Give Them Their Snack Fix

Snacking has gotten a bad rap throughout the years. Empty calories and mindless munching have sabotaged many a well-intended diet.

Fortunately snack time is evolving to become a welcome part of the day. New products that balance both health and indulgence are helping consumers feel good about treating themselves. As a result, the salty snack category is seeing large gains and overall growth.

According to a January report titled “Salty Snacks — US” from global market research firm Mintel, the overall salty snacks category is expected to grow an additional 21 percent between 2014 and 2019 as a result of an increase in snacking occasions and continuous product innovation.

On the run

Given today’s busy lifestyles, it should come as little surprise that we do so much of our eating while on the run. Convenience foods such as salty snacks keep us satisfied until our next meal.

“There is a sudden competition for the snack food space and consumer attention,” says Mark Singleton, vice president of sales and marketing for Rudolph Foods, Lima, Ohio, and chairman of the Arlington, Va.-based Snack Food Association. “On the aisle, we are finding competition arising from new areas, including better-for-you snack options and cereal.”

Kelly McGolrick, senior director of category management and customer marketing for Shearer’s Snacks, Massillon, Ohio, agrees.

“The biggest growth drivers tend to be better-for-you snacks,” she says, “as well as a proliferation of flavor types and varieties.”

Health-minded product claims include lower sodium, whole-grain and non-GMO, among others.

“[Consumers] are willing to pay a premium for that health benefit,” says Roya Rohani, vice president of marketing for Balance Foods, Irvine, Calif. “Retailers need to look for snacks with ‘fortified’ ingredients that consumers are looking for.”

Better-for-you snacks that taste great are worth the added cost. Product seasonings play a key part when developing product flavors. Incorporating better-quality ingredients can help a retailer’s private label salty snack stand out.

“Using top-of-the-line healthier ingredients is a major advantage in the salty snack industry,” notes Anna Moses, director of sales and marketing, Ziggy’s Kettle Corn, Clifton, N.J. “We have found that after including Himalayan Pink Salt in our products, more and more food manufacturers are following our lead.”

Singleton agrees.

“There’s a huge opportunity for development with better-for-you ingredients — lower-sodium items that still have all of the flavor of the traditional snacks we love and using new trend[y] ingredients like quinoa and kale in different ways to entice snackers into the aisles,” he says.

And lately, protein-packed snacks have garnered attention. Take pork rinds, for example.

“Pork rinds contain more protein than almonds or mixed nuts,” Singleton explains. “One serving of pork rinds is higher in protein and lower in fat than a single serving of peanuts.”

Tortilla chips are another major opportunity for retailers of private label salty snacks.

“Unlike the potato chip segment, which is saturating the market, the tortilla chip segment is underdeveloped,” says Scott Carpenter, president and CEO of Savor Street Foods Inc., Wyomissing, Pa. “It’s definitely a growth opportunity for retailers.”

Other segments continuing their strong growth on the store brand side include popcorn, gluten-free items, crackers and extruded items, Carpenter adds.

Message received

When it comes to merchandising private label salty snacks, retailers need to think inside and outside the salty snack aisle.

“For many shoppers, they’re an impulse buy,” McGolrick explains, “while the same number plan to purchase them and make them part of their daily grocery routine.”

As a result, she explains, display support is crucial to reach shoppers no matter where they are in their purchasing decision.

“Recently, we’ve seen some private label brands reduce their display support,” she adds, “which, in turn, has shown a reduction in store inventories and sales.”

Retailers need to realize just how important merchandising is to the category.

“No matter how good a retailer’s private brand products and packaging designs may be,” Carpenter says, “they also need to be sure to implement a good merchandising strategy,” adding that retailers could integrate store brand salty snacks into unique display vehicles and seasonal themes.

Packaging and/or corrugated displays should also be colorful and eye-catching, Moses says. And retailers should consider product demonstrations and giveaways.

According to Rohani, social media and social marketing tie-ins are very good ways of getting exposure in this category. And cobranding is another excellent opportunity.

“By combining promotions of snacks with a drink or salsa brand, especially during the Super Bowl or a holiday like Memorial Day weekend,” Rohani explains, retailers could significantly boost sales of own-brand snacks.

Catchy promotional pricing could also be used to grab a shopper’s attention.

“Consumers are really engaged by catchy promotional pricing [such as] two for $2.22 or four for $5.00,” Singleton says. “Impulse purchases tend to go up, and consumers will buy more of a product at one time.”

Clean it up

On the packaging front, retailers are realizing that less can mean more when it comes to the design of own-brand salty snack packaging.

“We have seen a shift in consumer preferences toward a cleaner package design — less is definitely more today,” Singleton says. “Consumers want to be able to clearly see” what the product is and “how it is different.”

Rohani agrees.

“Good, simple design that allows consumers to read the packaging and understand what they are getting is half the battle,” Rohani explains.

He urges retailers to avoid putting every callout on the front of the package. Instead, they should use icons instead of callouts to make reading the package easier and faster.

However, simple does not mean boring.

The packaging should always be eye-catching, Moses says. Retailers should avoid the cheap, flimsy packaging that has shown up on some store brand salty snacks of late.

Snacks ahead

In the future, the more than $5 billion salty snack category is only going to get bigger, and store brand offerings will continue build up a presence as well.

“However, the key to that growth will be ensuring the correct product assortment and displays in-store,” McGolrick says. “If those continue, private label [growth] could outpace the overall salty snacks category.”

Singleton agrees.

“The category is going to continue to expand and evolve,” he says. “As consumers get smarter, leaner and more conscious of their snacking decisions, the category will have to follow the trend.”

Do invest in better-for-you salty snacks with high-quality ingredients.

Don’t ignore on-trend ingredients such as Himalayan sea salt and quinoa in new product development.

Do attract both planned and impulse purchases by merchandising products both inside and outside the salty snack aisle.

Don’t overdo it when it comes to on-pack product claims; simplify the message.