Snacking: The Classics

NUTS
Traditional nuts are still a popular snack and are ideal for busy on-the-go consumers. More spicy and interesting flavours are coming through to add that extra kick, such as The Sun Valley Nut Co. which offers Spicy BBQ peanuts and corn for a fiery new flavour combination. Boundless also has its bagged active nuts and seeds with combinations like Cayenne & Rosemary.
Nut butters are also now so much more than just a spread for toast and are seen as a snacking option in their own right, ideal with fruit, crackers or straight out of the jar with a spoon. Gone are the days where the only options where smooth or crunchy peanut butter, with the marketplace now flooded full of different nut butters, which includes almond and cashew.

POPCORN
Figures from the Snack, Nut and Crisp Manufacturers Association state that UK manufacturers are thought to be producing around 12,000 to 15,000 metric tonnes of bagged popcorn per year. The industry is soaring, especially with the emphasis on healthy eating, with popcorn being seen as a less naughty snacking option. Being perceived as healthier is not stopping brands from bringing out new flavour combinations however, whether that be sweet, savoury or a mixture of the two. We have seen the likes of sweet & salty, toffee and caramel on the shelves for awhile, but brands like Popcorn Shed are offering plenty of ‘gourmet’ popcorn options, with flavours including Berry-licious and Pecan Pie.

STOCKING IDEAS: GOURMET POPCORN FLAVOURS
 JOE & SEPH’S GIN & TONIC
Sweet, crisp tonic followed by the citrus and juniper notes of dry London Gin
 POPCORN SHED’S SWEET CHEESUS
Cheddar cheese and sweet, buttery caramel
 PROPER CORN PEANUT BUTTER & ALMOND
A smooth blend of peanut and almond for a rich nut butter hit

CHOCOLATE
According to Kantar WorldPanel’s ‘Eat Drink & Be Healthy: How At-Home Consumption is Changing’ report, chocolate is the most popular snack in the evening for Brits on 16% of occasions. Many dark chocolate products can cater to the vegan consumer, featuring high quality fruit and nuts.
Candice Fonseca from Delifonseca explains, “Raw chocolate brands are also doing exceedingly well at the moment as they combine health benefits with little to no dairy content. Branding and packaging plays an important role in the appeal of a product and customers often feel like they are buying into a healthier, more organic lifestyle based on marketing alone.”

CRISPS
Crisps are a classic snacking staple, with good quality potato crisps continuously doing well. According to Kantar WorldPanel, Brits spent an extra £25.9m on crisps over the past year [52 w/e 30 December 2018], showing that demand is most definitely still there. Well-known brands are experimenting with different flavour combinations, taking influences from global palettes and some a little closer to home.
“Our Bacon & Tomato crisps fill a gap in the market for vegan-friendly snacks that offer a really great, robust flavour. All of our crisps are made using our own home-grown potatoes and we know that our local credentials and provenance are particularly appealing to consumers looking for better quality snacks,” says Laura Strathern, co-founder of Fairfields Farm.

For the full article download Snack Buyer 2019 and turn to page 14.