Snack foods - redefining our diet

Ready-to-eat products with strong convenience benefits are fulfilling the demand for snacks and meal replacements for on-the-go consumers, according to a study presented to the consumer packaged goods industry this week.

Indeed snacks are replacing meals in many cases, according to the Information Resources (IRI) report, titled 'What Do Americans Really Eat?'

Kim Feil, division president of worldwide innovation at IRI, said: "These study findings directly support the unprecedented change the snacking industry is experiencing as consumers increase their pace of life.​

"Snack and meal solution manufacturers are faced with the opportunity to completely redefine the American diet. To a large degree, snacks and meals have become interchangeable. Manufacturers who successfully position convenient solutions across eating occasions, and even day parts, stand to reap significant rewards."​

An estimated one-third of the study's 1,000 internet-based respondents said they regularly skip meals. When they do eat meals, however, consumers typically prefer to prepare those meals fresh at home, as long as preparation is quick and convenient. Speed and preparation ease are overwhelmingly rated as the top considerations in the food selection process, according to the report, which was based on sales mass retails sales of snacks and an internet-based survey of 1,000 consumers.

But portability and ease of consumption are also important. More meals and snacks are consumed on the move, and increasingly in the car, where handheld food products like snack bars, yogurt in a tube, and portable soups make for easy meals on the go.

Busy lifestyles are undoubtedly demanding convenience and the increasing availability of convenient meal and snack solutions, according to the report, which finds that convenient meal and snack products show no signs of slowing growth. More than 45 per cent of consumers cite 'ready-to-eat' or 'no preparation' as a key consideration factor.

But although the survey respondents indicated an interest in nutritional benefits, convenience comes first. Despite broad press coverage of America's growing obesity 'epidemic', only 38 per cent of respondents said that they avoid high-fat foods as much as possible, while only 42 per cent of consumers said they thought they have balanced nutritional habits.

While consumers have demonstrated a willingness to pay as much as two to three times for more convenient versions of their favorite products, the same does not necessarily hold true for nutritional enhancements. Only about one-quarter are willing to pay more for low- or reduced-fat foods.

"To date, manufacturers and retailers have done a respectable job of responding to demands for convenience. However, the convenience trend has certainly not passed. Those who grab the bull by the horns, so to speak, with respect to nutritionally-responsible, convenient food alternatives will raise the bar and define the playing field of the future,"​ concluded Feil.

Part of an ongoing series of reports examining consumer trends in the snack foods industry, this study was presented at the Consumer Connection 2003 Conference, taking place this week at the Westin Mission Hills Resort in Rancho Mirage, California.