Consumers are seeking to improve their lifestyle without going over budget, by eating healthily and losing weight.
Shoppers want to increase their consumption of healthy nutrients while still enjoying their food.
Nature Valley, the UK’s number one cereal bar brand, aims to meet these consumer needs.
JP Del Carmen, Head of Snacks at General Mills, tells Wholesale Manager how the Nature Valley range is being supported and how wholesalers can maximise sales of its products.
How much is the snacks category worth/what is driving category growth?
Increasing consumer interest in nutrition and wellness in recent years, has driven the growth of snacks at the healthier end of the spectrum – whether that’s lower calorie options or those that are boosted with functional benefits. Research has shown that 40% of consumers state a clear preference for healthy snacks1.
The Better For You Snacks category is therefore in a strong position, totalling £706.5M2 value sales and +6%3 uplift. Nature Valley is a driver of this growth, up at +3.4%4 with a current brand value of £61M5.
What are the latest trends in the snacks category?
Resolutions such as ‘eat more healthy food’, ‘lose weight’, and ‘drink less alcohol’ have increased since 2022, and we are noticing that more consumers want to focus on improving their lifestyle but doing so in an affordable way6.
People are showing a greater awareness of nutrition and want to combine both an enjoyable eating experience with boosting their intake of certain nutrients. As a result, protein content remains an unwavering trend, and an important purchase criterion in the snacking category.
As the UK’s number one cereal bar brand with 8.6% share of the total category value7, Nature Valley is a leader in the healthy cereal bar category. Our protein platform is a particularly strong performer with a sales value of £18M8.
In addition to this, our Fibre One 90 Calorie range which includes brownie, cake, and snack bar formats, is the number one diet management snack brand in the UK9. In 2022, we launched Fibre One 90 Calorie Doughnuts to reinvigorate the category by introducing a permissible product that offers great taste and texture. The product has been performing strongly since its launch and has maintained its position as the number one NPD in the category10.
What innovation do you have to ensure your products are HFSS compliant?
Nature Valley from General Mills has introduced a new HFSS-compliant range, Nature Valley Oaty & Crispy, in two delicious flavours – Honey and Cocoa. The range became available from 1st May in Tesco with further listings going live throughout the month.
Designed to fuel the busy morning occasion for happily hectic families, the innovative NPD has a satisfyingly crispy texture, is made with 100% wholegrain oats, and has 30% less sugar than other products in the category11.
How will HFSS affect the snacks market?
Now the ban is in place, planning how to maintain visibility of better-for-you snacks is a number one priority for many brands in the category as impulse is such a key purchase driver.
At General Mills, we advise retailer partners around sectioning off certain parts of the category that are specific to health needs and making sure these ranges are placed more centrally in store, to both align with the legislation but also maximise visibility with shoppers.
As one of the market leading snack bar brands with a loyal customer base, we continue to innovate and renovate, where possible, in response to consumer needs. Nature Valley Oaty & Crispy creates a range of non-HFSS products designed to keep building the choice we offer.
How is the range being supported?
Nature Valley have implemented a brand remodel, developing the logos, packaging, and brand positioning. Along with the makeover, we have evolved its positioning from encouraging consumers to get out into nature more, to simply helping families to be ‘equipped for life’. Across the full Nature Valley portfolio, the packs have been made easier for little fingers to open, with a new compact format for ease of carrying multiple bars at once. The switched-up, brighter colour palette also ensures the bars can be spotted quickly at the bottom of a school, gym, or work bag.
What are the key products in your range that wholesalers should be stocking?
Our classic and best-selling Nature Valley Crunchy and Protein multipacks are a core of any snack bar range.
Stocked in convenience, Fibre One are also providing a strong mix of stock such as Fibre One Chocolate Fudge Brownies and Fibre One Birthday Cake Squares. Fibre One 90 Calorie Doughnuts have been performing strongly since launch and have therefore maintained the position of the number one NPD in the category12.
How can wholesalers maximise sales of your products?
Signposting the range is vital to help retailers understand the products on offer, and the various need states they meet for consumers, such as functional snacks or guilt-free indulgence. Retailers need variety throughout their store, so it is essential to provide a range of products.
Top tips
• Offer a mix of instantly recognisable brands in classic formats and flavours, as well as more stand-out options to help retailers cater to a range of consumer tastes.
• Support your retailer customers in capitalising on different snacking occasions – offer options ideal for the busy morning occasion, a post- gym snack or an easy, on-the-go impulse buy.
• Being visible: place bestselling products at eye level at the depot to encourage purchase.
How do you work with wholesalers to help them grow sales?
We have a dedicated team for wholesale, headed up by our Sector Controller for Wholesale, Foodservice and Convenience, Leah Wynn-Jones.
General Mills is very active in this channel. We run tower end displays in depot on many of our ambient brands, in particular Nature Valley. We also have strong visibility in aisle with our Branded Bays used as a beacon to sign post their respective categories and assist in order fulfilment.
As the brand doesn’t typically see a change in sales seasonally, we are running a summer promotion where if a retailer purchases two cases of Häagen-Dazs they get one Nature Valley case for free. We appreciate space is key for convenience therefore trialling NPD can be risky, so we want to encourage testing Nature Valley, confident it will be a success, driving sales and ensuring repeat buyers.
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