Pie combines predictability and nostalgia to create a scrumptious option to showcase seasonal substances and regional tastes.

The phrases “consolation in a crust” go an extended option to understanding why pie continues to be a crowd pleaser. As a deal with synonymous with indulgence and gatherings, pie supplies tried-and-true consolation, providing conventional flavors together with infinite prospects for personalization, regional prospers and sparks of innovation.

Customary flavors corresponding to apple, cherry, peach, blueberry, pumpkin, key lime and pecan compose the vast majority of gross sales, demonstrating pie is a dependable car for authenticity. Regardless of its persevering with recognition, Circana discovered all flavors present unit decline aside from key lime, which is flat in unit gross sales.

Blackberry doubled in gross sales, however that is very small from a unit perspective, in keeping with Melissa Altobelli, consumer insights principal for dairy and bakery vertical, Circana, Chicago.

Moreover, nostalgia stays a key driver in serving to customers join with the flavors and codecs of their childhood, with Child Boomers and Gen X having the best affinity for pie, in keeping with Catherine Wisloski, supervisor insights and buyer expertise, Daybreak Meals, Jackson, Mich.

However don’t exclude youthful generations as potential pie lovers simply but. The heartwarming return of neighborhood pie retailers in bigger American cities alerts pie is efficiently wooing new converts and pie continues to carry a spot on one out of 4 restaurant menus.

Increasing the definition

True pie lovers perceive one thing so good doesn’t at all times require a flashy calling card.

The common-or-garden dessert has lengthy been deemed a scrumptious, if predictable, dessert choice. However with new desserts at all times competing for the eye of customers, it may be troublesome for the pie class to claim itself when there’s at all times one thing newer and extra Instagrammable on the horizon.

Pie producers need to change that mindset by providing customers new methods to consider when and the place pie may be consumed. Gardner Pie Co., a 75-year previous pie producer positioned in West Newbury, Mass., is understood for pushing boundaries.

With a watch towards the longer term, the corporate is increasing upon the ‘what and when’ of pie. This contains providing frozen pies with distinctive taste mixtures, together with colonial and a topped pies, a spread of savory vegetable pies, blended berry and smaller pies and South of the Border conventional fruit pies with successful of spice. Its South of the Border Cherry Lime Chipotle taste is an American Pie Council award winner.

At Tippin’s Connoisseur Pies, Kansas Metropolis, Kan., conventional apple and cherry stay the favourite fruit pies, however in the course of the holidays, these choices take a backseat to pumpkin as the corporate’s top-selling pie. The vacation pie is understood for its puree, which is aged two years to reinforce the pure pumpkin taste and supply a barely darker coloration to the filling. Its different seasonal pies embody chocolate walnut, pecan, pumpkin cream and candy potato.

Capitalizing on the recognition of the sleek cream pie filling of its best-selling French Silk pie, Tippin’s developed a brand new line of LTO Celebration Silk pies. The silk pies characteristic wealthy scratch-made fillings and rolled, flaky crusts in flavors corresponding to Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Confetti Birthday Cake, Grasshopper, Butterscotch Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Malt and Orange Dream – accessible in choose shops this fall.

Tippin’s can also be making strategic selections designed to give attention to bringing a youthful shopper demographic to the pie class, in keeping with Robin Venn, president of Tippin’s Connoisseur Pies. The corporate welcomed a brand new mascot, Tippi, to assist introduce youthful customers to the pleasures of consuming pie. Tippi, who debuted on the IDDBA present in June, additionally serves as the top style tester for Tippin’s Pies and is able to assist with baking, slicing or tasting pie at any time.

Sharable choices

Ideas like Tippi spotlight the concept that pie is a social and sharable dessert. Due to this fact, it’s no shock the top-selling pie sizes are 22-24 ounces, serving roughly six folks.

Retail tends to give attention to 9-inch pies and foodservice on 10-inch pies. Customers procuring at membership shops can discover even bigger pies corresponding to Costco’s new 4 Berry pie with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and cranberries. The pie weighs roughly 5 kilos and serves 10 beneficiant slices.

Complete pies present sturdy unit gross sales development, up 8.8% and accounting for 72% of gross sales with non-public label and retailer manufacturers accounting for 76% of gross sales. Circana anticipates continued unit development in entire perimeter pies. Whereas gross sales of perimeter pies look to be declining general in unit gross sales, there’s an uptick pushed by single-serve particular person pies.

