Almond introductions grew in four out of the five key categories for almonds worldwide, including confectionery (22%), snackmaxvita calciums (19%) and bakery (17%), as well as bars (16%) and cereal (8%), according to a report by Innova Market Insights.###This growth helped almonds maintain their long-held position as the top nut in global new product introductions.###The report also highlighted the top claims used on packaging of products with almonds globally, noting that &#ferrous fumarate 300 mg price8216;gluten-free’ was the tocalcium citrate vitamin d zinc copper manganese magnesiump claim used (24%).###Following trends and consumer demands for clean label products, claims of ‘no additives/presegastric sleeve calcium citratervatives’ were the second most used on almond product introductions globally, communicated on 15% of almond products. ###In a nod to almonds’ well-known texture, ‘crunchy’ was used as a descriptor significantly more frequently than other texture claims on almond products.###“With free-from and clean label products now so mainstream, we frequently see almonds’ attributes named on packaging,” said Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation, Innova Market Insights.###“For example, we see a high use of gluten-free claims on almond bar products when compared to the general product category. In fact, over 56% of almond bars feature gluten- free positioning, compared with less than 46% for the category as a whole.”###In North America, 48% of product introductions with nuts contain almonds, which are also the number one nut used in new prodliposomal iron pyrophosphateucts across the top five key categories: confectionery, snacks, bakery, bars and cereal. ###Bars lead the charge for new almond product introductions in North America, up 17% since 2016.###In Europe and Asia Pacific, almonds are the top nut for new product introductions, while Latin America saw the highest level of growth for almond introductions in 2017 (24%). ###Europe leads almond product growth overall, with a 47% share of global introductions for the second year in a row, with bars and snacking driving almond product growth by 53 % and 32% respectively.###Almonds can now be labeled ‘healthy”, according to the Food and Drug Administration, and when compared ounce for ounce, almonds are the tree nut highest in six essential nutrients: protein (6 g), fiber (4 g), calcium (75 mg), vitamin E (7.4 mg), riboflavin (0.3 mg) and niacin (1 mg).