The fog that has enveloped the ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereal category in recent years lifted somewhat in 2013, as breakfast cereal makers saw glimpses of something that had merely been a mirage in recent years: growth.

The year 2013 will go down in history as the year the “Cronut” was born.

Growth has been elusive in packaged soups in recent years, but 2013 saw soup makers willing to embrace unconventional approaches to jump-start sales.

When the highlight of the year is the bankruptcy of a major player, as was the case of Hostess Brands in 2012, it is going to be a rough year.

Ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal makers channeled their inner Mark Twain in 2012, as in “the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” with the category celebrating a comeback year on the new products front.

When historians look back at 2012 for the soup category, they may come to the conclusion that this was the year soup makers “turned the page” on Baby Boomers and went into a full embrace of Millennial consumers.

“Drink your way to health” is a concept that has blossomed over the past few years, as successive waves of “better-for-you” beverages have achieved success. From pomegranate juices and green teas to probiotic drinks and almond milks, consumers have a dizzying array of drink options for improved health and better living.

Just as sports teams sometimes experience a “transitional year” from time to time, 2011 proved to be just such a year for makers of convenience meals and processed meats. The perception of these markets as relative “safe havens” for economically stressed consumers ebbed a bit as the economy improved.

Sometimes a lack of big news during a year is actually good news. Bakery companies that remember the Atkins Diet and its characterization of carbohydrates as the devil incarnate can breathe a sigh of relief that 2011 did not bring about any such black swans. Still, 2011 will go down as a slightly off year for baked goods, with declines in some categories outweighing gains in other categories.