Key takeaways:
- Brands are dialling up flavour with bolder, more distinctive profiles, from buffalo hot sauce to Calabrian chili and herb-led savoury blends.
- Familiar formats are being reworked for flexibility, with products designed to span multiple occasions from on-the-go to sharing and at-home grazing.
- Snacking is increasingly driven by experience and engagement, with partnerships, protein positioning and major events like the World Cup shaping how products are marketed and consumed.
Something’s shifting in how brands approach newness. It’s less about reinventing the wheel and more about giving familiar formats a sharper edge – bolder flavours, smarter formats, and products that slot more easily into everyday routines.
You can see that playing out across markets. In the UK, chilled pastry and bakery are edging further into impulse and all-day grazing. In the US, snacks are dialling up flavour, texture and mix-and-match appeal. Partnerships and campaigns, meanwhile, are being used to stretch products into new occasions and keep them culturally relevant.
Categories are starting to overlap, too. Bakery is borrowing from street food and dessert culture, snacks are pulling in savoury meal cues, and crackers are being reframed as something to build, stack and customise. The result is a pipeline that feels more dynamic – and more competitive – than it has in a while.
Buffalo sauce lands in handheld pastry
Ginsters is leaning into bold flavour partnerships in the UK with its limited-edition Buffalo Chicken Pocket with Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce, a 100g savoury pastry rolling into Co-op before moving into Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and One Stop.
With an RRSP of £1.30, the product combines 100% British chicken with Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce in a format designed for both cold, on-the-go eating and quick reheating in an air fryer. It builds on the momentum of Ginsters’ Pockets range, created to capture impulse purchases in front-of-store chillers.
“A partnership between Britain’s biggest pastry brand and the no.1 hot sauce brand in the world, Frank’s RedHot, is sure to get tastebuds tingling,” said Stephanie Allen, Ginsters marketing manager. “Our new Pockets deliver a satisfyingly convenient, pocket-sized pastry experience.”
Crisps become the prize at World Cup watch parties
Lay’s is tying its core crisp range to the FIFA World Cup 2026 (26-31 March) with a global campaign built around fan participation and at-home viewing occasions.
Central to the push is a new ‘Fan of the Match’ initiative, which mirrors traditional player awards but puts the spotlight on consumers. Across all 104 matches, one fan per game will win two premium match tickets, a jumbotron appearance and a branded trophy, turning everyday snackers into part of the spectacle.
Alongside this, Lay’s is running a series of sweepstakes and digital activations. Fans can enter to win a limited-edition ‘Go Soccer’ jersey featuring interchangeable patches for all 48 competing nations, designed to reflect the increasingly fluid way supporters follow multiple teams.
The brand is also leaning into social and entertainment with its ‘No Lay’s, No Game’ campaign, including a high-profile WhatsApp-style content series featuring Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Thierry Henry and others planning a watch party. The aim is to position Lay’s not just as a snack, but as part of the shared ritual around major sporting moments.
US fans can enter at laysfwc26.com, while fans in select global markets can enter at nolaysnogame.com/FOTM.
Scone bites rework bakery into protein snacking
Higgidy is giving savoury bakery a more snackable spin in the UK with its new Savoury Scone Bites, landing from 8 April in Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Tesco at an RRP of £3.50.
The bites come in two flavours – Extra Mature Cheddar & Spring Onion and Crushed Sweetcorn & Jalapeño – each with a cream cheese filling at the centre. Every bite delivers 3g of protein and can be eaten cold or heated, making them as suited to desk lunches as they are to evening grazing.
By turning a familiar bakery format into something more portable and protein-forward, Higgidy is targeting those in-between eating moments that don’t quite fit traditional meal slots.
Organic puffcorn moves into US club format
Frankie’s Organic Snacks has secured a major US listing with its Organic Puffcorn Variety Pack, now available in more than 600 Sam’s Club locations until 25 April.
The pack contains 30 individually wrapped mini bags, split between White Cheddar and Himalayan Pink Salt, and is priced at $12.98. The puffcorn is oven baked using organic cornmeal and sunflower oil, with credentials including USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified and gluten-free certification.
“Our oven-baked organic puffcorn delivers the better-for-you snack today’s shoppers are seeking, and the club format allows us to offer some of our best-selling products in a larger pack size made for sharing,” said VP of Sales Matthew Bordonaro.
