Snack World - May 2014 - (Page 34)

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT R Bold Moves for a New Generation emember when a chip was a chip and a cracker was a cracker? One was fried while the other was baked. One consisted of potatoes or tortillas, and the other came in such standard varieties as saltines, sandwich crackers, snack crackers or grahams. But alas, gone are the simple days. During the past decade, industry experts extolled about the continued blurring of the lines between the two competing snack aisles. Today, make it official. While conventional products still dominate the cracker aisle, the longstanding better-for-you movement and ever-expanding competition for share of stomach has emboldened marketers to muddy the waters and wash away many of the lines of differentiation between crackers and chips and have forever intertwined them for the average consumer. Okay, maybe the crisp - part cracker and chip, at least in texture - is redefining how hybrid snacks compete in multiple categories. According to Tom Howe, president of Baptista's Bakery, Franklin, WI, such "nouveau snacks" have fundamentally altered perceptions of conventional snacks by making chips perceived as more healthful and crackers as more indulgent. "We're going through an evolution if not revolution," Mr. Howe noted. "For years, people talked about eating healthier. Now, you are actually seeing a change in their diets." Minneapolis-based Way Better Snacks offers sprouted barley crackers that come in Rosemary Me & Olive Oil, Simply Seasoned Whole Grain, Mustard & Cheddar Way Better, and Black Bean & Sals-ahh. "Our research suggests that their top criteria for food purchases are nutrition, taste, natural, value and organic - in that order," noted James Breen, CEO and founder of Way Better Snacks. "[Consumers] are healthy-food seekers, especially for whole grain, heart-healthy and high fiber items, and as such they want foods that have more fiber, antioxidants, calcium, omega-3 and protein." Mondelez International, Kellogg Company, Snyder's-Lance, Pepperidge Farm and a host of smaller Cracker Sales Across Major Categories Segment Dollar Sales ($mil) Crackers with Fillings 888.6 Saltine Crackers 541.1 Graham Crackers 422.3 All Other Crackers 4,909.4 Cracker Category Total 6,806.3 Source: IRI Total US - Multi Outlet 52 Weeks Ending March 23, 2014 Note: Many companies may have multiple brand listings in the IRI data. BROUGHT TO YOU BY HEAT & CONTROL, J.R. SHORT, PRINTPACK, RUDOLPH FOODS AND GE CAPITAL 34 Snack World May 2014 www.sfa.org Dollar Sales % Change 0.7 1.9 6.0 3.8 3.3 Unit Sales (mil) 405.5 256.9 148.1 1,794.3 2,621.0 Unit Sales % Change 0.5 -1.1 3.1 3.3 2.4 Volume Sales (mil lb) 243.3 251.3 129.4 1,173.0 1,108.2 Volume Sales % Change -2.4 -2.2 3.7 1.0 0.2 http://www.sfa.org

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

Snack World - May 2014