Healthier fare is certainly not the only trend in packaged snack foods, but it is by far the most important and widespread one, driven in large part by a heavy national focus on children’s health. Although sales of packaged snack foods in the U.S. topped $61 billion in 2005, this is up only 6% over 2001 sales, since good returns from “healthy” categories like yogurt and fresh fruit have been mostly offset by losses in “less healthy” categories like candy and cookies. Whereas some marketers are well positioned to ride the health wave, others have been rushing to come up with nutritionally enhanced products, while also scrambling to show how even not-so-healthy snacks can still fit into a healthy diet. Health-related trends that continue to gain momentum include portion control, high fiber/whole grains, cutting unhealthy ingredients (trans fats, processed sugar, fat, etc.), and natural/organic, even as product portability and convenience remain a top priority across all categories as more Americans graze more frequently on-the-go. Because kids snack even more than adults do, it is critical that snack makers maintain a hold on this young demographic, and attracting consumers of all ages to healthier snacks without severely cannibalizing sales of more traditional, not-so-healthy ones will be the fine line that marketers will have to walk in the coming years.

Snack Food Trends in the U.S. examines the market for packaged snack foods from a trend perspective, detailing sales and consumer usage trends across six sweet snack categories (candy, cookies & bakery, yogurt, food bars, fruit, and gelatin/pudding cups) and five salted snack categories (salty snacks, crackers, nut snacks, popcorn and rice/popcorn cakes, and dried meat snacks). The discussion is organized into four focus chapters—Sweet Snacks, Salted Snacks, Trends in Healthy Snacking, and Trends in Kids and Teens Snacks—homing in on the market-altering forces in each area down to the brand level, identifying top dollar sales gainers and comparing winners and losers across dozens of market segments and hundreds of products. Key data sources are Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan sales tracking data and Simmons Market Research Bureau (New York, New York) consumer surveys for adults, kids, and teens.

Report Methodology
The information in Snack Food Trends in the U.S. is based on both primary and secondary research. Primary research involved on-site examination of the retail milieu, interviews with marketing, public relations and industry analysts within the food market and consultants to the industry. Market size data was derived from Information Resources, Inc. Secondary research entailed data-gathering from relevant trade, business, and government sources, including company literature. New product information is gathered via literature research, personal interviews and data compiled by ProductScan, a service of Datamonitor. Consumer behavior patterns and data were derived from Simmons Market Research Bureau’s National Consumer Survey for Fall 2005.

What You’ll Get in this Report Snack Food Trends in the U.S. makes important predictions and recommendations regarding the future of this market, and pinpoints ways current and prospective marketers can capitalize on current trends and spearhead new ones. No other market research report provides both the comprehensive analysis and extensive data that Snack Food Trends in the U.S. offers. The report addresses the following segments:

• Sweet Snacks
• Salted Snacks
• Trends in Healthy Snacking
• Trends in Kids and Teen Snacks

Plus, you’ll benefit from extensive data, presented in easy-to-read and practical charts, tables and graphs.

How You Will Benefit from this Report
If your company is already competing in the snack industry, or is considering making the leap, you will find this report invaluable, as it provides a comprehensive package of information and insight not offered in any other single source. You will gain a thorough understanding of the current snack market, and how demographic and lifestyle changes will affect the snack industry in the future. Contributing to that understanding will be a complete analysis of sales data, and a detailed discussion of the consumer based on Simmons data.

This report will help:

• Marketing Managers identify market opportunities and develop targeted promotion plans for the snack industry.
• Research and development professionals stay on top of competitor initiatives.
• Advertising agencies working with clients in the snack food industry to develop messages and images that fit with the future of the industry.
• Business development executives understand the dynamics of the market and identify possible partnerships.
• Information and research center librarians provide market researchers, brand and product managers and other colleagues with the vital information they need to do their jobs more effectively.

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