With all the media and healthcare community emphasis on healthy eating, how are we doing? For instance, have we turned to healthier snacks?
According to recent research by Nielsen:
“Hungry? The average person reaches for 12 different kinds of snacks in any given month. Why do we snack? That depends on any number of reasons — reasons that differ by gender, generation, and income level.”
“Traditionally indulgent, easy-to-consume snacking staples like chocolate, crackers, ice cream, cookies, and chips dominated sales during the 52-weeks ending June 27, 2015, but the pace of growth is slowing. While sensibly indulgent products with built-in portion control, such as mini pies and mini brownies, have grown by double digits, healthier alternatives have joined the ranks of the most lucrative snacking products. Greek yogurt, fresh cut fruit, and deli dips, such as hummus, combined for more than $6 billion in sales during the 52-weeks ending June 27, 2015. With a combined growth rate of 8.4% over the prior year, it’s clear that consumers are finding ways to satisfy their snacking needs with healthy alternatives.”
Click the chart to learn more from Nielsen.
I think that it is understandable as to why mini-indulgent snacks have been rising in sales. However, I don’t think that smaller portions are solving the obesity problem that American is constantly facing. I personally stay away from processed foods on a daily, but I know from people around me that when they have a 100 calorie bag of cookies, they are usually tempted to go for another bag. Whereas a half gallon of ice cream costs about the same as a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, Ben & Jerry’s has far less to offer in regards to quantity. Analysts should look into how many of each product are being purchased in one transaction because mini-indulgent snacks usually are significantly less in quantity than regular indulgent snacks. This post poses the question of whether or not less is really more.
I love this post. Snacks are a billion dollar industry and that is a conservative estimate. Thank you for this post and the comment!
We trade our time for money and at least six other valuable things when buying snacks. the real estate of the grocery store shelf has a science and a cost to it.
I hope to respond to some very thought provoking statements in this post on my blog. Please read comment! https://iblogstats.wordpress.com/2015/10/03/niche-blogs-ipri/
https://iblogstats.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/the-proability-of-being-of-your-blogwork-being-plagiarised/
People nowadays have more concerns on health. Many people regard snacks as evil, because most of them are unhealthy, containing too much sugar and calories. It is not surprising that the sales indulgent snacks grew slowly. However, people love snacks. They are eager to find something healthy and addictive to replace those indulgent food. It is time for businesses to launch more healthier snacks to satisfy consumers needs.
I think that this shows the influence of healthy foods have played an impact on our society. I see first hand on a college campus, the amount of people snacking on fruit available to be more than a bag of potato chips. This is very interesting to see due to the fact that growing up, I did not see too much of a healthy food push until my college years. Once studies of how bad snack foods are came out, it was obvious that the response was negative towards fast food and snack foods alike. It will be intriguing to see where restaurants, fast food places, and grocery stores go from here since healthy food is such a prominent push in our society.
I find this post to be extremely interesting as it hits home for me personally! Growing up, my parents always ensured we had healthy snacks in the house such as fruits, vegetables, etc. However, outside my house, I remember children my age always brought chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, etc. for a snack during halftime of our local recreational soccer games. I remember being so excited as it was a treat for me to have one of these indulgences! My point being was back then people were not as health conscious as people nowadays. I remember my mom would always make fruit smoothies for me when I was just a little girl. It was hard to go find a healthy fruit smoothie at that time before Jamba Juice, Juice Blends, etc. were around. In this current day and age, people expect these type of choices to be available for them and this article explicitly presents that. Consumers not only want what tastes good but what is nutritionally good as well for their bodies. Thus, businesses must keep on keeping it on with individuals’ healthy choices!
I am not surprised that people are switching from unhealthy snacks to healthy alternatives when they have a craving. There is so much information available on the negative physiological effects of unhealthy snacking that it is impossible to ignore the effects it has on our daily lives. I personally have switched from snacks primarily consisting of chips and cupcakes to healthier alternatives like fruits and granola bars. It is definitely harder to choose the health snack over the tastier, unhealthy snack when they are both readily available, but it is worth it. Even though I support healthy snacking, I feel that it is also important to indulge in an unhealthy snack once in a while.