Sprouted nuts tap into herb-led flavour
Daily Crunch has introduced Mediterranean Medley in the US, adding a more savoury direction to its sprouted nut snack range.
The blend combines sprouted almonds, cashews and pepitas with balsamic vinegar and herbs including rosemary, oregano, thyme and basil, finished with sea salt. Free from oils and artificial additives, it stays true to the brand’s minimally processed positioning while offering a more layered flavour profile than typical nut snacks.
Snack mix ditches the filler
Dot’s is stepping beyond pretzels in the US with the launch of Dot’s Original Snack Mix, now rolling out nationwide in multiple pack sizes.
The mix brings together seasoned mini pretzels, corn cereal, cheese-flavoured pita chips and garlic rye chips, with a clear focus on making every component count. It’s a deliberate move away from traditional mixes where some elements feel like an afterthought.
Eric Bowers, VP of Salty Marketing at The Hershey Company, said: “Dot’s Original Snack Mix brings that same bold mindset to every handful: no filler, no letdowns, it’s a bold combination of snacks that create the ultimate Snack Mix.”
Crispbreads move into ‘build-your-own’ snacking
Ryvita is pushing its Snack Its range in the UK as a base for more elevated evening snacking, particularly among younger consumers.
The baked crackers, available in flavours including Smoky BBQ, Prawn Cocktail, Sour Cream & Chive and Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar, are designed to be loaded, stacked or dunked. The idea is to turn a simple snack into something more customisable, without losing the familiarity of a crisp-like crunch.
“Evening snacking is becoming more intentional and more premium. Shoppers want something crunchy, flavour-packed and versatile, but still familiar,” said a Ryvita spokesperson.
Meat sticks lean into performance snacking
In the US, Wenzel’s Farm is reinforcing its presence in protein snacking with its range of small-batch meat sticks, which will feature across multiple running events throughout 2026, including the Get in Gear (25 April), PNC Women Run the Cities (16 May), Double Play 5K (1 July), Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon (2-4 October) and Turkey Day 5K (26 November).
The range spans 13 meat snack stick varieties, along with PRO Snack Sticks and jerky, all made using premium cuts of meat and hardwood smoking. Positioning the products around endurance events places them firmly in the grab-and-go, protein-fuel category.
“We couldn’t be happier with our partnership with Twin Cities in Motion,” said Wenzel’s president Mark Vieth. “Their commitment to providing a top-notch experience for the runner is incredible, and as a past participant, and registered runner for this year’s event, it made it an easy choice for us to get behind.”
Doughnuts move from local shop to stadium shelves
In the UK, Bombo Doughnuts is scaling up its artisan offering after securing a supply deal with Emirates Stadium, backed by Start Up Loans funding.
The Margate-based brand produces handcrafted doughnuts for retail, pop-ups and events, and has built a reputation around small-batch production and bold, indulgent flavours that lend themselves well to social and experiential formats. The new stadium contract marks a clear step-change, taking the product from local and regional channels into high-volume, high-footfall environments.
Founder Gareth Parker said demand has been strong enough to require further investment, with additional funding used to increase manufacturing capacity and support growth into new venues. The move highlights how premium, hand-finished bakery products are finding new routes into large-scale distribution without losing their craft positioning.
Pizza toppings turn up the heat
Hormel Foods is introducing new topping formats to the US pizza market, including Hot Calabrian Chili Sausage and Hot Calabrian Chili Pepperoni under its Fontanini and Performance Pepperoni lines.
The focus is on more defined, regional heat profiles, with Calabrian chili offering a sharper, more characterful alternative to generic spice. At the same time, the company is pushing further into premium protein territory, with brisket emerging as a richer, more indulgent upgrade to traditional barbecue toppings.
There’s also a continued push toward layered, high-impact builds such as ‘triple pepperoni’ pizzas, where multiple cuts and styles of pepperoni are combined to create a more texture-driven, protein-forward experience. Together, these developments point to a category that’s still rooted in familiarity, but increasingly shaped by global flavour cues and a desire for more customisable, standout menu options.
“The current protein craze has significantly increased the demand for meaty pizzas,” said Travis McMillan, Hormel Foods foodservice brand manager. Added World Pizza Champions team member Tony Scardino, infusing “ingredients like Calabrian chili or hot honey into products … gives a new exciting twist [making] it much more fun for the pizza consumer.”
