Air puffing machine: one tool to enter two major food market segments

Puffed food is prepared by heating and exploding grains like wheat, rice, corn, and others, in a pressure chamber. The result is a grain several times larger than the original, crunchy, and edible (while you wouldn’t eat and chew a grain of row rice, puffed rice becomes edible and tasteful). The best-known puffed food is popcorn and cornflakes, but puffed food is also widely consumed in snacks and breakfast cereals. This is how, with an air puffing machine, entrepreneurs can enter two major food markets: the breakfast cereals and snacks segments. Let’s look at these two markets and how to enter them with one single purchase.

The breakfast cereals market 
The breakfast cereals market size amounts to USD 822.16 billion in 2024 and it’s expected to have an annual growth of 5.69% till 2028. There are several factors behind such wide growth:

• the increasing demand for healthy food
• the worldwide influence of the Western culture where cereals are traditionally consumed at breakfast
• cereals providing a quick and ready-eat-solution to breakfast

While, as we’ve mentioned, cereal breakfasts are traditionally eaten in Western countries (mainly the USA, but also North America and Europe), we’re witnessing an increasing consumption in the Asia-Pacific region, with China dominating the market, followed by Japan and Australia.

The snacks market 
The snack industry is one of the major sectors in the global food industry because it provides pre-cooked, ready-to-eat, relatively healthy food. Snacks can made from a wide range of ingredients, but the majority of them contain puffed grains such as rice, corn, or others. The global snacks market size is huge and continues to grow, while it was estimated at USD 1,450.4 billion in 2021, it has reached USD 1,483.1 billion in 2022 and it’s expected to grow up to USD 1,844,4  billion by 2030.
Puffed snacks are very common in every part of the world, with the Asia-Pacific region being the biggest market.

What’s an air puffed machine 
An air puffing machine is a device used in the food industry that processes raw ingredients so that the structure of the grain is expanded. The expansion is obtained through a combination of heat, pressure, and mechanical shear. The process provokes a rapid expansion of the grain that provides it with a puffed consistency.
The puffing process imparts aroma, flavor, and enhanced taste to the grains. That, and the fact that puffing makes row food edible, is the main reason why puffed food is widely consumed in snacks and as breakfast cereals.
The air puffing machine takes care of the whole process and it’s the only tool you need to start creating quality air-puffed cereals for the food industry and enter two of the major markets in this sector.
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Main features and advantages 
The popcorn puffing machine can process any type of cereal: from grain to rice, from coffee to corn, and a lot more. It can work up to 110 kg of raw ingredients per hour while balancing energy consumption to keep usage (and bills) at the lowest level (despite being a big machine, the popped rice machine has a relatively low absorption - 750W).
Counting on such a machine for puffed food production provides high hygiene and safety standards while ensuring high and continuous production to the highest quality standards.
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Conclusion 
The air puffing machine emerges as a versatile tool that can unlock entry into two pivotal food market segments: breakfast cereals and snacks. It’s a strategic investment for entrepreneurs aiming to make a mark in these thriving markets.