Having seen sales stall in the midst of the pandemic, the food to go sector has shown a good recovery as out of home footfall has resumed, benefitting snacking and food to go categories including prepacked cheese snacks.
A recent Lumina Intelligence Food to Go Market Report 2021 reported that the food to go category was predicted to grow by almost a third (31.6%) this year to £15.3bn, recovering to 72% of its 2019 (pre-pandemic) market value. Further predictions from the report estimate that by 2024 the food to go category will reach a value of £22.6 billion.
Health as a reason for food choice continues to grow, and consumers are increasingly searching for healthier options when eating on the go.
Indeed, health needs drove 29.3% of all snacking choices in the year to 21st February 2021 (secondary to taste) according to Kantar. Convenience channel data from Lumina Intelligence corroborates this, with 29% of convenience store shoppers claiming to be eating more healthily than they were before the Covid-19 pandemic began and 46% of c-store shoppers trying to make healthier decisions when it comes to snacking.
The significance of this is heightened in the face of the impending government crackdown on products deemed high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) from October 2022.
Kantar also suggests that having a nutritional benefit (e.g. high in protein/ vitamins) is now the second biggest health need, accounting for 13.3% of snacking choices, while being more natural/ unprocessed accounts for a further 7.2% of consumption decisions.
Furthermore, Kantar revealed that chilled snacks benefit from a health halo: a fresh or chilled snack being almost twice as likely to be considered ‘healthy’ than an ambient one.
Neil Stewart, Head of Cheese Marketing at Saputo Dairy UK, comments, “Consumers are placing more importance on healthy lifestyles, a balanced diet, and general wellness. Many are now actively seeking out great-tasting healthier snacks in preference to more traditional products and over recent years we’ve seen naturally nutritious, protein rich snacking products, such as cheese, become increasingly popular.”
A perennial favourite, cheese occupies a unique position in consumers’ hearts and minds when it comes to snacking.
Stewart explains: “A naturally nutrient rich foodstuff that is high in protein, a good source of calcium and carries a whole host of other vitamins & minerals essential to bodily function, cheese has the ability to deliver an indulgent, sensory eating experience while also fulfilling a widely recognised role as part of a balanced diet.”
“Via our market-leading Cathedral City Minis range and grab and go Snackbars, we are supporting consumers with a range of portion (and calorie) controlled snack-sized products.”
Offering the same great taste of the nation’s favourite, each 20g Cathedral City Mini product has just 82kcal or fewer per portion (Cathedral City Mini Mature Lighter contains 66 calories per portion). Meanwhile Cathedral City Snackbar contains 100 calories or fewer per bar.
With the cost-of-living soaring, value for money is high on the agenda for many cash strapped households.
Notably for those in more vulnerable, lower income sectors, keeping a control on household expenditure will remain a priority and value for money will likely have a heightened focus.
Cemre Cudal, Marketing Manager for Snacking at General Mills, comments: “The UK’s number one cereal bar brand, Nature Valley, offers added benefits through its core platforms Nature Valley Crunchy, made with 100% wholegrain oats and Nature Valley Protein, which is high in protein and fibre. These key ranges are major contributors to the brand’s growth at +5.7% vs LY to £60.2M (Nielsen).”
In addition, new HFSS-compliant range Nature Valley Fruit & Nut is designed to meet the needs of people who are looking for a simple yet delicious snack. The range is made with 100% wholegrain oats, is high in fibre and contains no colours, artificial flavours or preservatives. For the activation of Fruit & Nut, General Mills is investing £1m media value between ATL (VOD, social, OLV, influencers), shopper and sampling throughout F23.
“We know many people have a hard time balancing how to achieve certain diet and lifestyle goals with satisfying a broad range of sweet cravings,” adds Cudal. “Doughnuts in particular are seen as a tasty and often nostalgic treat, loved since childhood but now only to be enjoyed on rare occasions due to the level of indulgence.”
General Mills therefore identified an opportunity to expand consumers’ ‘better-for-you’ snacking repertoire with a permissible version of the ultimate treat: Fibre One 90 Calorie Doughnuts, which launched this summer.
A £1.5million marketing campaign includes Out of Home, social, VOD, influencers, sampling, shopper media and PR in a phased approach to ensure maximum reach, with bursts in autumn 2022 and spring 2023. Ross Davison, Convenience Controller at Kepak Consumer Foods, comments: “With 51.4% of Rustlers already consumed at lunchtime (Kantar), Rustlers’ innovative Cook in Box range, with a patented cooking method, sees the brand expand beyond Chilled Ready Meals into the Food to Go fixture, further aligning Rustlers with meeting consumer needs both in and out the home.”
In September, Rustlers Hotdog joined the brand’s extensive PMP range in the convenience channel. The PMP range already includes Rustlers’ core range of bestselling products, the Quarter Pounder, BBQ Rib, All Day Breakfast Sausage Muffin and Southern Fried Chicken Sub. The market for price-marked packs remains hugely important and in the current climate we expect more shoppers to look to PMPs as reassurance of value.
Together with its best-selling product range, the brand is committed to helping convenience retailers develop incremental opportunities from the chiller by providing convenient options that can be enjoyed in and out of the home.
Ben Knop, Food to Go Innovation Marketing Manager for Premier Foods, comments: “The light, bubbly texture and delicious flavours of Angel Delight Food to Go dessert pots really appeal to shoppers looking for a light treat. The convenient format, long shelf life, and the fact that the pots are suitable for vegetarians, make the launch well suited to retailers looking to bolster the dessert offering in their chillers.
