Snacks: State of the Market

This session presented by IRI snack industry expert Sally Lyons-Wyatt at the 2017 Sweets & Snacks Expo was packed with insights, trends and future glimpses of snack opportunities. Highlights from the talk include:

• Early morning snacking continues to rise.
• Daily snacking averages remains the same, however there is an uptick in consumers snacking 5+ snacks per day.
• So far in 2017, only 2 categories in the top 10 core grew in both dollars and units. Salty snacks were one of those categories, growing 3.9%.
• Portability was a theme within the growing healthier snack categories.
• Consumers’ “balanced” diet is driving the top dollar growth categories. Examples include low/no sugar fruit snacks and chocolate-covered salty snacks.
• All channels except Club and Drug are seeing good Core Snacking growth, with Internet driving double digits.
• 42% of consumers go to quick serve restaurants 2-3 times a week. New Specialty Stores and promotions from existing shops are boldly messaging to snacking consumers.
• Confection ingredients are impacting growth.
• Food and beverages with chocolate are outpacing those without.
• Protein has evolved to be a significant driver of purchase for many, bringing strong growth to the market across categories.
• Greek yogurt is an example of a category that exploded by bringing a new attribute – high protein.
• New consumer-based definitions of health and wellness are impacting snacks.
• 35% of consumers want sustainable packaging.
• 59% of consumers want snacks with vitamins and minerals.
• Clearly communicating benefits on packaging is winning with consumers.
• Trendy snacks showing large growth include meat snacks, bite size snacks, thins, dippings, and fruit/veggie/nut combo.
• Ecommerce sales for snacking have a small base but strong dollar trends.

VIEW THE FULL PRESENTATION for more info on snack trends, flavor trends and how packaging is affecting growth in the industry.