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shopper demographics Trendspotting: Muffin Inclusions To take your muffins to the next level, add appeal to look, flavor and health by adding inclusions. From the traditional to the exotic, inclusions in muffins will draw shoppers and help the product do better by making them more attractive to the eye and the taste buds. Savory muffin inclusions will appeal to breakfast and mid-day snack shoppers alike. Healthy With the health and wellness movement in America continuing to gain strong momentum year after year, adding one or more healthy muffins to your offerings only makes sense. Many Americans already have a perception of muffins being one of the healthier items in the bakery. Including a few healthy inclusions into an oatmeal or bran muffin will give the health-conscious shopper reason to frequent your bakery on a regular basis. The common inclusion for a healthier muffin is fruit. A blueberry muffin remains as the go-to, staple and pillar of any retailer that offers muffins, but other fruits can work as well. Exotic and tropical fruits will work as muffin inclusions. A blood-orange muffin is sure to attract the attention of fruit muffin shoppers. Healthy muffins can also have inclusions that are not fruits. Consider grains, seeds, herbs, nuts and vegetables as inclusions to use in making a more health focused muffin. Whether stand alone, combination or an "everything muffin," these inclusions give instant health and wellness credibility to a muffin lineup. Try out a few different ideas to gauge whether or not your customers are receptive to the different muffins and go with those that you get the best feedback on. Suppliers and wholesalers make great resources and will provide department managers with great insight into sales figures and popularity. Healthy Muffin Inclusions Nuts - walnuts, almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, pistachios Grains - barley, buckwheat, corn, oats, quinoa, whole wheat Seeds - sunflower, poppy, chia, pumpkin Herbs - rosemary, basil, cilantro, chive Vegetables - zucchini, carrot, broccoli, butternut squash, onion Sweet and Savory The popularity of standard sweet muffin inclusions such as chocolate chips will remain strong forever, but taking a risk on something out of the ordinary could prove effective and jump start sales. For the ultimate indulgence, consider including pieces of other indulgent desserts in your muffins. Cubes of chewy, baked brownies and pieces of New York style cheesecake will make the sweet-toothed shopper's mouth water. Upsell these types of muffins accordingly as customers looking for these indulgences have no problem paying a premium price when they find them. These are also available through ingredient suppliers. Savory muffin inclusions will appeal to breakfast and mid-day snack shoppers alike. Muffins that include cheeses, sausage bits and bacon bits have a great appeal to breakfast muffin shoppers. For a higher price point, include combinations of two or all three inclusions as premium products. Suppliers offer savory inclusions for muffins, but for an even higherpremium price point, consider producing savory inclusions in-house. The use of artisan cheeses as muffin inclusions will also draw a shopper willing to pay higher prices for the quality of such products. 14 * MAR + APR 2015 * instore

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of instore - March + April 2015

instore - March + April 2015
Editor's Note - Knowing Hispanics: Authenticity is Key
What's Ahead
Table of Contents
News - On Our Radar
Shopper Demographics - Trending Pie
Trendspotting - Muffin Inclusion
Trending - Deli Prepared Salads
Trendspotting - Hispanic Snacks
Consumer Insights - Babyboomers
Diet Trends - Consider Whole Grains
Hispanic Influence
Success Stories
Merchandising - Wedding Season
Top 10 Trends for 2015
Seasonal Promotions - Prepare for the Scary Season
Specialty Foods - Italian Meats
Specialty Cheese - Promoting Hispanic Cheeses
Packaging Trends - RPC Guidelines
Product Trends - First to Market
Product Showcase
Next Up/Ad Index

instore - March + April 2015