SAN FRANCISCO – There is a shift under way in how consumers eat, said Melissa Abbott, vice-president of culinary insights for The Hartman Group, Bellevue, Wash. She spoke Jan. 18 during the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco and explained how snacking and single-serve trends will drive the specialty food business.
“Wellness and deliciousness go hand-in-hand,” she said.
Hartman Group data show 80 percent of all snacking is purposeful, meaning it fulfills a physical, emotional, social or cultural desire. Only 20 percent all snacking is aimless, which is driven by an awareness of the availability of food rather than a need or desire. Today’s consumers are less about large, indulgent snacks, as well as snacking when bored or as a reward. Smaller, healthier options, often distinct and different, increasingly are appealing.
Other key takeaways from the presentation include:
• At 50 percent of all eating occasions, snacks are no longer simply whimsical, throwaway or anomalous moments. They are an essential part of how consumers eat in modern food culture.
• Snacks are bound by fewer rules than meals, and yet the lines between meals and snacks are blurring. Because snacks essentially may be anything, the competitive set for snacks is broadening.
• Consumers eat whenever and however they want. About 90 percent of consumers are engaging in modern snacking, which is characterized by flexible rules and structure.
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