Author: Mintel Group Ltd.
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Snacking Preferences of Black Consumers - US - November 2014
Scope and Themes
 
What you need to know
Snacking is a major part of Black consumers’ everyday lives, whether they are snacking between meals, including it as part of a meal, or treating themselves to one of life’s simple indulgences. As with many foods they consume, Black consumers love savory and sweet snacks, whether they are bought off the shelf, from the freezer, or made from scratch. Their love for snacks and snacking is one of the reasons why Blacks tend to be overweight. Since flavor is something they are often not willing to sacrifice, low-calorie and low-fat options are less desired. The motivation for choosing healthier snack options is for weight control and to reduce salt and sugar intake due to illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

This report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s:

●	Snacking Preferences of the Black Consumer – US, September 2012
●	Chips, Popcorn, Nuts, and Dips – US, January 2014
●	The Snacking Occasion – US, February 2014
●	Cookies and Crackers – US, March 2014
●	Nut-based Spreads and Sweet Spreads – US, March 2014
●	Snack and Nutrition Bars – US, March 2014
●	Chocolate Confectionery – US, April 2014
●	Frozen Snacks – US, April 2014
●	Prepared Cakes and Pies – US, June 2014
●	Ice Cream and Frozen Novelties – US, July 2014
●	Yogurt and Yogurt Drinks – US, August 2014
●	Fruit and Vegetables – US, October 2014

Definition
This report examines Black consumers’ attitudes and behaviors toward snack products, and covers the following categories:

●	Salty/savory snacks (eg potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, tortilla chips, etc)
●	Sweet snacks (eg cookies, cake, candy bars, chocolate, etc)
●	Frozen snacks (eg ice cream, corn dogs, pizza rolls, etc)
●	Refrigerated or canned dip and salsa
●	Nuts
●	Dried fruit (eg cranberries, raisins, cherries, etc)
●	Fruit or vegetable snacks (eg carrots, celery, grapes, apples, etc)
●	Meat snacks (eg beef jerky, sardines, etc)
●	Dairy snacks (eg yogurt, string cheese, etc).

Data sources
Consumer survey data
For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through Lightspeed GMI to explore Black consumers’ consumption of/attitudes and behaviors toward snacks. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in September 2014 among a sample of 1,000 Black adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.

Mintel selects survey respondents so that they are proportionally representative of the US Black adult population using the internet based on the key demographics of gender, age, and region. For this study, Mintel applies post-stratification weights to survey respondents so that results are proportionally balanced to the entire US Black adult population. Please note that our surveys are conducted online and in English only. Black Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in our survey results.

Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, using the NHCS (Simmons National Hispanic Consumer Study).

The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NHCS was carried out during January 2013-March 2014, and the results are based on the sample of 24,073 adults aged 18+ (including 2,139 Blacks), with results weighted to represent the US adult population.

While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.

Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report:

NHCS | National Hispanic Consumer Study (Experian Simmons)
QSR | Quick Service restaurants

Terms
Generations are discussed within this report, and they are defined as:

World War II/Swing generation | Members of the WWII generation were born in 1932 or before and are aged 82-years-old or more in 2014. Members of the Swing Generation were born between 1933 and 1945 and are aged 69-81-years-old in 2014.
Baby Boomers | The generation born between 1946 and 1964. In 2014, Baby Boomers are aged 50-68-years-old
Generation X | The generation born between 1965 and 1976. In 2014, Gen Xers are aged 38-49-years-old.
Millennials* | The generation born between 1977 and 1994. In 2014, Millennials are aged 20-37-yars-old.
iGeneration | The generation born between 1995 and 2007. In 2014, iGens are aged 7-19-years-old.
Emerging generation | The newest generation began in 2008 as the annual number of births declined sharply with the recession. In 2014 members of this as-yet-unnamed generation are younger than 7-years-old.

* Also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers

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