As consumers increasingly watch their waistlines and budgets, they are becoming more selective about what snacks they eat and buy – prompting Kellanova to rethink its innovation strategy to focus on products that deliver either meaningful functional benefits, immersive sensory experiences, or ideally both.
The company’s latest launches, from protein-packed RXBAR offerings to a more intensely crunchy Cheez-It platform, illustrate how the snack giant is designing products around specific consumption occasions rather than pursuing novelty for novelty’s sake.
This shift reflects the economic challenges consumers and retailers face amid stubborn inflation and skyrocketing gas prices as well as a rise in more intentional eating as more consumers take GLP-1 medications to manage their weight or look for healthier options as they cut back on mindless munching and empty calories.
“Our retailers, especially convenience stores, are struggling to get traffic into their stores. Consumers are paying $5 a gallon for gas, and so they have less money to spend on food and drinks in the store,” said David Beck, marketing director, commercial strategy, innovation with Mars Snacking, which recently acquired Kellanova.
At the same time, he said the average daily caloric intake for Americans is declining year-over-year as more people take appetite suppressing GLP-1 drugs to manage their weight. As a result, he explained, consumers want products that deliver more of the nutrients they need in fewer calories.
“When you look at snacks and the experience in store, everything has to go up a level. It has to be worth it to the consumer to spend the money. It has to be worth it to spend the calories, and to have that experience. And so that is really what we are trying to help our retailers with right now,” Beck said.
Kellanova’s ‘occasion framework’ for innovation
To ensure new products meet the needs of consumers and retailers, Beck said, Kellanova bases innovation on an “occasion framework.”
He explained: “Not every snacking occasion has the same needs.”
For example, if a consumer had a hard day, she might feel like she deserves a reward and pick something more indulgent, like ice cream or a candy bar. But if she just went to the gym or is getting ready to play tennis or has a full day ahead of her, she might want something that will fuel her, and might lean more towards a protein snack.
Likewise, satiety has multiple attributes that consumers may want when they reach for a snack, he said. They may want to feel full, such as after a tennis match, or they may want an experience that is fulfilling, such as when they reach for a reward.
“We try to design our innovations off of that occasion framework – so that they have a clear role to play when we launch,” and a clear space to live in a retailer, Beck said.
For example, he said, Kellanova’s news RXBAR Protein Energy Bites in strawberry peanut butter and dark chocolate peanut butter check the boxes of a better-for-you snack and a specific occasion.
“We have an ingredient line that has all ingredients that you would recognize: peanut butter, dates, apples, protein, egg whites, honey, things you would use at home, and we were able to make a little protein ball,” just like we saw consumers doing at home, he said.
It is clean label, it is multi-sensory with a chewy outside and a creamy inside, and it meets what Kellanova calls an “an energy boost occasion,” said Beck.
He explained that 64% of consumers say they want more energy from their snacks, which is fueling some of the demand for protein.
The Protein Energy Bites also offer added value in terms of saving consumers time and money because they don’t have to buy all the individual ingredients and make the product, he added.
Kellanova also is launching the RXBAR High Protein Bar in vanilla peanut butter and strawberry peanut butter to “support strength without compromise,” according to the company. It adds the bar packs in 18 grams of protein with just six ingredients and creamy “satisfying texture.”
Mindless munching is out, intentional immersion is in
As consumers indulge less frequently, they expect snacks to deliver a richer sensory payoff, which is where Kellanova’s new Cheez-It Crunch in Zesty Jalapeño Cheddar and Kick’n Nacho Cheese come in.
Unlike traditional Cheez-Its, the new line is puffed and has multiple cutouts that amplify both the crunch and the flavor, said Eliza Coteng, innovation marketing director, away from home, Mars Snacking.
“The value here does not come just from the flavor but the entire experience. It has a harder crunch and the design of the food is that you have nooks and crannies where the seasonings are embedded so that when you bite it you don’t get the cheese-like delivery of a typical Cheez-It, but you layer it with zesty jalapeño or nacho cheese,” she said.
She added: “Consumers right now are looking for a moment where they can actually immerse themselves into the experience of eating the snack, and that is what we are trying to deliver with this innovation.”
Beck agreed, noting, “this is not mindless munching food. It is a one-at-a-time snack. You are going to move it around in your mouth, you are going to crunch down partway, move it, crunch it some more. It is like you kind of play with it as you eat.”
He also noted it delivers more of a ASMR experience, which is a popular trend on social media.
The strategic takeaway for all of these launches is that Kellanova is commercializing behaviors consumers already are creating for themselves. They also show how snack makers should build products around occasions and behaviors rather than simply attributes.
Authenticity remains a guardrail
While both the protein bites and the Cheez-It Crunch expand each brand into new areas, they also remain true to brands’ equities.
Innovation can push the envelope, but “you have to deliver what is authentic to your brand, first and foremost. So, in the case of Cheez-It, it has to be 100% real cheese. It has to be baked not fried,” and in the case of RXBAR it needs to be clean label, said Coteng.
“Where brands can go wrong is when they forget their foundation and they do something or behave in a way or launch something that is not authentic to who they are,” Beck agreed.
Ultimately, innovation may become more expansive, but brand permission still matters.
Lessons from Kellanova’s snack innovation strategy
- Build around occasions, not product formats.
- Treat texture and sensory engagement as innovation platforms.
- Layer multiple benefits rather than relying on a single functional claim.
- Use social listening to identify emerging consumer-created behaviors.
- Ensure innovation remains grounded in brand authenticity.
- Design launches that create value for retailers as well as consumers.
Retailers want innovation that drives foot traffic
Consumers are not the only ones looking for experiences – retailers want them, too.
Beck noted that retailers, and especially gas stations and convenience stores, need help bringing consumers into their stores now that the tighter economy means many shoppers have less discretionary spending and are less likely to give into a impulse purchase.
Brands can help build excitement through limited time offerings and partnerships that connect to larger events or trends, such as the World Cup or grilling season, said Beck.
What is next?
The shift towards smaller portions, nutrient-density and more experiential eating is just the beginning and both Beck and Coteng predict they will continue to gain steam in the coming years.
With that in mind, they predict snacks will need to layer in more functional benefits – such as protein plus fiber – or other nutritional claims that help justify snacks as a meal replacement or as supplemental nutrition.
Ultimately, they say, the future of snacking is not just healthier or more indulgent – it is products that meet specific need states and occasions through a combination of function, satisfaction and experience.