“For retailers to effectively manage the expected impact of the upcoming legislation, they need to spotlight these new, compliant products to present their shoppers with adequate choice. In particular, they should hero products from brands that shoppers already know, love and trust, to ease them into the new, non-HFSS environment.”
Premier Foods’ ambition is to offer consumers healthier options across the board. With less than 120 calories, the new Angel Delight dessert pots have been designed as the ideal lighter food to go choice – seen as a healthier option to consumers and light enough to be enjoyed as a lunchtime snack.
Over the past two years breakfast occasions have grown, translating to around 20 billion more meals than previous years (Kantar).
Breakfast is seen as the most important meal of the day by over half of consumers (Kantar), therefore the cereals category presents a key sales opportunity for retailers. When it comes to convenient breakfast choices, porridge pots are often chosen over regular cereals, with 63% of consumers opting for the ease and practicality of ready-to-eat options (Kantar).
Daniel Jalalpour, brand director for desserts at Premier Foods, comments: “Porridge has become a hugely popular breakfast choice with consumers, especially over the past 18 months as we have all spent more time at home (Kantar). We wanted to give retailers the opportunity to offer their shoppers a tasty, convenient version of their favourite breakfast from a trusted brand – perfect for those mornings you’re short on time.”
With a recent study by Leeds University finding that just 1.6% of children’s lunchboxes were classed as healthy enough, the state of school lunches has been thrown back into the spotlight, presenting a healthy sales opportunity for retailers.
With the importance of nutritional and balanced packed lunches now high on the agenda, registered nutritionist Hannah Hope says, “Children need a variety of nutrients to thrive. They need a mix of good protein, carbohydrates, plus fruit and vegetables.”
As a fun, portion controlled, real cheese snack and great source of protein and calcium, the nation’s favourite cheese snack and the No.1 cheese snack in the lunchbox category (Kantar), Babybel Original, caters to these nutritional needs, appealing to both adults and kids alike. What’s more, with a 20g serving containing 30% less fat than cheddar and 62 calories, it also adheres to Public Health England’s recommended calorie cap for children’s snacks.
Ollie Richmond, Brand Manager at Babybel, comments: “A lunchtime staple that can be enjoyed by the entire family, Babybel is a must stock for retailers to capitalise on the back-to-school sales opportunity. “A beacon brand, loved equally by adults and kids alike, it’s perfectly placed to cater to the elevated interest in healthier, nutritionally balanced lunchbox options.”
Vegetarian friendly, lactose free and containing only four simple ingredients and 98% milk, the core Babybel range long holds pole position as a lunchbox staple. Available in nets of 6, 10, 12, 15 and in Original and Light, and this year also saw the launch of a vegan-friendly alternative of the UK’s No.1 cheese snack, Babybel Plant-Based.
Launched following overwhelming public demand for a vegan-friendly alternative of the UK’s No.1 cheese snack, Babybel Plant-Based caters to the year-on-year increase in the inclusion of vegetarian and vegan products in kids’ lunchboxes.
“What’s more, with research unveiling over 20% of children in the UK are either already vegan or would like to become vegan in the near future (BBC), the UK being unveiled as the most popular country for veganism, and the plant-based market continuing to grow, Babybel Plant-Based presents a clear sales opportunity for retailers during the back-to-school period, as it’s perfectly placed to meet this consumer appetite,” adds Richmond.
The new launch is a dairy free alternative to cheese, with a smooth and creamy texture. Made using a blend verified by the Vegan Society of coconut oil and starch, it is free from artificial colours and preservatives and source of calcium and Vitamin B12.
As Bel UK strives to meet consumers’ nutritional needs, offering lunchbox options that appeal to both parents and children, it continues to move toward becoming more fruit and plant based in the long-term.
Toby Smart, Chief Marketing Officer at graze. comments: “We’re starting to see a shift in attitudes, with consumers moving away from indulgence to a renewed focus on health, which presents a real opportunity for the healthy snacking category. The intention to snack more healthily is clearly there, with the results of our graze health survey of over 2,500 people showing that 53% of shoppers are trying to make better choices, but the biggest barrier being the temptation of unhealthy choices. With graze, shoppers can enjoy a variety of delicious, portion controlled sweet and savoury snacks, without having to make a compromise between health and taste, as we deliver on both.”
“We understand that health means different things to different people, and everyone is searching for products that suit their individual needs, which is why we’ve made sure to offer a range of health benefits across our snacking range. All our snacks are made using ingredients from nature and we never use artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. Our savoury Crunch range for example, is packed with veg and high in fibre.” Flavour is a key decision maker when selecting crisps. As graze tries to entice people away from the crisps category, it has made sure it delivers on the traditional flavours that they know and love, which is why the Crunch range comes with the familiar tastes of Salt & Vinegar, Lightly Sea Salted, Smoky Barbecue and Sweet Chilli.
“The retail market will undergo a massive change with the HFSS regulations,” adds Smart. “We know that independent operators will be looking to wholesalers for guidance on the regulations and graze is here to support too. We’ve continued to improve our recipes and reformulated our portfolio, staying true to our health promise of never using artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives. 85% of our entire retail range is now non-HFSS compliant or exempt, so wholesalers can share this with retailers, making sure they’re confident in stocking graze in store.”
The brand has also introduced category leading HFSS tools to advise retailers on HFSS scores of products across 3 categories and adapted its SRPs and packaging to give added reassurance to store staff on where products can be placed.
Comments are closed.