Tremaine Hartranft, Vice President of Technical Growth and Strategy at Reading Bakery Systems, discusses changing consumer tastes, clean-label processes and production flexibility
How do you think the global snack industry has evolved over the past decade, and which changes have been most transformative for manufacturers?
Changing consumer expectations and shifts in food culture are changing the global snack market. Better‑for‑you snacks continue to grow, as consumers are seeking baked alternatives and labels with shorter ingredient lists – less fat, less sugar and fewer artificial additives in general.
Consumer flavour curiosity is also growing, so brands are offering more regionally inspired flavour profiles. Protein‑forward and plant‑based options have moved beyond niche bar markets and into mainstream categories, so nutrition is increasingly a brand differentiator. Finally, sustainability has become a baseline industry expectation, affecting how ingredients are sourced, how facilities operate and how products are packaged.
Together, these changes have been transformative because they’re interconnected. Ingredients affect process choices. New flavours require production flexibility. And sustainability goals drive decisions about packaging, energy, labour and more.
What are the biggest strategic and operational challenges snack producers are facing today, and how are these influencing investment and production decisions?
Today’s producers face several converging cost pressures, including persistent inflation, energy volatility, more competitors and more private label options. Supply chain uncertainty hasn’t disappeared either, so flexible sourcing is a concern. Changing tastes and wellness trends have consumers looking at snack labels closely, in turn impacting ingredient decisions on production lines. And as flavour cycles accelerate and brands introduce more short‑run items, plants must manage more frequent changeovers and scheduling pressures.
All of the above shapes investment and production decisions. So manufacturers are looking for improvements in yield, waste reduction and labour efficiency. They need equipment upgrades that can simplify changeovers and production variables, because those kinds of improvements help protect margins in a fast‑moving market.
To help manufacturers see how their existing lines can adapt to these demands, RBS works with plants to assess legacy systems and look for ways that targeted upgrades can reduce complexity and boost flexibility. Our teams can upgrade any model or brand of snack-making equipment, helping plants extend the performance and useful life of assets already in place.
Consumer demand for cleaner labels, bold flavours, improved nutrition and sustainability continues to grow. Where do you see the greatest tensions between these expectations and manufacturing realities?
It’s no secret that keeping up with changing consumer tastes comes at a price and production-wise can be technically difficult. The difference between what the public wants and what plants can deliver reliably at scale presents new challenges.
Flavour diversity can be great for the snack brand, but frequent recipe and ingredient changes can make sourcing, allergen control and sanitation more difficult. Clean label recipes may restrict emulsifiers or conditioners that previously protected texture and shelf life, so the baking process has to do more of the work. Boosting protein, or reducing sugar and fat can change dough behavior, water activity or bake dynamics.
These are the kinds of issues that RBS works through with customers at our Science & Innovation Center. It’s an R&D facility where teams can trial new ingredients, adjust process parameters and see how formulation changes behave across mixing, forming and baking. The Center’s flexible setup and oven‑profiling tools help customers validate what will run reliably at full production scale and produce small batches for consumer testing before rollout.
In terms of sustainability, more eco-friendly packaging offers opportunities and production challenges. Sustainable packaging materials are advancing, but not every substrate runs equivalently across the same equipment or provides the same barrier properties.
As snack portfolios become more diverse, how are manufacturers balancing the need for flexibility with demands for consistency, efficiency and scale?
To meet consumer expectations for product consistency and quality, snack producers need flexible equipment that enables fast changeovers, automated production and minimal labour. They also need equipment providers that anticipate challenges, respond quickly and help optimise performance, especially as SKU counts grow and line utilisation becomes more demanding.
That’s the role Customer Care and Aftermarket Support plays at RBS. We’ve recently expanded and invested heavily in our Customer Care team so we’re able to provide enhanced support for customers worldwide. We are continuing to help our customers maximise productivity and maintain product quality as their products evolve.
