Sweet good manufacturers aren’t content to sit back and enjoy what’s currently sitting on grocery store shelves. The need to innovate by creating new products, flavors and formats remains at the forefront of the category.

Lenexa, Kan.-based Hostess, for example, introduced Ding Dongs x Twinkies Mashups, which, according to the company, features the “moist, spongy cake and creamy filling of Twinkies and the rich, fudgy chocolate frosting of Ding Dongs.” Donut Cakes from Horsham, Pa.-based Entenmann’s — baked like a cake, not fried like a donut — come in both Cinnamon and Sugar and Double Chocolate Chip flavors.

“At Bond Bakery Brands, we continue to see growth opportunities within existing product categories through unique flavors, shapes and/or formats,” said Kayla Rochkin, chief growth officer, Bond Bakery Brands, Toronto. “Consumers are looking for new and memorable experiences through sweet goods. We believe that the snacking occasion will continue to grow as younger consumers focus on a more flexible, on-the-go lifestyle. We will continue to focus innovation around convenience, single-serve sweet goods for on-the-go, while offering great value. Through Coco Bakery, for example, we can offer customers products such as mallow pops and mac pops, alongside our popular cake pops, items that are new in the category and offer a unique indulgent experience for consumers.”

Sometimes all it takes is a new twist on an old favorite. Drake’s and Little Debbie, both owned by McKee Foods, Collegedale, Tenn., introduced new flavors to their well-established lines of snack cakes and donuts. Drake’s Boston Creme Yodels are “moist, golden (cakes) rolled around Boston Creme-flavored creme and enrobed in Drake’s rich, dark fudge icing,” according to McKee, while Apple Cinnamon Donut Sticks from Little Debbie are topped with apple cinnamon-flavored glaze.

Bakeries will continue to launch innovative new products as long as they are successful.

“Our new Cinnamon Kouign Amann has quickly become one of our most popular products,” said Monty Van Wyhe, operations manager, Dutchland Foods, Lester, Iowa. “It has the perfect combination of buttery and sugary croissant goodness with creamy cinnamon filling. It’s so popular that we are now exporting it to Europe. Due to the success of our Cinnamon Kouign Amann, we have launched a whole line of filled Kouign Amann flavors for the wholesale bakery market.”

Whether it’s unique flavors and formats or unusual mashups, innovation will allow bakeries big and small to satisfy consumer demand.

This article is an excerpt from the November 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Sweet Goods, click here.