SNAC World - Official State of the Industry 2020 - 44

PREPARED SNACKS

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

ON THE MOVE

Refrigerated lunc
lunch trays, aka "adult Lunchables,"
popularity by appealing to on-the-go
have gained popu
looking
consumers looki
lookin for a fresh, snack-like meal
nuts, fruits and whole grain crackers.
with protein, nuts
by consumer preference for portable
However, driven b
convenience, it is not surprising that this category
declined in overall growth during the pandemic.
"Stay-at-home orders increased consumer opportunity to snack because food choices were readily
available, convenient with fewer barriers to consumption," said Tom Vierhile,
vice president, strategic
insights, North America,
Innova Market Insights.
"Conversely, cooking at
home and a return to
more traditional meals
compete with the on-thego convenience-driven
lifestyles enjoyed by consumer pre-COVID."
Fresh foods were outpacing packaged snacks
pre-pandemic, but now
people are not out as
much, and they are concerned about food safety.
Foodservice and in-store
bakery/deli products were

TOP

bypassed for packaged or frozen food choices.
"This trend will not likely last, but snack producers
have a window of opportunity to add a freshness cue
to help products feel fresh or deliver the taste of fresh
foods. Refrigerated snack trays are a good investment
for innovation," said Kara Nielsen, director, Food and
Drink, WGSN, a global trend forecasting company.
Adult lunch trays already have a fresh, whole food
healthy halo. They contain snacking cheeses combined with meats, nuts, dried fruits, crackers and
chocolates that appeal to consumers. Adult snack
trays will likely remain popular.
Consumers today are multi-cultural, and younger
demographics have a love affair with global foods and
cultures.
"For a more sophisticated, global snack niche there
are these cheese and guava paste combination snack
trays, such as pepper jack cheese with a guava jelly
condiment. These combined flavors deliver on taste,"
Ms. Nielsen said. "They could be packaged as a
single-serve snack or sized slightly larger for a small
group happy hour at home."
For now, there is limited access to supermarket
delis, and commercial trays in the refrigerated section
have an opportunity to reach those adults working
from home who are tired of what they've been eating
and want something a little different. Experimentation
with flavors, components and packaging formats will
benefit commercial adult lunch trays.

PREPARED SNACK BRANDS
Volume
Sales

Unit Sales

($mil)

%
Change

(mil)

%
Change

Total Meat/Cheese/Cracker

$2,466.6

-0.1%

1,188.1

-6.5%

357.7

-6.5%

Lunchables

$1,082.6

-1.8%

593.1

-15.1%

183.1

-11.2%

Sargento Balanced Breaks

$157.3

-4.6%

42.5

-6.6%

13.6

-2.4%

Armour Lunch Makers Cracker Crunchers

$151.1

9.5%

147.4

13.4%

23.6

4.3%

Hillshire Snacking

$138.7

10.2%

48.4

9.8%

8.6

11.6%

P-3

$121.9

-9.0%

68.9

-1.9%

12.4

-7.3%

BRAND

Dollar Sales

(mil lb)

Source: IRI
Total US Multi-outlet | 52 Weeks Ending 06-14-20 | Note: Many companies may have multiple brand listings in the IRI data.

SNAC WORLD 2020

%
Change

SNAC World - Official State of the Industry 2020

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