi
River' item," said Scott Green, vice-president, sales
and marketing, Pretzels, Inc. "With our transient
population that we have today, it is now growing in
the West, where it wasn't before, as well as in Mexico
and farther into South America. Again, it's the transient nature of our society. They're going back home
where they didn't know what pretzels were, and now
they're eating them."

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Baking&Snack - November 2016

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