Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Market factors
- Consumers snack twice a day
- UK food prices on the rise while RoI prices tumble
- Snacks move into meals on the go
- Healthier snacks demanded as obesity rates rise
- Lifestyle trends cause brands to innovate in healthy snacking
- Companies and innovations
- The consumer
- Chocolate and crisps popular but fruit is the go-to snack
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- Figure 1: Types of sweet snack food that consumers have eaten in the last two weeks, NI and RoI, June 2019
- Home remains the top location for snacking
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- Figure 2: Where consumers have eaten snacks in the last two weeks, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Parents monitor what children are eating
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- Figure 3: Agreement with statements related to snack foods and snacking habits, NI and RoI, June 2019
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Consumer snacking habits look promising
- RoI food prices drop while UK prices soar
- Traditional meals under threat from ‘sanctification’
- Rising obesity rates shed light on unhealthy snacks
- Lifestyle trends cause brands to innovate in healthy snacking
Market Drivers
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- Most snack 2-3 times a day
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- Figure 4: Frequency consumers snack between meals on average day, NI and RoI, June 2019
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- Figure 5: Consumers who snack twice in a regular day, by gender, NI and RoI, June 2019
- Food prices on the rise in the UK but falling in RoI
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- Figure 6: Consumer Price Index for food, RoI, May 2017-Apr 2019
- Figure 7: Consumer Price Index, by sub-category, RoI, September 2017-April 2019
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- Figure 8: Consumer Price Index for food and drink, UK (including NI), May 2017-April 2019
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- Figure 9: Consumer Price Index, by sub-category, UK including NI, September 2017-April 2019
- Snacks ‘eating’ into other meal occasions
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- Figure 10: Consumer agreement with statements related to breakfast, NI and RoI, August 2018
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- Figure 11: The amount of time consumers spent eating lunch on an everyday occasion in the last three months, NI and RoI, January 2018
- Obesity rates rising could spell trouble for snacking category
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- Figure 12: Overweight and obesity levels in adults aged 16+, NI, 2010/11-2017/18
- Figure 13: Overweight and obesity levels in adults aged 15+, RoI, 2015/16 and 2016/17
- Children’s obesity rates cause parents to seek out healthier alternatives
- Sugar crackdown prompts snacks to innovate
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- Figure 14: How consumers manage their sugar intake, NI and RoI, June 2017
- A focus on protein remains in snacking but fibre is emerging
Who’s Innovating? – What You Need to Know
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- Environmental claims remain widespread in snacking
- Snacks look to alcohol to appeal to adults
- Adding vegetables to sweet biscuits gives a healthier image
- Can healthy crisps be considered indulgent too?
Who’s Innovating?
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- Snacking continues to be an innovative and dynamic occasion
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- Figure 15: Total new products launched in snacks categories, UK and Ireland, January 14-May 2019
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- Figure 16: Total new products launched in the snacks categories, by percentage growth of claims, UK and Ireland, 2014-18
- Innovation in snack and energy bars almost doubles
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- Figure 17: New product development of snack, energy and cereal bars launched in the UK and Ireland, by select claims, 2014-18
- Are collagen claims next for snack bars?
- Pastries and sweet goods see 40% growth in NPD
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- Figure 18: New product development of cakes, pastries and sweet goods launched in the UK and Ireland, by select claims, 2014-19
- Chocolate positions indulgence
- Sugar reduction in chocolate becomes mainstream
- NPD in sweet biscuits soars but opportunities exist in savoury biscuits
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- Figure 19: New product development of sweet biscuits/cookies and savoury biscuits/crackers launched in the UK and Ireland, 2014-19
- Alcohol-pairing biscuits targets adults
- Five a day crisps: the future?
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Chocolate favoured in sweet snacking but crisps top salty snacks
- Home preferred for snacking but on-the-go consumption increasing
- Healthy snacks preferred at retailer checkout
Types of Snacks Eaten
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- Sweet biscuits remain a favourite
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- Figure 20: Types of sweet snack food that consumers have eaten in the last two weeks, NI and RoI, June 2019
- Chocolate is the most popular sweet snack
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- Figure 21: Consumers who have eaten chocolate in the last two weeks as a snack, by gender and generation, NI and RoI, June 2019
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- Figure 22: Chocolate and confectionery preferences, by branded vs own-label, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Crisps are the top savoury snack
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- Figure 23: Types of savoury snack food that consumers have eaten in the last two weeks, NI and RoI, June 2019
- Crisps can tap into foodservice trends
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- Figure 24: Consumers who have eaten crisps in the last two weeks as a snack, NI and RoI, June 2019
- Yogurt remains popular for snacking
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- Figure 25: Types of other snack food that consumers have eaten in the last two weeks, NI and RoI, June 2019
- Frozen fruit and veg snack pots can target waste-conscious consumers
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- Figure 26: Consumers who have eaten fruit and/or vegetables in the last two weeks as a snack, NI and RoI, June 2019
Snacking Locations
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- Nine in 10 snack at home
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- Figure 27: Where consumers have eaten snacks in the last two weeks, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Home snacking offers potential for indulgence positioning
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- Figure 28: Consumers who have eaten snacks while at home in the last two weeks, by generation, NI and RoI, June 2019
- Travelling creates more demand for on-the-go functionality
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- Figure 29: Consumers who have eaten snacks while commuting/travelling vs while out shopping in the last two weeks, NI and RoI, June 2019
Attitudes towards Snacking
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- Eight in 10 monitor children’s snacking habits
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- Figure 30: Agreement with statements related to snack foods and snacking habits, NI and RoI, June 2019
- Irish consumers support snack tax
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- Figure 31: Consumer agreement with statements related to snacking, NI and RoI, June 2019
- Consumers dubious about ‘healthy’ snacks
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- Figure 32: Consumer agreement with the statement ‘I am concerned a lot of so-called healthy snacks are actually high in sugar/salt/fat’, by gender, NI and RoI, June 2019
- Snacks have a potential to position de-stressing functionality
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- Figure 33: Consumer agreement with the statement ‘I eat indulgent snacks when I want to cheer myself up’, by gender and age, NI and RoI, June 2019
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Data sources
- Generational cohort definitions
- Abbreviations
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