April 21, 2025 – Globally, consumers opt for cookies and sweet baked goods for their comforting taste, indulgence, versatility, and association with treats or rewards. Cookies and sweet baked goods encompass an array of options that appeal to different taste preferences. Innova’s 360 research into cookies and sweet baked goods highlights the latest market trends, including innovations, packaging trends, health-focused offerings, and the market’s future.
Personalized Sweet Baked Goods
41% of global consumers prioritize freshness when buying cakes, pastries and sweet goods. Furthermore, consumers seek transparency and personalized nutrition. Being free from artificial ingredients, containing no additives, and having clear and understandable labels are the top 3 important clean label aspects for consumers. Clean labels with simple, recognizable ingredients build trust, while functional and lifestyle-focused formulations cater to evolving health goals. Consumers are trying to prevent health conditions by sticking to targeted nutrition plans. In response, brands are producing baked goods that feel indulgent yet align with wellbeing and dietary needs.
Brands are Balancing Indulgence and Health
Consumers’ evolving lifestyles drive demand for treats that balance indulgence with tailored health benefits. This interest towards customized nutrition aligns with Innova’s top trend of 2025, ‘Precision Wellness,’ highlighting that information culture is challenging brands to meet targeted nutrition and convenience in food and beverage products.
Brands are focusing on real, recognizable plant ingredients to build consumer trust. This focus aligns with another Innova top trend of 2025, ‘Rethinking Plants,’ revealing that the hype around plant-based alternatives has faded, and consumers are shifting toward real, recognizable plant ingredients. At the same time, a growing desire to reconnect with culinary roots fuels interest in authentic flavors and time-honored traditions. Innovators are responding by launching products like Alternative Baking Company’s Luscious Lemon Poppy Seed Cookie, highlighting non-GMO, vegan, and free from artificial ingredients. Similarly, Walker’s Pure Butter Shortbread Highlanders showcase traditional methods and authenticity with a time-honored recipe to appeal to consumers’ culture and tradition.
Sustainable Packaging
Sweet baked goods packaging is evolving to enhance freshness and sustainability. Preserving food quality, being easy to store, and enhancing shelf life are the top 3 packaging functions influencing food product purchases globally. Brands are rethinking recycled packaging with freshness-boosting innovations. Technologies like modified atmosphere packaging extend shelf life, while using a higher percentage of recycled materials helps reduce environmental impact.
Additionally, biobased and renewable materials, such as plant-derived alternatives, are being used to align with consumer demand for eco-friendly solutions. Brands are highlighting sustainability efforts through storytelling and product packaging. For instance, Bio Soleil Oursons Marbres Au Chocolat Equitable: Fair Trade Chocolate Marble Cake displays that the packaging is made from recycled fibers and vegetable inks, highlighting that their products adhere to an ethical and responsible approach.
High Quality Ingredients
Globally, consumers are seeking value from high-quality ingredients in sweet baked goods. This preference aligns with Innova’s top trend of 2025, ‘Ingredients and Beyond,’ highlighting that as added value becomes the norm, enhancing quality beyond ingredients is essential.
Consumers are prioritizing wellness with ingredients that support better health. This interest is reflected in the sweet baked goods market as brands offer high-quality baked goods made with trusted ingredients, offer health-boosting formulations that support immunity/gut health, and provide plant-based alternatives that replace eggs and other ingredients while maintaining the desired texture, taste, and indulgence that consumers expect.
Bold and Innovative Flavors
Innovative flavors in sweet baked goods are meeting the growing demand for both health and creativity. There has been significant growth in sugar-related claims that cater to wellness-conscious consumers.
Botanical and floral flavors are gaining attention due to their association with wellness and natural indulgence trends. At the same time, bold combinations like savory-sweet and fantasy flavors spark curiosity, engaging adventurous palates with unique indulgences. This inclination towards unexpected flavor combinations aligns with Innova’s top trend of 2025, ‘Imaginative Taste Adventures,’ highlighting that consumers seek adventurous, unique flavor combinations for memorable experiences.
What’s Next in Sweet Baked Goods Trends?
The future of sweet baked goods looks promising as consumers seek products that can keep up with their evolving preferences. Consumers are leaning toward subscription models for personalized and seasonal sweet treats. Brands can create a new wave of convenience and exclusivity by offering customized products. The demand for indulgent yet guilt-free options will rise as consumers seek more balanced diets. Consumers expect more products with low-sugar, high-protein, or plant-based ingredients that still deliver taste, texture, and comfort.
The market is shifting toward nostalgic flavors that evoke emotional connections. Brands can focus on modern innovations that evoke emotions with unique ingredient combinations such as matcha and fruits, red bean and cream to offer a fresh take on familiar favorites.
Sustainable packaging is evolving to preserve freshness and extend shelf life, with brands prioritizing eco-friendly solutions that maintain quality during transportation and storage while reducing environmental impact. Brands focused on health, convenience, advanced technology, and packaging innovations will likely to be well-positioned in the market.
This article is based on Innova’s Overview of Biscuits & Sweet Baked Goods in the UK report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to find out more