Pies designed to serve 1-2 folks have seen greater than 50% gross sales development up to now 12 months. Tippin’s six-inch pie caters particularly to smaller households and single servings. The corporate can also be increasing its retail-ready Heartland Pies, which embody the 4 top-selling vacation pie flavors and 6 fruit pies. The 8-inch pies are pre-labeled and prepared for ambient show instore.

Smaller sizes also can provide affordability and portion management, cut back meals waste and encourage the sampling of recent flavors, dovetailing with the worldwide pattern for smaller, extra frequent indulgent treats.

A survey carried out by The Hartman Group, Responsible pleasures: The steadiness between indulgence and wellness, discovered that customers view a nutritious diet as one that features some extent of indulgence and 50% contemplate indulgent meals and drinks as a part of a wholesome, balanced weight-reduction plan. 31% search indulgences with useful advantages, in keeping with The Hartman Group, Bellevue, Wash.

Affordable reductions

Whereas indulgence stays the modus operandi in pies, there’s some curiosity within the want for sugar-free pies with the persevering with recognition of the keto weight-reduction plan, in keeping with Melissa Trimmer, company government chef, Daybreak Meals. Conversely, detrimental well being elements surrounding the usage of aspartame have bolstered a detrimental view of non-nutritive sweeteners amongst customers.

However the reduced-sugar pattern is just not but creating a significant impression on bakeries. Sugar discount stays extra in style in CPG and residential recipes, in keeping with Daybreak Meals. Whereas choices for reduced-sugar pies stay restricted, firms like Tippin’s provide supermarkets with ready-made, reduced-sugar choices in French Silk, apple and cherry.

Whereas sugar discount could not but be a top-requested attribute, different substances have to be on pattern and able to meet the expectations of extra discerning prospects, in keeping with Tom Cavanaugh, vp gross sales and advertising and marketing, Gardner Pie Co. These expectations are much like others throughout the bakery phase, with pies free from synthetic colours and flavors, unpronounceable substances and HFCS.

“Youthful generations have grown up with merchandise touting a discount in sugar and have come to count on indulgent taste with a discount in sugar,” Cavanaugh stated. “That is basically better-for-you with out sacrificing style.”

Purposeful additions

Choices for plant-based additions additionally proceed to develop barely. Gardner Pie is receiving extra inquires for allergen-free and plant-based choices as customers, retailers and foodservice search for methods to increase the definition of pie.

A technique pie makers can meet the demand for excellent style and better-for-you is with pies that comprise useful advantages. Nuts corresponding to walnuts and pecans can be utilized in pies as meal for a crust, chopped as an inclusion and as a full-size garnish. Containing a buttery, nutty taste profile, walnuts complement chocolate, fruit and vanilla purposes together with hearty and savory ones, too.

Thought of a nutrient-dense meals, walnuts additionally ship key vitamins as a supply of fine fat and alpha-linolenic acid, plant-based omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and protein, in keeping with the California Walnut Board, Folsom. This makes walnuts a dependable ingredient for permissible indulgence and an allergen-free various providing a spread of dietary advantages.

”Accommodating dietary requests is an effective way to supply customers extra choices, whereas staying true to their dietary preferences,” Trimmer stated.

Trying forward: pie traits to regulate

Pie affords loads of scrumptious causes for permissible indulgence all through a number of dayparts, particularly as pie makers search for methods to redefine how and when pie is served.

“Trying on the subsequent 12 months, pie gross sales ought to stay steady whereas traits corresponding to native, seasonal flavors and substances that swimsuit aware customers convey innovation and pleasure to this conventional favourite,” stated Catherine Wisloski, Daybreak Meals.

“We count on to see extra in the way in which of thrilling taste inclusions to maintain the pie class contemporary and interesting for instore bakery customers,” stated Robin Venn, Tippin’s Connoisseur Pies, LLC

“There will probably be a continued push for hand-held, smaller parts. Extra comfort will open up the place pie may be offered, and prebaked pies can provide continued labor financial savings. There will even be choices of broader, extra modern flavors and continued motion towards better-for-you choices,” stated Tom Cavanaugh, Gardner Pie Co.

“Pies are nostalgic themselves and everybody has a reminiscence of pie that convey us again to glad instances in our previous. However new flavors and types of dessert exterior of pies are a risk to the class as there was restricted innovation within the house during the last 4 years,” stated Melissa Altobelli, Circana