Baking & Snack - December 2010 - 46

2011 TRENDS FORECAST

model helps managers quantify
consumer changes and prepare for
shifts in tastes. One example revealed pretzels as a popular snack
among consumers in the Midwest
and Northeast regions but not
in the South.

Mr.
Singleton
predicted
snack flavor profiles will evolve
from intensely hot and spicy
to more flavorful options influenced by the taste profiles of Caribbean, Cuban and
Puerto Rican foods.

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BAKING & SNACK / December 2010

KEEP IT COPACETIC. Taste will always remain primary, but a renewed
emphasis on personal values has
consumers re-evaluating how their
money is spent and analyzing the
companies they do business with.
Unfortunately, those definitions of
environmental responsibility and
sustainability differ from company
to company and consumer to consumer. Today, it's crucial that manufacturers stay abreast of the changing,
and somewhat arbitrary, societal and
environmental norms, or they risk
receiving backlash from consumers
in the form of boycotts and social
media-related protests. In fact, 71%
of Americans say they make it a point
to buy from companies whose values
are similar to their own, according to
Brand Asset Consulting.
Recently, some companies have
been in the media spotlight for doing what appeared to be the right
thing. Frito-Lay, Plano, TX, recently
found itself backing off from using a
much-lauded compostable bag for
its Sun Chips brand in the US after consumer complaints about the
noisy bag surfaced on Facebook.
Proving there's no hard and fast rule
to any of this, Fast Company magazine later reported that Frito-Lay
Canada turned the mostly negative US sentiment into a humorous
positive with an informational video
about why Frito-Lay Canada was
keeping the compostable bag along
with a tongue-in-cheek offer for free
earplugs if the bags proved too noisy.
The growing use of technology
coupled with changing consumer
mindsets means there's no comprehensive playbook for the new consumer. Much like the new frontier
created by Web 2.0 and social media
applications several years ago, companies should expect an occasional
stumble among the successes. Open
communication, a healthy dose of
patience and liberal use of technology will remain important tools for
deciphering and meeting the everevolving needs of consumers.
◾

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Baking & Snack - December 2010

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