Consumers have never been more demanding when it comes to snacking.
While flavor remains a key purchase driver, it is texture that increasingly determines whether a product will surprise, satisfy, and ultimately encourage repeat purchases. Crunchy, creamy, soft, crispy, or rich: consumers expect snacks to deliver multiple sensory experiences in a single bite.
Market trends clearly reflect this evolution. According to Innova Market Insights, interesting and enjoyable textures are becoming an increasingly important purchase driver, with 35% of new food and beverage launches now featuring at least one texturizing ingredient.1
Product launches containing texturizing ingredients have also increased at a 5% CAGR over the past five years, with bakery among the leading application categories.1 At the same time, the continued growth of functional nutrition, sugar reduction, and premium bakery is pushing manufacturers to rethink product formulation without compromising sensory appeal.
Creating this experience, however, is far from simple. Texture is not generated by a single ingredient, but by the interaction of multiple components that work together throughout the product, from its outer surface to its very core.
Mastering this complexity requires expertise spanning multiple ingredient technologies. Bringing together the complementary capabilities of Frulact, CSM Ingredients, HIFOOD, and Italcanditi, Nexture group provides a vast range of solutions allowing manufacturers to elevate texture at all levels, from surface to core.
Texture starts on the surface
The sensory journey begins even before the first bite. Appearance immediately shapes consumer expectations, while the product’s surface provides the first tactile interaction, influencing the perception of freshness, craftsmanship, and quality. Surface texture has therefore become a strategic element for product differentiation, particularly within premium bakery and savory snacks.
Decorative solutions such as CSM Ingredients’ Tiger Paste and the newly introduced Tiger Granulat variant create an extra-crispy crust and a distinctive appearance. These solutions allow to transform breads, focaccia, pretzels, and savory baked snacks into products with stronger visual appeal thanks to an immediately recognizable “tiger stripe” appearance and a more satisfying crunch.
In addition, texture vegetable proteins such as HIFOOD’s Proteios can also contribute to crispiness and distinctive appearance when applied on the surface of baked goods and snacks, thus contributing to a satisfactory first bite right from the top while simultaneously enriching nutritional values, demonstrating how functional ingredients can enhance both sensory performance and nutritional profile from the very first bite.
Texture continues with every bite
If the surface captures attention, the internal structure determines whether the product truly delivers on consumer expectations. Bite, body, softness, or crunchiness create unique mouthfeels that play a key role in confirming product quality and driving enjoyment.
Few ingredients expand the sensory experience as effectively as innovative fruit solutions and inclusions, delivering the unique, unexpected bite and fresh taste profile that consumers are after. For example, Italcanditi’s carefully processed candied fruits provide rich fruit flavor and maintain their texture throughout baking, while semi-candied fruits preserve a softer, fresher bite thanks to a gentle infusion process that maintains their natural characteristics. Their ability to remain soft even after freezing opens additional opportunities for premium bakery, frozen desserts, and innovative snack concepts.
Texture becomes even more critical when nutritional improvement enters the equation. Increasing protein content or reducing sugar can easily compromise body, bite, and mouthfeel, making it essential to engineer structure that holds up on both fronts, nutritionally and sensorially.
HIFOOD’s Proteios textured vegetable proteins help build structure and create a satisfying bite without compromising taste or texture, allowing manufacturers to develop protein-enriched bakery snacks that remain enjoyable and indulgent thanks to the crunchy protein inclusions.
The same principle applies to sugar reduction and fiber enrichment, which continues to accelerate across bakery and snack categories: HIFOOD’s Meltec®, a viscous fiber-based solution, helps preserve the structural characteristics traditionally provided by sugars and syrups, while supporting significant sugar reduction and fiber enrichment, all by also maintaining body, creaminess, cohesion, and an indulgent mouthfeel.
Texture reaches the core
While the outer layers attract attention and build expectation, the filling is often where the sensory experience reaches its highest expression. Creamy, fruity, or savory centres create contrast, prolong indulgence and transform simple bakery products into memorable snacks.
Today’s consumers increasingly expect fillings to do more than deliver flavor. They are looking for smoothness, richness, juiciness, and textural contrast, all while meeting evolving expectations around premium quality, cleaner formulations and, increasingly, plant-based alternatives.
To address these demands, Nexture combines the complementary expertise of CSM Ingredients and Frulact through advanced filling and fruit preparation solutions.
CSM Ingredients’ Creami® range offers a broad portfolio of bake-stable fillings ranging from smooth and creamy textures to more structured and crunchy concepts, giving bakery professionals the flexibility to create products that maintain consistent performance across filling, layering, and decorating applications.
Complementing this expertise, Frulact develops tailor-made fruit and savory preparations designed around customers’ specific application needs. The portfolio spans both sweet and savory baked snacks – from fruit-filled puff pastries and indulgent dairy-inspired concepts to premium savory bakery applications featuring cheese-based fillings – while also offering vegan alternatives, supporting manufacturers in responding to the growing demand for plant-based innovation.
Rather than acting as a simple flavor component, fillings have become an essential tool for designing contrast, extending the eating experience and delivering the premium sensory qualities consumers increasingly expect from modern bakery snacks.
Bringing it all together: Texture as a design discipline
As consumer expectations continue to evolve, texture is emerging as one of the most powerful drivers of innovation across bakery and snacking. Creating memorable products no longer depends on a single ingredient or technology, but on the ability to orchestrate multiple sensory cues throughout the entire product.
From crispy surfaces and satisfying bite to creamy centres, every layer contributes to the overall eating experience.
By bringing together complementary expertise across decorations and inclusions, textured vegetable proteins, fiber-based solutions, fruit preparations, fillings, and savory preparations, Nexture supports manufacturers in redesigning texture from surface to core, helping create the next generation of bakery snacks that combine sensory appeal, technical performance, and nutritional value.
References
- Innova Market Insights. Texturizing Food Ingredients Trends: Global Market Overview.
