Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Advertising creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
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- Market at a glance: Momentum lost
- So many healthy snacks…
- Cereal wars spill over
- Private label ready to rise?
- Supermarkets dominate sales
- Nature Valley and Quaker Chewy maintain share lead in granola bars
- Kellogg portfolio tops in cereal bars
- New product launches ease off in 2008-09
- Ad spending for some brands extends beyond category
- Category usage shows signs of slipping
Insights and Opportunities
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- Raw ambition
- Connecting with kids
- The private-label opportunity (or threat)
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- Figure 1: Top flavors for new product launches in snack/cereal/energy bars, 2008-10*
Inspire Insights
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- Trend 1: Make My Cereal (bar) for Me
- If granola’s already at it…
- …then bars shouldn’t be far behind
- But where could it go next?
- Trend 2: Sporting Nutrition for the Pros
- What’s good for the pros…
- …should be good for the fans
- Trend 3: Recession Leads to More Snack Breaks
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- What’s next?
- Total sales and forecast
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- Figure 2: FDMx sales of cereal bars and granola bars, at current prices, 2004-14
- Figure 3: FDMx sales of cereal bars and granola bars, at inflation-adjusted prices*, 2004-14
- Walmart sales
Competitive Context
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- So many healthy snacks…
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- Figure 4: FDMx sales of healthy snack foods, by segment, 2006 and 2008
- Nutrition/energy bars
- Yogurt
- Trail Mix
- Kid snacking options
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- Figure 5: Healthy foods eaten as snacks—6-12 year olds, December 2007
- The rich get richer
- Cereal wars spill over
- Private label ready to rise?
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- Figure 6: FDMx private-label market share of cereal bars and granola bars, by segment, 2005-09
Segment Performance
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- Key points—slowdown in growth impacts both key segments
- Sales of cereal bars and granola bars, by segment
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- Figure 7: FDMx sales of cereal bars and granola bars, by type, 2008 and 2009
Segment Performance—Granola Bars
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- Key points
- New product activity peaked in 2007 then faded
- Fiber wins share in 2009, but doesn’t drive total segment
- Sales and forecast of granola bars
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- Figure 8: FDMx sales of granola bars, at current prices, 2004-14
Segment Performance—Breakfast/Cereal/Snack Bars
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- Key points
- Evolving and maturing
- Sales and forecast of breakfast/cereal/snack bars
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- Figure 9: FDMx sales of breakfast/cereal/snack bars, at current prices, 2004-14
Segment Performance—Other Snack Bars
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- Key points
- Greater potential for specialized bars
- Sales and forecast of other snack bars
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- Figure 10: FDMx sales of other snack bars, at current prices, 2004-14
Retail Channels
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- Key points
- A category well suited to a variety of retail channels
- Sales of cereal and snack bars, by channel
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- Figure 11: FDMx sales of cereal and snack bars, by retail channel, 2008 and 2009
Retail Channels—Supermarkets
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- Key points
- Supermarkets maintain competitive stance, stop share losses
- Sales of cereal and snack bars at supermarkets
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- Figure 12: U.S. sales of cereal and snack bars at supermarkets, 2004-09
Retail Channels—Drug Stores and Mass
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- Key points
- Target drives increased food sales
- Drug channel builds on health and wellness
- Sales of cereal and snack bars at drug stores and mass merchandisers
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- Figure 13: U.S. sales of cereal and snack bars at drug stores and mass merchandisers*, 2004-09
Retail Channels—Natural Supermarkets
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- Sales of cereal and snack bars in the natural channel
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- Figure 14: Natural supermarket sales of cereal and snack bars, at current prices, 2007-09
- Implications
- Manufacturer and brand sales of cereal and snack bars in natural supermarkets
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- Figure 15: Manufacturer brand natural supermarket sales of cereal and snack bars, 2007 and 2009
- Natural channel sales of cereal and snack bars by organic/non-organic
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- Figure 16: Natural supermarket sales of cereal and snack bars, by organic vs. non-organic, 2007 and 2009
- Natural channel sales of cereal and snack bars by gluten-free
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- Figure 17: Natural supermarket sales of cereal and snack bars, by gluten-free/not gluten-free, 2007 and 2009
Market Drivers
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- Interest in healthy eating
