Consumers continue to buy bars for the taste, functionality, and fun that brands deliver. Learn what's driving the resurgence in bars and discover the opportunities producers have to connect with consumers. Lisa Jackson, Director of Marketing, examines ways bar producers can meet consumer needs and expectations through functionality, texture, shape, and flavor.

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The bakery snack category is expanding to include new formats and added functionality. Maybe you’ve seen “brookie” recipes on TikTok or Pinterest or decided to try a “muffin bar” instead of your usual breakfast option. Even as we’re captivated by the next new thing (“mookie,” anyone?), bakery innovations that drive repeat purchases will be ones that align with consumer needs. 

Let’s explore how producers can create snacks that meet desires for functionality, convenience, and fun, building market share and loyalty in the process. Our team reviewed recent launches from Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD) to illustrate opportunity areas.

Consumers have always reached for snack bars as an on-the-go energizer and satisfier. As work and school shifted to home bases and activities diminished during COVID-19 in early 2020, the snack bar market changed rapidly. Now, with restrictions lifting, the snack bar market is showing clear signs of a rebound. Mintel predicts that the snack bar market in the United States will rise to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 and continue to grow through 2025. And while this growth reflects lessening impacts of the pandemic, the world of snacking is also evolving and creating room for bar innovation.