Consumers seek out real ingredients in snack foods

Consumers are driving change in the snack category with their ever-increasing demand for organic, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free and other more natural snacks.

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A key trend at the moment is “clean labeling,” and major CPG companies are following up with commitments to remove artificial ingredients.



“Shoppers are making different buying decisions, especially when it comes to snacks,” said Sally Lyons Wyatt, EVP and practice leader, snacks at IRI. “For many consumers, in particular millennials and boomers, snacking is now a regular part of their day.” According to IRI, U.S. consumers have increased their snacking frequency over the past five years, from 1.9 snacks per day to 2.8 snacks per day (up 67%) — and 51% report consuming three-plus snacks per day.



The data also show that shoppers are looking for cleaner labels on salty snacks and better-for-you options like bars, nuts and dried fruit snacks.



Sales of “natural” and “organic” snacks in the past two years alone have grown 24% and 28%, according to Nielsen’s 2015 Global Health and Wellness Survey, driven by products that are perceived as more healthy. And they are confident that trend will continue. By 2020, sales of natural and organic food are expected to represent nearly 14% of total food sales.



Leaders in the category, such as Mondelez, are introducing products to meet this new demand.



Mondelez launched Good Thins snack chips in March. The brand starts with real ingredients and doesn’t add artificial flavors, colors, partially hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup.



“At Mondelez International, what’s import ant to consumers is important to us. We’re regularly taking a consumer pulse on ingredient and flavor preferences, and we’re excited to launch a brand that delivers on a broad range of these interests,” said Danielle Brown, marketing director for Good Thins at Mondelez International.



Abbott Laboratories is another entrant into the healthy snack category. The company introduced a “foodie-inspired” snack bar line called Curate in February. “Even with countless nutritious snack options in store, people told us they still weren’t quite satisfied and were often looking to make their own snacks using ingredients from their kitchen,” Dustin Finkel, general manager of nutritious snacks at Abbott, said. “We saw this as an opportunity to create a snack brand that tastes handcrafted, with ingredients you can find in nearly every grocery or natural food store.”