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- Figure 18: Attitudes towards healthy eating, 2004 and 2008
- Obesity a cause for concern
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- Figure 19: Percentage of population aged 20 and over who are overweight or obese or extremely obese, 1988-2006
- Price impact
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- Figure 20: FDMx sales of cereal and snack bars, change in dollar sales and volume sales, and effective inflation rate, 2006-09
- It’s the economy…
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- Figure 21: Changes in bar purchasing, December 2009
Leading Companies
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- Key points
- General Mills
- Kellogg
- Summary of manufacturer sales
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- Figure 22: FDMx sales of leading cereal bar and granola bar manufacturers in the U.S., 2008 and 2009
Brand Share—Granola Bars
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- Key points
- Making a healthy image even healthier
- Making healthy tastier
- Manufacturer and brand sales of granola bars
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- Figure 23: Selected manufacturer and brand sales of granola bars, 2008 and 2009
Brand Share—Breakfast/Cereal/Snack Bars
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- Key points
- The big get bigger
- Healthy, natural and tasty line extensions build share at the margins
- Manufacturer and brand sales of breakfast/cereal/snack bars
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- Figure 24: Selected manufacturer and brand sales of breakfast/cereal/snack bars, 2008 and 2009
Brand Share—Other Snack Bars
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- Key points
- A diverse collection of specialized products and emerging trends
- Manufacturer and brand sales of other snack bars
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- Figure 25: Selected manufacturer and brand sales of other snack bars, 2008 and 2009
Brand Qualities
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- Brand invaders
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- Figure 26: FDMx sales and overall category market share of select cereal and snack bar brands, 2005 and 2009
- Fiber One
- Special K
- Kashi
Innovation and Innovators
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- What’s new?
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- Figure 27: Cereal and snack bar new product launches, 2005-09
- Recent new launches concentrate on wellness, natural/organic, taste
- Wellness/functional
- All-natural, organic and beyond
- Indulgence and taste
Advertising and Promotion
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- Overview
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- Figure 28: Advertising spending of selected cereal and snack bar brands, 2007 and 2008
- Better-for-you energy a starting point for most advertising
- A chewy energy boost to power kids through a busy day
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- Figure 29: Quaker Chewy Bars, television ad, 2009
- Nutri-Grain promises to get grownups off to a better start
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- Figure 30: Nutri-Grain, television ad, 2009
- Fiber One appeals to tastebuds
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- Figure 31: Fiber One Bars, television ad, 2009
- Kellogg’s Fiber Plus “plusses things up”
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- Figure 32: Fiber Plus, television ad, 2009
- Nature Valley pushes harder on natural lifestyle
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- Figure 33: Nature Valley Granola Bars, television ad, 2010
- Employees deliver natural message for Kashi
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- Figure 34: Kashi, television ad, 2009
Usage Trends—Cereal, Breakfast, Nutrition/Protein, Bars or Granola Bars
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- Key points
- Usage of bars widespread, but showing signs of decline
- Demographic trends in usage
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- Figure 35: Incidence of adult consumption of cereal/granola/energy bars, by gender, age, household income, race/Hispanic origin and presence of children, 2007-09
- Longer-term trend in usage is up
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- Figure 36: Incidence of adult consumption of cereal/granola/energy bars, by type of bar, 2002-2008/09
- Sharpest declines among diet bars
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- Figure 37: Incidence of cereal/granola bar consumption, among bar eaters, by type of bar, 2007-09
How, When, and Why Various Types of Bars are Used
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- Key points
- Reasons for use: What’s similar among different types of bars
- Reasons for use: What’s different
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- Figure 38: Reasons for eating granola bars, cereal/breakfast bars energy/protein bars, and diet bars, December 2009
- Meal replacers most likely to replace breakfast and lunch
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- Figure 39: Granola bar, cereal/breakfast bar, energy/protein bar, and diet bar usage, type of bar, by daypart, December 2009
- Flavor a top consideration in brand selection, followed by cost
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- Figure 40: Factors influencing granola bar, cereal/breakfast bar, energy/protein bar, and diet bar purchase, by type of bar, December 2009
Who Eats Various Types of Bars?