True, there has been huge shift from poor diet and exercise to a more healthy lifestyle, but the main reason why the sale of nutritious foods won’t match their unhealthy counterparts is because of pricing. It is a known fact that when you go into a grocery store, it is cheaper to buy a 2-liter bottle of soda than a package of water, or purchase a bag of chips over a bag of apples. There is even a joke among people that Wholefoods, known purely for their strict healthy food options, is only for the rich. One would have to be rich to have a constant healthy diet. The food that is good for you is always not good for your wallet. I live middle class area, but along with the rest of America, my family has experienced tough times. Not everyone has a vast amount of money, so for those who don’t, it is cheaper to be full off of the value menu at a fast food restaurant, then waste your money and be hungry on one apple. It is a good thing that people are becoming more health conscious, but I doubt that the companies that provide consumers with fruits, vegetables, and yogurt will ever dominate over the snack/junk food industry if their prices remain the same.
After reading this article I do agree that typically indulgent snacks such as chocolate, ice cream, crackers, or cookies are in high demand from many people. But I do also feel that healthier choices such as Greek yogurt, humus, fruit and veggies are making their way more and more into the snack market. Personally I know that if I am going for a snack I am going to pick something on the healthier side. Yes, I do have my cookies and chocolate, but not as much as I would have humus and carrots or a piece of fruit. Diet is a major focus in our society today and as time goes on more and more people are concerned about their bodies and all of the food they put into it.
There is no doubt that, today people pay more attention to their health, they care more about their own body than before. The reason why they are so serious with this is that maybe more people are aware that they have consume many snacks and junk food. However, not eating snacks is really a difficult decision, i think i can not do it, because they are so convenient for my life and delicious.
I think that this article just goes to show how times are changing and how we, the population as whole, are beginning to see the need for healthier eating and are trying to improve on what we consume. From what I can remember as a kid, I don’t think anyone would enjoy eating fruits and vegetables as a snack. Most kids I know would just throw out their fruits so that it looked like they ate it. I personally would rather have a greek yogurt or an apple when I become hungry, rather than junk food that I know will not actually make me full.
It is very important to eat nourishing but healthy food and decrease fats, these can really help you to keep the health. The truth is many snacks have combined some components that can take benefit to our health without changing the taste, likes Diet Coke. When Diet Coke launched out, the regular Coke is moved far away in my life. Back to the article, health is the key for the food industry now, people eager to find something more healthier between two alternative products. So for business there is no choice that products must meet the customers’ requirement.
It’s interesting that finding healthy and delicious alternatives to regular processed snacks has become more popular, as society seems to be moving in a direction where health is prioritized. Therefore, it seems as though food manufacturers appear to be catering to this shift in lifestyle. However, while the overall changes in the statistics of what is being bought is interesting, I think it would be more interesting to look at the costs of healthy snacks and compare why the costs of snacks to the desire for a healthier lifestyle.
In my perception, snacks is some kind of unhealthy things like candy and chip. But now even slice fruit can be snack. Obviously, the concept of snack in my head are already change. Lifestyle change now, thus traditional snack industry may not satisfied consumers anymore. I believe that healthy snacks can be consider as a new niche for snack industry. This article make me realize that marketing should always match changes. There is nothing can live for a long time without change. Also, as long as you can find a new niche to satisfied or stimulate consumers need there is always an opportunity in every industry, even though this industry is already full of competitor.
I can see how salty snacks would be the most popular, because they are usually easily accessible, as they are typically stored in a cabinet, or in the case of a college dorm room, a bin under your bed. I personally prefer fruit and vegetables to snack on, but I don’t always have some in my fridge. I have a lot of protein bars, except when I eat them it is usually a substitute for breakfast when I don’t have time to get breakfast, rather than a snack.
I love snacks omg, healthy snacks and unhealthy snacks, it doesn’t even matter. Sometimes you want to indulge in something that isn’t necessarily good for you every now and again. I like the many options of snacks that are accessible to all of us. I don’t like the fact that to be healthier costs so much more than to be unhealthy. We should be able to afford to be healthy especially children who live in low income areas and are surrounded by only fast food places.