Baking & Snack - July 2021 - 35

WHERE THE SNACKERS
ARE BUYING THEIR
FAVORITES
As the world sheltered at home
during the coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic, consumers were eager
to jump on the e-commerce
bandwagon and have things they
needed brought to them.
" E-commerce is fast, and during
the pandemic more and more
people turned to it, " said Mio Sakata,
president of Calbee America Inc.,
Fairfield, Calif. " That completely
changed the snack purchasing and
eating behavior. That is one arena I'm
looking at. The other one is the dollar,
liquidator and discount stores. "
He said that dollar stores used
to be regarded as carrying cheap
junk food, but they are now
carrying a wide variety of items that
consumers want.
" The real winner for me is
dollar stores that are tapping into
the really small rural areas, " Mr.
Sakata said. " Each rural area has
one dollar store, and it works like
a convenience store. It has the
essentials needed for daily life. "
The digital space is where
HighKey gained its initial
customers, and it will continue to
be an important channel for the
company, said Joe Ens, co-chief
executive officer of HighKey. But
the company is expanding into
retail, and he said that he expects
people to return to their former
snack-buying channels as the
pandemic winds down.
" I think consumers will rediscover
c-stores and coffee shops as a key
place to buy snacks, " Mr. Ens said. " I
think retailers during the pandemic
have done an exceptional job taking
advantage of the fact that people
are sourcing snacks for their homes
as opposed to for their purses or in
their cars or desks. "
Sally Lyons Wyatt, IRI executive
vice president and practice leader,
said that e-commerce was a driver
of growth for snack sales in the past
year. She added that club stores like
Sam's Club and Costco also did well
as consumers stocked up on their
favorite snacks, but she expects
convenience and drug stores will
bounce back.
and we expect that to continue, as consumers are drawn
to the familiarity and comfort they provide, " she said.
" We've also seen international flavors becoming more
popular. Consumers missed traveling over the past year,
and even as they get back to worldwide travel, we expect
exciting international flavors to continue to emerge and
become popular. "
Flavor and product mixes and mashups are another
popular trend, such as Frank's RedHot Goldfish
and Smartfood's Krispy Kreme-flavored popcorn.
Utz Brands Inc., Hanover, Pa., and Ferrara, part of the
Ferrero Group, Piscataway, NJ, recently announced that
it will start offering Sweet and Salty Mix snack variety
packs in 2022.
" We look forward to the exposure and incremental
brand trial this will bring to Utz. Aligning Ferrara,
Keebler, Mother's and Utz is a winning combination,
and there's more in store for this creative and powerful
partnership, " said Dylan Lissette, chief executive officer
of Utz Brands.
More consumer options
As millennials and Generation Z lead the demand for
snacks, they are also snacking during more parts of the
day. There was a big uptick in early morning and latenight
snacking for these groups, Ms. Lyons Wyatt said.
This creates opportunities for brands to reach out to
these consumers to bring them options for these times of
the day.
" The more you innovate and/or communicate the
benefits, either through different occasions, different
day parts, different diets, whatever it might be, the
better chance you're going to continue to see compounded
growth year after year, " she said.
Hostess Brands Inc., Lenexa, Kan., recently introduced
three new breakfast products: Miff'n Stix, Pecan
Spins and Baby Bundts.
" While morning is the fastest growing snack time of
day, for many consumers it is also the most hectic, which
is why we worked so hard in our Innovation Lab to develop
portable, snackable, conveniently packaged items,
giving new twists to familiar classics, " said Adam Lisook,
director of brand marketing, Hostess.
One of the few snack categories that didn't fare well
during the pandemic was snack bars and granola bars
as people were not on the go as much and couldn't go
to the gym. And many people took the opportunity to
make their own bars while they were home, Ms. Lyons
Wyatt said. Dollar sales for bars were down 8.3% in the
year ending April 18, 2021, according to IRI.
" Bars in general, whether it was a nutrition bar or
snack bar, they all saw declines in 2020, " Ms. Lyons
Wyatt said. " Because we weren't as social, we saw declines
in breath fresheners and gums. We saw things
like sunflower seeds, which are an on-the-go snack, they
also took a bit of a dive. I do predict most of these will
bounce back in 2021. "
Whether brands are offering clean label BFY snacks
or indulgent, sweet or salty goodies, consumers are eating
them all up, making room for every snack maker
that is able to deliver on taste.
" Folks are going to try to get back to a balance in their
daily eating, which means they're not going to go away
from indulgence, " Ms. Lyons Wyatt said. " In fact, indulgence
is going to be here, and it's going to be alive and
well for a very long time to come. "
*
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