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- Key points
- Cereal/breakfast, granola bars popular with both men and women
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- Figure 41: Types of bars eaten, by gender, December 2009
- Energy/protein bars and diet bars appeal to younger adults
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- Figure 42: Types of bars eaten, by age, December 2009
- Little income skew for granola bars and cereal/breakfast bars
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- Figure 43: Types of bars eaten, by household income, December 2009
- Households with more kids use more types of bars
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- Figure 44: Types of bars eaten, by presence and number of children, December 2009
Reasons to Eat Cereal/Breakfast Bars and Granola Bars
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- Key points
- Cereal bars: Snacking and convenience first, nutrition second
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- Figure 45: Reasons to eat cereal/breakfast bars, by gender, December 2009
- Granola bars
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- Figure 46: Reasons to eat granola bars, by gender, December 2009
Factors Influencing Brand Selection
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- Key points
- Cereal/breakfast bars
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- Figure 47: Factors influencing cereal/breakfast bar purchase, by gender, December 2009
- Older adults look for whole grains, fiber, low sodium
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- Figure 48: Factors influencing cereal/breakfast bar purchase, by age, December 2009
- Granola bars
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- Figure 49: Factors influencing granola bar purchase, by gender, December 2009
- Figure 50: Factors influencing granola bar purchase, by age, December 2009
Changes in Bar Purchasing and Impact of Cause Marketing/Environmental Positioning
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- Key points
- Signs of increased economizing in bar purchases
- Untapped potential in private label?
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- Figure 51: Changes in bar purchasing, by gender, December 2009
- Figure 52: Changes in bar purchasing, by age, December 2009
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- Figure 53: Changes in bar purchasing, by household income, December 2009
- Cause marketing and environmental positionings hold potential
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- Figure 54: Interest in cause marketing and environmental positioning when buying bars, by age, December 2009
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- Figure 55: Interest in cause marketing and environmental positioning when buying bars, by household income, December 2009
Impact of Race and Hispanic Origin
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- Key points
- Reasons to eat cereal/breakfast bars and granola bars
- Black respondents more likely to value nutritional benefits
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- Figure 56: Reasons to eat cereal/breakfast bars, by race/Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Figure 57: Reasons to eat granola bars, by race/Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Factors influencing brand selection
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- Figure 58: Factors influencing cereal/breakfast bar purchase, by race/Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Figure 59: Factors influencing granola bar purchase, by race/Hispanic origin, December 2009
Cluster Analysis
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- Flavorful snackers
- Demographics
- Characteristics:
- Opportunities
- Not at my job
- Demographics
- Characteristics:
- Opportunities
- Other bars
- Demographics
- Characteristics:
- Opportunities
- Cluster characteristics
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- Figure 60: Cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, December 2009
- Figure 61: Types of bars eaten, by cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, December 2009
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- Figure 62: Reasons for using cereal or breakfast bars, by cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, December 2009
- Figure 63: Reasons for using granola bars, by cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, December 2009
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- Figure 64: Factors influencing cereal/breakfast bar purchase, by cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, December 2009
- Figure 65: Factors influencing granola bar purchase, by cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, December 2009
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- Figure 66: Changes in bar purchasing, by cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, December 2009
- Figure 67: Interest in cause marketing and environmental positioning when buying bars, by cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, December 2009
- Cluster demographics
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- Figure 68: Cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, by gender, December 2009
- Figure 69: Cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, by age, December 2009
- Figure 70: Cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, by household income, December 2009
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- Figure 71: Cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, by race, December 2009
- Figure 72: Cereal, breakfast and granola bars clusters, by Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Cluster methodology
IRI/Builders—Key Household Purchase Measures
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- Overview of snack/granola bars
- Granola bars
- Consumer insights on key purchase measures—granola bars
- Brand map
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- Figure 73: Brand map, selected brands of granola bars, buying rate, by household penetration, 2009*
- Brand leader characteristics
- Key purchase measures
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- Figure 74: Key purchase measures for the top brands of granola bars, by household penetration, 2009*
- Breakfast/cereal/snack bars
- Consumer insights on key purchase measures—breakfast/cereal/snack bars
- Brand map
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- Figure 75: Brand map, selected brands of breakfast/cereal/snack bars, buying rate, by household penetration, 2009*
- Brand leader characteristics
- Key purchase measures
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- Figure 76: Key purchase measures for the top brands of breakfast/cereal/snack bars, by household penetration, 2009*
Appendix: Other Useful Consumer Tables
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- Reasons for eating
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- Figure 77: Reasons to eat cereal/breakfast bars, by age, December 2009
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- Figure 78: Reasons to eat cereal/breakfast bars, by household income, December 2009
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- Figure 79: Reasons to eat granola bars, by age, December 2009
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- Figure 80: Reasons to eat granola bars, by household income, December 2009
- Factors influencing purchase
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- Figure 81: Factors influencing cereal/breakfast bar purchase, by household income, December 2009
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- Figure 82: Factors influencing energy/protein bar purchase, by gender, December 2009
- Interest in cause marketing and environmental positioning
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- Figure 83: Interest in cause marketing and environmental positioning when buying bars, by gender, December 2009
Appendix: Trade Associations
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