Snack World - May 2014 - (Page 20)

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT fresh fruit sales increased by 18.4% over the previous 52 weeks, although accounting for just 2% of sales by the 55 distributors reporting to InfoMetrics. Ms. Wyatt pointed out that retailers have done a good job making healthy snacks accessible, as 60% of consumers said this is the case. Natural snack sales increased 14.2% over the year, with total natural food and beverages up 106%. Organic snacks increased 6.9%, while total organic food and beverages increased 12.4%. "All of the publicity about GMOs last year got more people to buy organic," Ms. Wyatt said. "It's making a difference in the trends, and retailers have figured it out." Moreover, products that make some sort of health claim on their packaging are doing well. A greater numbers of stores are carrying snack options like vegetable and hummus chips, she noted. "If you are playing in this area, keep it up," Ms. Wyatt advised. "If not, you might want to consider it." Nevertheless, she said there is plenty of action on indulgent snacks, noting that 68% of consumers look for snacks that are fun to eat. Some leaders include chocolate-covered salty snacks, up 15.2%, dried meat snacks, up 4.6%, and frozen handheld non-breakfast entrees up 3.4%. While Ms. Wyatt advised companies to leverage social media as well as other forms of advertising, she stressed the importance IRI charts include more robust data To provide Snack Food Association members with more value, the association invested in more in-depth data from IRI, a Chicago-based research firm. This year's charts contain multi-outlet statistics that include reporting from the grocery, drug and mass merchandiser channels as well as census data from Wal-Mart, club stores, dollar and the military. In addition to information from more than 120 supermarket chains, the charts include IRI data from Walgreens, CVS and other leading drug stores, Target, Wal-Mart, BJ's, Sam's Club, Dollar General and Family Dollar, to name a few. SFA would like to thank all of its members who participated in this year's report. For more information on the IRI data, contact the SFA at (703) 846-4500. of in-store merchandising. "Tout it in-store," she said. "If it's about indulgence, that's OK, but getting the message in-store is absolutely essential." She advised marketers to take advantage of social media and couponing to bring shoppers into the store, but the sale must be closed in-store. Ms. Wyatt advised snack marketers to manage the "path to purchase," noting that price is still very important with 84% of shoppers looking for the best value, up 8%. However, 91% want snacks to taste good, and 66% want snacks that provide sustenance. Guaranteed fresh is sought by 72% of consumers, while 45% want portable snacks. Even airlines today are providing inspiration for snack sellers, Ms. Wyatt said, noting that some are selling a variety of snack packs online, and that some manufacturers, such as Kraft, are putting together portable protein packs. "I think we are going to see snack packs coming into market in retail more than you might know," she predicted. Competition for snack sales is coming from an ever-increasing variety of outlets, including such online sellers as Boxtera, which for a monthly fee will deliver snack products to the consumer's door, the multitude of food trucks that are popping up across the nation, as well as leading convenience stores like Wawa and 7-Eleven with online ordering and offering both healthy and indulgent options for snacks and meals. Ms. Wyatt advised snack manufacturers to take advantage of all day parts, tailoring products to the types of occasions they wish to target, from early morning to late night, keeping in mind the snacking habits of age groups and other demographics. She noted that early morning snacking in 2010 was at 7% of consumers, and now it is 14%. While snack sales in every day part have increased, evening snacking has skyrocketed from 44% in 2010 to 62%, and late evening from 24% to 46%. According to IRI data, the top five morning snacks are yogurt, preferred by 32% of consumers; bakery snacks by 28%; snack bars, 21%; dairy/ yogurt-based beverages, 18%; and fruit-based smoothies 17%. Ms. Wyatt advised marketers to pay attention to trends at quick-serve restaurants, which are increasingly moving into the breakfast battleground, to understand the characteristics of consumers who frequent them and for which day part. * STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT BROUGHT TO YOU BY HEAT & CONTROL, J.R. SHORT, PRINTPACK, RUDOLPH FOODS AND GE CAPITAL 20 Snack World May 2014 www.sfa.org http://www.sfa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Snack World - May 2014

Snack World - May 2014