Kids, claims and variety – the key opportunities for snacks growth

Snack sales are projected to increase by $35bn in the next five years, according to analysts firm IRI, which said 84% of this growth would come from core snacking categories such as chips, bars and nuts. Speaking at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago recently, IRI executive vice president Sally Lyons Wyatt said consumers had been telling analysts for the past ten years that they were snacking more, with research showing they snacked an average of 2.7 times a day. “ But what was really amazing about 2015 compared with previous years was that 46% of consumers told us they are snacking three-plus times a day – that’s almost half the US population ,” she said, adding that this was a five percentage point increase on the previous year. Strong industry momentum “ That it is significant and shows you the momentum for this industry is still very strong ,” Lyons Wyatt said. “ We will reach a tipping point, there will come a time when this plateaus, but the fact consumers are actively gravitating to snacking is a winner for the industry .” Value sales of snacks had risen 3.5% in 2015 with sales growth recorded in most sales channels, although US consumers had gravitated towards value retailers in the past few years, according to IRI, with sales through dollar stores up 7.5%. Lyons Wyatt flagged up three trends for manufacturers to consider when developing or marketing products in order to tap into this market growth:

Kids, claims and variety – the key opportunities for snacks growth

Families, ingredient claims, and variety in packaging and flavors have been flagged up as key drivers of growth in the US snacking market.

Related Topics