The Rise of Healthy Snacking: What Today's Trends Mean for Your Business
With the rise of healthy snacking shoppers are willing to spend that bit extra it means they’re consuming better for you replacements which make them feel good. Over the past few years we have seen the healthier snacking category move from a category that only a few upmarket retailers gave any real shelf space to a must have category that every retailer needs create space for in their stores.
Consumers have sought out functional snacks to boost their workouts or simply enhance their health, have used protein-filled snacks to satisfy hunger over long periods, have indulged in snacks as affordable treats in times of stress and have munched their way through a whole variety of options.
Post-Covid hybrid working has reopened the opportunity for impulse purchases on-the-go. The value of the crisps, snacks & popcorn category is £3.4bn. The estimated value of on-the-go snacking is worth over £2.5bn
(Kantar Panel data, 52 w/e 12.07.22).
One certainty that suppliers and retailer agree on is that healthy snacking should matter, in all its forms as it progresses in its forward march, the momentum looks set to continue.
What Today's Snacking Means for Your Business
There’s a very different game in town these days. Consumers are no longer happy simply sticking with the same tried and tested brands, it’s all about differentiation. Consumers are looking for a ‘wow’ moment, a chance to discover something different and be the first on social media with a new snack – the opportunity to influence, not just follow. Consumers' pursuit for health and wellness is impacting all aspects of life, never more than through food and drink.
There's no denying it's reshaping the world of snacking; vegan snacks have hit the big time, protein snacks are in the mainstream and natural energy drinks are in everyone's fridges - a few years ago these would have all been considered niche! Healthier snacking has a sky-high penetration, but retailers need to make space for healthier options and adventurous flavours to stay on trend.
For the Convenience Store...
with competition increasing, it’s time to think about how you can match up to against your local competition – including the major multiples and high street coffee chains. It's no surprise you'll see on-trend snack bars such as Grenade and KIND up sold alongside branded coffee machines, and alternative crisps becoming a mainstay in lunchtime meal deals.
Busy lifestyles and less structured eating patterns mean all day offerings are also playing a big part. Meal times and meal formats have blurred, whilst the Big Night In has resulted in a surge of premium impulse and sharing snacking opportunities.
The fast-paced world of snacking means it is essential to stay relevant in the market, ensuring your range is fresh, fast and healthy, as well as tasty, good value and convenient. Those retailers can meet the challenger by offering an in store experience and diversity of products and services the big boys couldn’t hope to keep up with. Challenger brands are quick to respond to and shape consumer trends and are the immediate source of providing that differentiated offering.
For the Workplace...
When it comes to eating in the workplace, organisation-provided food options are somewhat of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they bring people together, build relationships, and position organisations as a great place to work. On the other hand, unhealthy food items can take away from employee well-being, increasing medical costs and negatively impacting workforce productivity.
Today’s workers are a savvy bunch who understand the importance of healthier snacking has on concentration, motivation and overall sense of wellbeing. It's time to improve the way you cater for your employees and colleagues.
Office workers want cool and better-for-you snacks. In the age of social media, when employees believe a snack has the kudos to be 'instagram-worthy' it'll soon spread around the office that it's the next big thing to try.
With a growing culture aimed at encouraging and promoting healthier lifestyle choices, wellness in the workplace is fast working its way from buzz topic to required norm for prospective employees. The UK has long had a reputation for spending the longest hours at work, sitting down at a computer for hours and often reaching for unhealthy quick snacks between tasks rather than having time for a fully fledged and nutritionally balanced meal. While in some organisations, healthy snacking is positioned as a major employee perk, the trend on an average is largely disappointing. Time to step things up in the workplace.
For the Coffee Shop...
Visit any café across the UK, from a counter in a leisure centre to the hipster coffee shop and they will all have one thing in common – there will never be only drinks on sale. Whether it’s tea and biscuits or coffee and cake, having a snack with a hot drink is something of an unwritten rule and, with the UK consuming over 70 million cups of coffee every day, there is huge potential to up-sell a delicious range of treats.
Of course, a large proportion of the UK’s café sales come via a takeaway cup – whether it’s the first drink on the morning commute, or a cheeky grab and go in-between rushing to meeting. This means your snacking selection too, has to be suitable for people on the move.
When it comes to snacks, it can be easy to fall back on familiar favourites, with little to no time to contemplate or research a wider range of ‘free-from’ or nutritional food choices for their customers to enjoy. By providing a wider selection of healthy food snacks alongside their drink choices - snacks made from premium, honest ingredients and delivering indulgent taste to suit a more nutritionally-savvy audience - café owners can put themselves in a great position to expand their audiences and boost sales figures.
Learn More About What We Offer at Epicurium
As experts in wholesome snacks, the team at Epicurium have curated an range of best in class healthy snacks designed to help you grow your business - click here to request an account