The low-carb craze is over. Baked goods are back in fashion as consumers look to glycemic indexes and including more grains in their diet. While the category is considered mature by experts, a quick rundown by industry analysts shows there is room for inventory improvements and innovations that will inspire sales. The Baked Goods Aisle Whole grains are expected to spark interest in the baked goods category as consumers seek out everything from pancakes and muffins to cookies and crackers, packed with whole grain goodness. (Look for our article on Great Grains next month.) Manufacturers are working to add more grains into their recipes, and fortunately, whole grains are much easier to incorporate than reformulating recipes to eliminate trans fats. According to Mintel research, the number of whole-grain baked goods introduced increased 530 percent from 2001 to 2005. This count actually includes a significant number of breakfast food items like waffles, pancakes, etc. Consumers have shown a willingness to embrace healthier food products, although taste will always prevail, especially in the category of sweets and desserts such as cakes and tarts. The convenience of having more grain products fits with their desire for healthier solutions to be provided through the foods they consume. Minters Cookies US, Update, April 2005 reported that many of the new cookie product introductions in 2004-2005 were health-oriented innovations. Pepperidge Farm, for example, introduced sugar-free Chocolate Chip Chunk cookies, offering a healthier premium cookie option.[GRAPHIC ODMITTED]A new report from Packaged Facts, Cookies in the US, reaffirms this healthy alternative. Eliminating trans fats, switching to gourmet and organic products and doubling the amount of chocolate in typical cookie brands could transform the U.S. cookie market. These are just some of the improvements making their way into bags of best-selling biscuits as marketers race to avoid the sales decline that has seen the market plummet from just over $6 billion in 2001 to $5.56 billion dollars in 2005. Packaged Facts estimates that total biscuit sales declined 8.25 percent in 2005, compared to the peak in 2001. The industry's success, however, has been achieved in so-called premium biscuits for adults, where both industry leaders and boutique marketers have seen growth. Likewise, the sales growth experienced by individual natural and organic biscuit retailers attests to the fact that this market sector is no longer just a niche. these successes alone have done nothing but slow a rapidly eroding market,” observes Don Montuori, the editor of Packaged Facts.