Pretzels Inc: 'We're making the same basic product that we were 15 years ago but the regulatory requirements have changed beyond all recognition'
The pretzel market may be mature, but there are pockets of opportunity, says Steve Huggins, CEO of Bluffton-based Pretzels Inc, which makes extruded corn snacks and pretzels in every shape and size imaginable for everyone from General Mills (in its Chex brand) to Food Lion and Gordon’s Foodservice.
The growth area right now is pretzel chips, but there are also new opportunities in filled pretzels, which the firm is developing at its smaller sister site in Pennsylvania, says Huggins (pictured).
“We’re doing peanut-butter filled pretzels, but other fillings such as chocolate might be something we look at down the line.”
Volumes are growing modestly, but are outpaced by sales, owing to cost inflation, he says. “It’s easier to pass on commodity costs than some other input costs, such as labor costs, as if the grain markets are going crazy, the buyer is going to be having the same conversation with all of his suppliers.”
He has been approached to do gluten-free pretzels, but would need a strong commitment and some fairly serious volume to make this commercially viable given the costs of segregating ingredients and avoiding cross-contamination, he says.
As for what keeps him awake at night, keeping up with regulations - notably the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) - is high on the list, he says. “We're making the same basic product that we were 15 years ago but the regulatory requirements have changed beyond all recognition.”
