BISCUIT AND COOKIE INGREDIENTS


Leader at Cargill, identified an interesting tension in biscuits today, as consumers pay closer attention to nutrition and ingredients, while still expecting biscuits to deliver on enjoyment. “Cargill’s TrendTracker 2025 research found that 78% of consumers consider taste or flavour extremely or very important when choosing food and beverages, while 81% find new and novel flavours appealing,” she says. This appetite for novelty is broadening


the conversation beyond flavour alone, with texture becoming a particularly useful way to create differentiation using combinations of crisp, crunchy, soft and creamy elements to add interest to familiar formats. “This also lends itself to flavours that balance familiarity with something less expected, rather than novelty for novelty’s sake,” continues Susen. “The wider trend towards cultural discovery is relevant here too, with consumers showing considerable interest in trying flavours from around the world.” There can be no getting away from


the fact that nutritional expectations are becoming more visible in the bakery sector as a whole – with protein enrichment, sugar reduction and the overall nutritional profile of a product increasingly becoming part of formulation discussions. This is also taking place against a regulatory backdrop that is putting greater focus on the nutritional composition of products. In the UK, high fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) restrictions are increasing the importance of understanding how formulations perform against nutrient profiling criteria, while the updated Nutrient Profiling Model, published in 2026, signals the direction of travel towards a more up-to-date assessment of nutritional composition. “For bakery manufacturers, this makes reformulation an increasingly important part of product development, alongside taste, texture and processing performance,” continues Susen. “It does not mean every biscuit needs to become overtly functional. Rather, there is scope for manufacturers to offer different propositions – from products designed primarily around indulgence to those combining enjoyment with an improved nutritional profile.” The technical challenge is that


these objectives cannot be considered independently because a biscuit is a highly interconnected formulation. Sugar, for example, contributes sweetness but also bulk, moisture, colour and texture. Protein


TEXTURE HAS BECOME A PARTICULARLY USEFUL WAY


TO CREATE DIFFERENTIATION USING COMBINATIONS OF CRISP, CRUNCHY, SOFT AND CREAMY ELEMENTS TO ADD INTEREST TO FAMILIAR FORMATS


and fibre can change water requirements, dough behaviour and finished texture. Fat has implications for mouthfeel, structure and aeration. Altering one element can have consequences throughout the product and the manufacturing process. “This becomes particularly important when reformulation is being undertaken


to improve a product’s nutritional profile or in response to regulatory requirements, because a change that improves one nutritional parameter can affect texture, flavour, processing behaviour or the contribution of other nutrients to the overall profile,” explains Susen. “As a result, the formulation question is increasingly not just ‘what can we remove or replace? but how do we rebalance the whole recipe?’ The direction of travel is moving towards smaller, complementary changes across the formulation, supported by sensory testing throughout development, so bakeries can address nutrition, cost or ingredient expectations without losing the taste and texture that ultimately determines whether consumers come back to the product.” When it comes to the creation of new


sensory experiences for consumers, counterbalanced with cost, nutrition, sustainability and processing constraints, Susen highlighted the importance of designing functionality across the whole recipe. She says: “Bakeries may be trying to reduce sugar, saturated fat or sodium,


34 • KENNEDY’S BAKERY PRODUCTION • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2026


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