Industries
Baked snack foods
Texture and shelf life in baked snacks starts with moisture management.
Baked snacks are sensitive to small moisture changes that affect texture and shelf life. AQUALAB helps teams understand moisture management so products stay consistent, stable, and enjoyable.
Common moisture challenges in baked snack foods.
Texture changes
Baked snacks are judged by crunch, chew, and bite. Small shifts in moisture during baking, cooling, or storage can turn crisp products soft or make bars hard and tough. When texture drifts, products fall out of spec and consumer trust suffers.
Moisture migration
Many baked snacks combine layers, fillings, coatings, or inclusions. When moisture moves between components, crisp layers soften, fillings dry out, and bars lose balance. These changes often appear after packaging, when fixes are costly or no longer possible.
Precision that supports daily decisions.
Baked snacks are shaped by how moisture moves and settles over time. Baking too far can dry products out. Stopping too soon can leave moisture that shortens shelf life. Small changes in ingredients, oven conditions, or ambient humidity can quietly shift results from batch to batch.
AQUALAB helps baked snack teams confirm when products have reached a stable moisture state by measuring water activity directly, rather than relying on bake time, moisture content, or visual cues alone. Fast, repeatable measurements support clearer texture targets, more reliable shelf life, and better alignment across R&D, production, and QA so teams can move product with confidence.
“With water activity meters in our innovation center, our research and development kitchens, and our commercial bakeries, Clif Bar is able to key in on water activity levels at all points of the production process.”
Shaunti Luce,
Senior Innovation and Technology Manager, Clif Bar
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE
Experience you can rely on
For more than 40 years, AQUALAB has helped manufacturers manage moisture in sensitive products. Our instruments and scientific experts support teams in development labs, production areas, and quality programs every day.
Today, more than 90 of the world’s leading food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and ingredient companies rely on AQUALAB to measure water activity with accuracy and consistency.
This experience gives baked snack food teams data they can trust, share, and stand behind when product quality matters most.
Lab services support
When questions go beyond routine testing, AQUALAB Lab Services provide expert moisture analysis to help diagnose issues, validate results, and uncover root causes.
Explore lab servicesWater activity meters
AQUALAB instruments deliver fast, accurate, and repeatable water activity measurements designed for use in R&D, Production, and QA teams.
AQUALAB 4TE
Fast. Precise. Economical. Meet the renowned instrument that brought water activity to the business world.
- aw in <5 min
- Highly compliant + compatible
- Secure data storage
AQUALAB 3
Lightning-fast total moisture analysis to tighten process control and boost quality.
- MC + aw in one
- Results in 60 seconds
- For the lab or the line
Lab services
Precision lab testing services to confirm quality, consistency, and compliance.
- Accurate results
- Fast turnaround
- Industry standards
Knowledge base
Explore resources, application notes, and expert guidance to help your quality team make moisture management simpler, clearer, and more reliable.
Beyond bars: Product innovation at Clif Bar & Company
Shaunti Luce is Senior Innovation and Technology Manager at Clif Bar & Company. Her role on the food safety and quality assurance team gives her unique insight into food safety, production processes and innovation at Clif.
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