When one of the country's most-well-known chefs launches a range of bagged snacks, you know it means big business for retailers.
Antony Worrall Thompson, the popular star of programmes such as BBC2's Ready, Steady, Cook, has introduced a range of bagged, baked breadsticks and croutini that he says will be popular with retailers, straddling impulse and planned purchases. "Bagged snacks are here to stay," Worrall Thompson told MB&R. "Whether it's for personal consumption when you get the munchies or for serving to friends."
He says people are looking for more interesting varieties made from natural ingredients. "This is a trend I've been campaigning for. If the ingredients are fresh and natural, the end result will not just be better for you, but also tastier."
His comments echo the views of some of the UK's leading bagged snacks manufacturers. Fuelled by obesity concerns and consumers' desire for natural products, suppliers have been reformulating products or revising cooking methods in a bid to tick the right health boxes. But just being healthy is no longer enough - products also need to taste good, and this joint challenge is the one manufacturers are rising to. New products such as riceworks Gourmet Brown Rice Chips are using this platform to push the message that health doesn't mean compromising taste. "There is a sense that healthy eating means sacrificing flavour," says Mark Haley, MD of Snack Alliance. "Consumers want snacks that are 'good for you' and indulgent."
The dried fruit sector is also growing as suppliers see the potential of taking their products into the impulse arena. "The health agenda is critical and all aspects of food are being scrutinised," says Jamie Robinson, commercial director at Ocean Spray, which has a four-SKU range of 40g and 170g bagged cranberry snacks. "There has been a lot of focus on the lack of healthy snacks, which has prompted the major manufacturers to reformulate their products."
Walkers has been making its existing products healthier - without compromising taste. As a result, sales have risen 5%. "Consumers are looking for healthier snacks but they also want premium sharing snacks to fulfil their indulgence needs," says Jon Goldstone, Walkers vice president of marketing.
Its crisps, snacks and premium products, Sensations and Doritos, are cooked in Sunseed oil, which has cut the saturated fat content by up to 80%, according to the company. Walkers Baked, launched last September, contain 70% less fat and less than 100 calories per pack. It has grown to a £30.7m brand.
Rival UBUK has also focused on health and nutrition. In February, Hula Hoops, Hula Hoops Ridges and Skips underwent a 55% reduction in saturated fat, while the fat in Discos, Wheat Crunchies, Skips and Nik Naks has been cut by 50%. The McCoy's Classic, Specials and Specials Tortilla ranges all saw a 30% reduction in sat fat.
Jessica Wylie, UBUK trade PR & communications manager, says: "UBUK is also cutting the levels of salt in its products. Research shows 6% more consumers will buy lower-salt products if available. UBUK is cutting salt in McCoy's Classic, and the salt content of KP Nuts by 10%."
It's hardly surprising, given the growth in demand. More than three-quarters of people say health is important to them and fat is one of the biggest concerns. Yet, in a Nielsen survey, 50% of respondents said less fat was the most important part of eating more healthily, compared with 69% who like fattening treats because they taste nice.
"The challenge is to strike a balance between the two," says Georgina Edmonds, customer marketing manager at Ryvita. "Shoppers want to eat healthily, but still want products that taste nice. Ryvita Minis evolved to meet these taste demands from consumers."
She says that the firm has been proactively working with retailers to encourage "higher impact" impulse siting in store.
Another development has been the growth of portion-size bags of fresh fruit and veg. Designed mainly for kids, these snack packs have grown out of demand from the Government, campaigners such as Jamie Oliver, schools and parents.
Last November Del Monte launched 50g fruit and vegetable snack bags aimed at UK primary school children aged five to 11 to offer a tasty alternative to crisps and sweets. This, says Peter Miller, MD of Del Monte UK, enables parents to give their kids the necessary five-a-day and make fruit and veg more appealing.
Consumers are also more interested in what goes into food, how it's made and where it comes from. Many are looking for options made without MSG and artificial additives, and in response to publicity about artificial additives, some manufacturers have pledged to eradicate them. "With 68% of consumers preferring natural foods, awareness is growing," says a spokesperson for Kettle Foods.
Suppliers claiming their products are healthier, better-for-you or even naturally healthy, have to be prepared to back claims up. "Consumers have become more savvy," says Whitworths' marketing and business development director Neil Hepplewhite. "Improving the quality of what goes into bagged snacks will continue to fuel growth.
