Sales of biscuits, crackers/crispbread and cereal/snack bars were up by just under 1% in 2015 to £2.8 billion. Sweet biscuits that account for nearly two thirds of the market by value weathered the storm of negative media coverage about sugar. While consumers are clearly concerned about sugar intake, so far this has not translated into reduced demand for biscuits that most people see as a permissible treat.

2015 was a relatively quiet year for sweet biscuits in terms of major new product launches, with the main emphasis being on brand extensions. Savoury biscuits saw the launch of more savoury baked snacks to take advantage of baked products being seen as more healthy than fried. This means the boundaries between savoury biscuits and crisps have become increasingly blurred.

While savoury biscuits might be seen as a substitute for crisps, this is less the case for sweet biscuits. The latter can look to add value through the development of more premium products that appeal to those looking for special treats, while both sweet and savoury products can focus on catering for more usage occasions, including the important on-the-go market.

This Report covers sweet and savoury biscuits and crackers as well as cereal, snack and energy bars sold through retail channels.

Sweet biscuits include:

• Everyday biscuits: sweet and semi-sweet biscuits defined as those which are not individually wrapped, such as digestives, Rich Tea and wafers.

• Everyday treats: biscuits with added ingredients such as chocolate coatings, cream or jam fillings. This includes products such as chocolate digestives and Jaffa Cakes.

• Special treat biscuits: biscuits with added ingredients such as chocolate, cream or jam fillings with an emphasis on indulgence. This includes brands such as Cadbury’s Fingers, McVitie’s Boasters and Fox’s Fabulously Special Selection.

• Chocolate biscuit bars: individually wrapped chocolate-covered biscuits. This includes brands such as Rocky, Penguin, Club and Breakaway. The products classified as biscuits of brands like KitKat are included.

• Children’s biscuits: includes brands such as Burton’s Jammie Dodgers, Burton’s Wagon Wheels and Cadbury’s Animals.

• Healthier biscuits are biscuits with a clear health positioning such as low fat, but also include organic and gluten-free.

• Seasonal biscuits.

Non-sweet biscuits include:

• Crackers and crispbreads: includes savoury cracker biscuits, crispbreads, toasts, crisp rolls and matzos (eg Cream Crackers and Water Biscuits) as well as snack-style products sold in the savoury biscuit aisle of the supermarket (eg Ryvita Minis).

• Savoury biscuits: including cheese-flavoured biscuits, thins, oatcakes, flavoured biscuits (not crackers), cheese straws, breadsticks and sesame seed biscuits (eg TUC, Ritz, Cheddars). Mini bite-sized baked snacks, based on existing savoury biscuits, which tend to be merchandised in the savoury biscuit aisle in the multiple grocers (eg Mini TUC, Oddities) are included.

• Rice cakes: including rice cakes and rice crackers. Excludes cereal bar formats such as Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Squares and Nature’s Path Organic Rice Bites.

Cereal and snack bars include fruit-based, nut-/seed-based, cereal-/granola-based bars, energy/exercise bars (eg Trek Bar), but excludes sports nutrition bars (eg MaxiNutrition) and meal replacement bars targeted for dieting.

This Report excludes:

• Chocolate confectionery countline products not positioned as biscuits (eg Mars bars, Snickers).

• Savoury snacks, such as Quavers and Doritos, which are fried or extruded, and not baked as biscuits.

• Brands, the core products of which are bite-sized, bagged savoury biscuits, typically positioned in the crisps and snacks aisle, despite being oven-baked, for example Pretzels and Twiglets.

• Cracker and cheese or meat products that are packaged together, and sold in the chiller cabinet for example Lunchables or Cathedral City Lunch Packs.

The market definition differs from that used by MMS (Mintel Market Sizes) in that chocolate biscuit bars are included in this Report.