Snacks For Good

Grocers have noticed over the past decade that products that promote personal nutrition had already been gaining in popularity. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed the trend of personal nutrition into warp speed.  

During the COVID-19 crisis, typical patterns of the average consumers have made some big changes. One of the areas of the store that consumers are looking to find easy snack items is in produce.  

Many consumers have been working from home or changing the way their day goes and that has certainly made snacking even more popular. While most people desire some chips or cookies, a majority of consumers are wanting to eat items that will keep them healthier. The produce department is ripe to attract those more health-minded shoppers and produce vendors have made plenty of changes to cater to the modern produce shopper.  

Statistics show that consumers are looking for healthier snacks and are wanting many of those to come from the produce department. But it’s an important time to do some self-evaluation of your store to see how well you meet that demand. Are you calling out which items are great for snacking in-store and in advertising? Do you carry packs that cater to snackers? Are you merchandising snackable produce together? Have you cross-merchandised snackable produce with other healthier snack items? These are all important questions to consider. 

Let’s take a look at some of the more specific trends within produce snacking: 

Beverages As Snacks 

Today’s consumer is seeking products that address overall personal wellness, and that definition comes in many forms. For example, this year, Bolthouse Farms innovated around the increased consumer demand for protein-packed, convenient Keto beverages with the launch of its Bolthouse Farms Protein Keto beverages. The products mix Keto-friendly macro nutrient ratios with rich plant-based or dairy-based proteins and more to deliver an easy, on-the-go solution.  

Bolthouse also added a Superfood Immunity Boost juice blend to its lineup that features elderberry, cranberry and echinacea. Other juice providers have also seen major growth this year as consumers are looking to take in healthy ingredients in a simpler way.  

Plant-Based Protein Snacking 

Consumers had already been moving to more plant-based protein in their diets, but COVID has helped those numbers grow even more. Seventy five percent of consumers are trying to eat more protein and in the past five year the number of Americans want to eat less meat has nearly doubled and Google searches for “plant-based protein” have quadrupled.  

Pistachios have gained in popularity in recent years, especially with a heavy marketing campaign that has given new life to a product that was forgotten years ago. Snack-sized packs of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers have also become more readily-available and saw significant sales growth in 2020.