Snack World - May 2013 - (Page 22)

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT Pretzels Crispy and Crackery In 2004, a new brand and style of pretzel product helped transform this salty snack segment. Warren and Sara Wilson, who had already revolutionized snacking with their New York Style Bagel and Pita Chips, were at it once again. With a US patent for a flat pretzel cracker, the couple created the Snack Factory brand and a product called the Pretzel Crisp, under which it would market this trend-setting pretzel product. Baptista’s Bakery helped develop the technology to process this product, according to Tom Howe, president of the Franklin, WI-based product development and snack manufacturing company. “Obviously, the marketplace has spoken, and it has been well received,” Mr. Howe said of the Pretzel Crisp product introduced just nine years ago. What has made it so successful, he added, is that consumers get more of the part of the pretzel they generally like the most: “all that crispiness and not necessarily all the mouth pack in the middle.” Mr. Howe also pointed out that the crisps dip well, a feature consumers find attractive. William (Chip) Mann II, president of Pretzels, Inc., Bluffton, IN, also praised the product, claiming that the crisp created a whole new opportunity for pretzel companies, but not one that is simple to replicate. “If it were easy, then everybody would do it. Snack Factory set a very high bar,” Mr. Mann said. “It is a difficult product to make and to get to market without being broken. It is pretty impressive what they have done. We make a flat pretzel, and we are getting better and better every day we produce it.” CRISPS TAKE OFF According to the Snack Factory website, the Pretzel Crisp really took off in 2006 with “the introduction of a special airline-size package that put the Wilsons’ latest snack innovation in sharp contrast with blandly familiar airline pretzels.” In 2007, the company introduced a Buffalo Wing-flavored Pretzel Crisp, and a year later, it started enrobing the crispy salty snacks in an all-natural dark chocolate to expand the line even further. In 2010, Snack Factory updated the brand’s logo and packaging with brighter colors and a mouthwatering new photograph. It also launched a Modern Classics line for natural food consumers in flavors such as Tuscan Three Cheese, Supreme, Cinnamon Toast and Classic. Following trends for bold and spicy flavors, Snack Factory introduced Jalapeno Jack and Chipotle Cheddar varieties to its Pretzel Crisp Deli Styles line in 2011. Then in October last year, Snyder’s-Lance, Inc., Charlotte, NC, acquired Snack Factory from VMG Partners. The company pointed out that Pretzel Crisps is “the fastest-growing brand in premium snacking, offering the world’s first pretzel-shaped cracker in a variety of innovative flavor profiles.” Snyder’sLance also hailed the acquisition as providing expansion into the deli-bakery section of grocery stores, which it described as “an attractive and growing retail area for snacks.” Snyder’s-Lance was formed in 2010 by combining two of the biggest names in snacking when pretzel-giant Snyder’s of Hanover merged with Lance. Snyder’s of Hanover continues to be the largest-selling brand in pretzels, according to SymphonyIRI Group sales data. BROUGHT TO YOU BY J.R. SHORT, HEAT AND CONTROL, MINSA, PRINTPACK, READING THERMAL, RUDOPLH FOODS, AND TNA NORTH AMERICA 22 Snack World May 2013 www.sfa.org http://www.sfa.org

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Snack World - May 2013