Consumers bite into classic, new cookies

After several lackluster years, cookie sales were up in 2011 and are likely to show slight gains this year. The category was buoyed largely by sales of basic cookies, according to a recent report from Mintel, while premium cookie sales were hurt by a tight economy and increased media attention on America’s obesity epidemic. Mintel forecasts more growth for the premium segment from 2013 to 2016.


New products have given the category a lift. Kraft Foods, which is the category’s leading company in terms of sales, recently introduced its new Nabisco belVita breakfast biscuit. While the product is targeted to consumers looking for a convenient morning meal, belVita is merchandised in the cookie aisle.


The category also got a lift from Kraft’s large media spend on Oreo’s 100th anniversary. As part of the anniversary campaign, Kraft ran a new ad daily for 100 days to the more than 27.9 million people who “liked” Oreo on Facebook or who viewed the ad on Oreo.com, Pinterest 
or Twitter.


Oreo also has kept the brand exciting with seasonal, limited-edition introductions to the category, such as a Candy Corn Oreo for Halloween and a Candy Cane version for Christmas.


Private label performs well with 34% of cookie/cookie bar users reporting that they believe store brands are the equal of name brands, according to Mintel. Sales of private-label cookies, like many other segments of the category, were down slightly last year.

The article above is part of the DSN Category Review Series. For the complete Snacks Buy-In Report, including extensive charts, data and more analysis, click here.