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On 3 April, I headed to Cologne for the day together with my colleague Mitch, to visit ISM, the biggest trade fair in the world for sweets and snacks. Our goal? Meetings with existing suppliers, spotting new snack brands for our portfolio, and above all: staying on top of what's happening in the snacking world.
One thing became clear pretty quickly: traditional snacking and sweets are still everywhere. Though plenty of brands are trying to cash in on the wellness trends. Everywhere you looked, there were packages with health claims that hint that something's more nutritious.
But does "less sugar" or "source of protein" automatically mean something's good for you? Definitely not always. Let me walk you through what we found.
About ISM Cologne
ISM is the world's largest trade fair for confectionery and snacks, with over 1,800 exhibitors from 74 countries. It's the place to discover the latest trends and innovations, from chocolate and sweets to savoury snacks and functional food. For us at JustBite, it's the perfect spot to spot the future of more nutritious snacking.
Meetings with our partners: Perkier, Zombiez, Palse & Kriket
We kicked off the day with a chat with Ann Perkins, the founder of Perkier & Zombie. We talked about the future of snacking, new opportunities in the market, and how we can strengthen our partnership even more.
At Palse, we tasted new samples and shared our feedback. There's plenty in the pipeline… stay tuned! 😉 And we signed our partnership agreement for the next 2 years.
And of course, we couldn't skip Kriket, one of our longest-standing suppliers. We tasted their new POP bars and took some time to catch up. Keep it up, Michiel 🙌.
More nutritious snack trends: plenty of claims, little innovation
Five years ago, I visited ISM for the last time. This year I came back with fairly high expectations—what would have changed? Which new, innovative snacks would take over the market?
The answer: not all that much. Truly innovative concepts were rare. At least for us, which makes sense given how well we already know the world of more nutritious snacking by now. Still, a few trends stood out and are worth mentioning. So keep reading…
After a day of walking around ISM, one thing stood out: genuinely better products are still hard to find. More nutritious snacks with few ingredients, high nutritional value and no unnecessary additives were few and far between.
Still, we spotted a few notable trends:
1. Claims don't tell the whole story 🏷️
Health claims are still everywhere, but they don't always mean what you'd think. "High in protein" or "less sugar" sounds great, but that doesn't automatically make a product more nutritious. A thorough look at ingredients and nutritional value remains essential.
2. Functional snacking is growing 📈
More and more snacks are being enriched with vitamins, proteins and other "healthier" additions. That's positive in itself, but some brands mainly use this as greenwashing—a way to make traditional snacks appear more nutritious than they really are.
3. Plant-based & vegan keeps growing 🌱
The plant-based trend keeps growing strong, something we at JustBite have been backing for a long time. More brands are launching vegan alternatives, though not all of them focus on pure, more nutritious ingredients.
What did stand out is that the taste experience of pure vegan protein bars keeps improving. Where these used to often have a dry, grainy texture and a slightly chalky aftertaste, you can now clearly notice an improvement in both flavour and mouthfeel.
4. Traditional snacking remains a massive market 🍭
More nutritious snacking may be a rising trend, but traditional snacks and sweets still dominate the market. The share of truly more nutritious alternatives remains small for now compared to the established industry.
ISM confirmed what we already suspected: the snacking world is moving, but not always in the right direction. Health is often used as a marketing trick, while genuine innovation and transparency lag behind. That's exactly why at JustBite we stay so critical in our selection.
We keep believing in more nutritious snacks—with pure ingredients, no unnecessary additives, and a wide range that fits different dietary needs and preferences.
In short, we see nothing but opportunities to do even better and help businesses and people make more nutritious snacking available everywhere. 🚀