Brought to you by Bake ‘N Joy.

While the subject of healthy fare on the menu keeps cycling around, the discussion keeps changing. Evolving consumer mindsets are reshaping how foodservice operators across channels are approaching healthy, nutritious food.

It’s vital for foodservice to promote nutrient-rich, healthy fare to their customers, but understanding how today’s consumers are defining health is the first step to successful promotion. Food-industry watchers will no doubt remember the various health-craze trends of years past, from low-fat and whole-grain to gluten-free and low-calorie.

Some of these popular health trends – such as gluten-free — have had lasting staying power and have likely gained a permanent foothold with consumers. However, other trends, such as low-fat, have given way to a new consumer sensibility that is centered on how food is prepared and the simplicity of ingredients used in the preparation. In short, today it’s all about ‘clean.’

What is ‘clean’ food? First, the general definition revolves around freshness, ‘real’ attributes and descriptions that point to natural qualities for food and drink. Secondly, clean food emphasizes ‘free’ qualities as well; food that is free of allergens, preservatives or any artificial sweeteners, colors and flavors truly drives home a ‘clean’ narrative with consumers.

These better-for-you attributes are gaining in relevance for convenience-store food platforms. Recent research shows that frequent c-store customers are placing more importance than ever on the availability of better-for-you foods when they visit a c-store for a snack.

In fact, Technomic’s latest C-Store MarketBrief research data reveals that 81% of c-store consumers say that it’s important for convenience stores to offer snacks with ‘clean’ ingredients; 70% speak to the importance of ‘real’ ingredients for snacks, while more than half point to the importance of all-natural (58%) and preservative-free (55%) snacks.

This presents an opportunity for snack brands to leverage these clear preferences for clean labels, even among brands that specialize in indulgent, sweet snacks. After all, Technomic data shows that dessert is the single fastest-growing snack category in the c-store foodservice segment, and baked goods specifically are among the top five fastest-growing snacks at c-stores.

To satisfy this growing consumer demand around better-for-you snacks, Bake’n Joy Foods, Inc. has developed a line of clean-label products under its new Kitchen Cupboard brand. The brand is positioned around “natural baked goods with ingredients customers can pronounce” with “wholesome ingredients consumers would find in their own kitchen cupboards.”

Kitchen Cupboard’s mixes, bases, frozen ready-to-bake batters and doughs are keyed into the contemporary clean-eating trend, with no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. At the same time, the line also encompasses some more traditional markers of health, by eliminating high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and trans fats.

It’s clear that c-store customers are on the hunt for delicious snacks, but are also looking to satisfy their sweet-treat cravings with offerings made with natural, homestyle and ‘clean’ components. By underscoring the simplicity and realness of ingredients, operators can help consumers feel good about making a better-for-you—and indulgent—choice.