CATEGORYFOCUS: Snack Revolution
The snack category is big business. And the consumer trend toward seeking more healthful treats can unleash new opportunities for the produce department. According to the 2014 Nielsen Global Snacking Survey, snack sales in the U.S. and Canada totaled $124 billion — an increase of 2% over the previous year.
Perhaps the best news for the produce department is that, according to Nielsen, consumers worldwide say that if they had to choose one kind of snack, they would pick fresh fruit. Chocolate was their second choice.
An Eating Occasions study conducted by The Hartman Group in 2013 reports that 64% of consumers said they were eating fruits and vegetables as snacks more often than they were ve years earlier, and 61% said they were making healthier choices when selecting snacks.
“Non-sugary snacks closely aligned with meal-replacement foods are showing strong growth, which signals a shift in a consumer mindset to one focused on health,” Susan Dunn, executive vice president, Global Professional Services, says in Nielsen’s survey.
At retail, fruits and vegetables — including products like fresh-cut fruit produce, berries and mandarin oranges — make up about a quarter of snacking dollar sales, says Jen Campuzano, client director for Nielsen Perishables Group.
But she says there’s potential for produce to have an even larger corner on the market.
“Traditional staples with stagnant or declining sales can work to capture more snacking dollar sales by reinforcing the product’s ‘snackability’ through in-store merchandising or through packaging that makes the product more convenient for consumers with busy lifestyles,” she says.
For example, a pre-cut melon is nothing new, she says, “but pre-cut melon in a portioned package that can be thrown in a bag could capture dollar sales from a base of consumers seeking healthy and convenient snacking.”
Healthful replacements
Produce suppliers say they increasingly see consumers replacing traditional sweet and salty snacks with more healthful options.
“Fresh produce has undoubtedly become a snack of choice in the U.S.,” says Dionysios Christou, vice president of marketing for Miami-based Del Monte Fresh Produce NA Inc.
“As the need and demand for healthier lifestyles continues to surge,” he says, “we’ve found that today’s consumers have come to expect healthy, tasty, convenient fresh products to satisfy their snacking needs while living their hectic lives.”
Christou says that all of Del Monte’s whole and fresh-cut fruit and vegetable lines are popular snacking items – including bananas, fresh-cut pineapple, apples, fresh-cut celery and carrots sticks.
“Since consumers have grown to expect healthy snacks that are fresh, convenient, and on-the-go, many of our newest items, such as our fresh guacamole and Del Monte fresh-cut pineapple and watermelon spears are
also very popular,” he adds.
Today, consumers are looking for health and value as well as indulgence and convenience with their snacks, says Tristan Simpson, chief marketing officer for Ready Pac Foods Inc., Irwindale, Calif.
“We are already seeing the location of snacks shift from the traditional boxed salty snack aisle to the fresh produce section of stores based on consumer demand for fresh and healthy eating,” she says in a recent news release. “We see this trend of healthy snacking continuing to grow, but with added requirements for more on-the-go convenience.”
Business is up
Retailers are starting to notice an increase in snack business.
“The biggest thing right now is all the cut fruit cups,” says Tom Oberholtzer, produce manager at a Darrenkamps Food Market in Lancaster, Pa.
Darrenkamps packs cut watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple and mixed fruit in-store in 12-, 24- and 48-ounce containers and merchandises them in a 16-foot, double-sided refrigerated case.
“It is a big business,” he says.
Prepackaged carrots with dip also are good sellers, and the stores package their own dried fruit, which is merchandised a bulk foods section, Oberholtzer says.
Darrenkamps also offers small trays of cauliflower and broccoli florets, grape tomatoes baby carrots and celery stems.
The five San Diego-based Jimbo’s … Naturally! stores don’t carry any pre-packed snacks, says Kelly Hartford, director of marketing, but they do have an in-house program in which organic produce is cut fresh and packaged.
“As far as snacks go, our veggie dippers are by far the most popular item,” Hartford says.
Veggie dippers are merchandised in the produce department and cross merchandised in the deli department with the packaged hummus and other dips, she says.
At the County Market location in Macomb, Ill., produce manager Denny Noel offers snack options like apple slices with dips and garden-cut fruit such as pineapple, strawberries and grapes in plastic containers that some shoppers seem to be picking up in place of candy or other snacks or even for a light lunch, he says.
“We have them in a refrigerated case next to our salads,” he says.
The store also features veggie chips and apple chips in season in 2- to 3-ounce bags that retail for $1.99.
As the surge in healthy snacking continues, demand will be driven primarily by both health considerations and taste, says Nielsen’s Dunn.
“Consumers are not willing to compromise on either,” she says. “The right balance is ultimately decided by the consumer at the point of purchase.”