"The challenge suppliers face is those products that are purporting to be something they're not. The agenda we are driving is about making what's in the pack more transparent." n
TOP 10 BAGGED SNACKS
Walkers Cheese & Onion
Walkers Ready Salted
Quavers Cheese
Walkers Salt 'n' Vinegar
McCoy's Steak
Mega Monster Munch Flamin Hot
Walkers Prawn Cocktai
McCoy's Salt & Vinegar
McCoy's Cheese & Onion
Doritos Tangy Cheese
Source: ACNielsen
WHAT THE SUPPLIERS ARE SAYING
Some of our research shows that people 'ladder' snacks, with unhealthy snacks such as crisps at the bottom and healthy snacks such as fruit at the top. Consumers are telling us they want to move up the ladder. They don't want to completely move out of the unhealthy stuff but they want to use more healthier snacks as part of their repertoire. The growth in dried fruit is all the more surprising when you consider that dried fruit snacks are mainly merchandised in home baking. It's a part of the store which is really not that well trafficked and we are working closely with retailers to encourage them to site or test market alternative sitings for a healthier snacking fixture.
Neil Hepplewhite
marketing & business development director, Whitworths
Category insight: Innovation
Bagged snacks is where product innovation comes into its own, with all manner of tasty new developments
If ever a category was a hotbed of new product development, then it's bagged snacks. The impulse nature of snacking makes bagged snacks the perfect on-the-go solution, and suppliers are constantly broadening their ranges to tap into key trends such as health, indulgence, convenience and sharing.
This summer Procter & Gamble launched Pringles Rice Infusions, backed by an £11m support campaign. It claimed this was the first time rice has been available in a thin chip format, and P&G has high hopes for its range.
"We expect huge demand for this new product, mainly driven by our targeted marketing campaign," says Paul Lettice, P&G trade communications manager. "It offers retailers the opportunity to benefit from a flavoursome snack that tastes great and is also better for you."
To further drive impulse sales, Pringles introduced two flavours to the Mini Pringles range earlier this year, while, more recently, it has added two new flavours to its the premium Pringles Gourmet range. "Consumers are developing more sophisticated tastes and are treating themselves by trading up to more premium brands," says Lettice.
Walkers recently launched SunBites, a wholegrain snack made with whole wheat, whole oats and whole corn, which is cooked in Sunseed oil and lower in saturates than traditional oils. Walkers says SunBites contain 30% less fat than regular crisps with no added artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. "Consumer tests have already proved this wholegrain snack will have broad appeal and be highly incremental to the category," says Jon Goldstone, Walkers vice president of marketing.
Tapping into one of the key trends - sharing - United Biscuits has introduced a new sharing bag format for four of its leading brands - Mini Cheddars, Twiglets, Hula Hoops Original and Skips. The company says it's a positive move for retailers looking to tap into the growing everyday sharing sector.
"The introduction of branded sharing bags proved popular in testing with people looking for tasty bagged snacks that are easy to share and we would advise retailers to stock up accordingly," says Jessica Wylie, UBUK trade PR & communications manager.
what the suppliers are saying
Although the product ranges we offer currently sit within savoury biscuits, Ryvita is proactively talking to retailers about the need for higher impact impulse siting within store. We've been working closely with a couple of major multiples to make this happen. In Sainsbury's, for example, we actually have product sited at the front of stores, and in Tesco we have two Mini variants listed in the forecourt. We think this is important, not just for our product, but for healthy bagged snacks as a whole segment, going forward."
Georgina Edmonds
customer marketing manager, ryvita
Category insight: Dried Fruit
Consumers' desire for healthy on-the-go snacks means a turnaround in the fortunes of bagged dry fruit
Dried fruit, for so long the Cinderella of snacking confined to the home-baking fixture, has enjoyed strong growth in the bagged snacks sector, fuelled by consumers' demands for portable, healthy snacks.
Retailers have realised the sales potential of the products and now multi-site the products in locations such as fresh produce and the main crisps and snacks aisle. "Retailers such as Tesco and Morrisons have recognised the snacking fruit opportunity and now have bespoke snacking fruit fixtures," says Jamie Robinson, commercial director at Ocean Spray. "They've pulled together all the snacking fruit-based products and made a feature of that within home-baking."
Robinson says this approach seems to have worked well, and suppliers and retailers need to work together to create more awareness of that particular fixture - and direct consumers to it.
And, he says, although there are some healthy products in the snacking sector, they need to be merchandised together and flagged up as healthy snacks if that area is going to function. "If you put a healthy product within crisps it gets lost," says Robinson. "We are doing various activities such as clip-strips, which can be put in certain areas of the store to get the product in front of people. Once people try dried cranberries, repeat purchase is strong."
Whitworths, meanwhile, has been reviewing its bagged snacks portfolio. "Part of that is about doing research to understand the drivers, what motivates consumers and what turns them off," says Neil Hepplewhite, marketing & business development director. "One of the key trends within bagged snacks is multi-packing. A lot of the bagged dried fruit snacks that have been available have been in single bags - now manufacturers are getting savvy to what the crisps boys have been doing for years."
Whitworths estimates the dried fruit market to be worth about £115m and growing at 17% year-on-year. "All the major multiples are considering whether they've got the fixture in the right place, what is the most appropriate place, and actively trialling new concepts for healthier snacking," adds Hepplewhite.
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