With more and more occasions for people to snack every day, consumers' expectations for snacks have exceeded the previous demand for immediate indulgence and satiety. People want to be able to get occasion-specific snacks anytime, anywhere, not only to enjoy a moment of indulgence in intense work, but also to ensure that ingredients and nutrition can meet the specific needs of the day.

The fast-paced lifestyle, the increase of one-person eating opportunities, and the recognition of the healthy concept of eating less and more meals have all driven the trend of snacks for dinner.

According to the HartmanGroup report, 91% of Americans eat snacks several times a day, and 8% of snack lovers even use snacks instead of regular meals. The NPD Group mentioned that the snacks consumed by Generation Z and millennials during meals account for 24% of the total snack intake, and there is a growing trend. Generation Z and millennials have different definitions of snacks than their predecessors and have different expectations: for example, snacks can contain more protein and high-end ingredients, bringing more health benefits to people.
 
Snacking has become a very daily thing, as long as people are willing to, any time of the day can eat snacks, want to eat as many times as many times, why the snack culture will appear so change.

Marketing personnel and product developers of snack products also hope to customize snack products according to different snack consumption scenarios, using different raw materials or information to meet the needs of consumers at a specific time. What are the most mainstream snack scenes? For example, a snack with rich dietary fiber and mild flavor is suitable for waking up in the morning, while a sweet snack is a double comfort in the middle of the night.



The snack 2019 and future trend report released by Watson Trend Research Company of IBM elaborates on nutrition and health, trend ingredients, taste exploration, etc. Foodaily, it will be sorted out and interpreted and now shared with you.

1. Protein snacks are full of tricks
Functional snacks become mainstream


A report from Mintel this year showed that nearly half of American consumers think they should eat more protein, and plant protein is considered healthier, so plant protein is a way to show that snacks provide high-quality nutrition. Of the salty snacks launched in 2017, 20% claimed to contain protein, up 4% from last year.

Puffs and popcorn snacks have become big fans of protein.

ShrewdFood company's Protein CRISPS protein crisps use cow's milk protein isolate as raw materials, each contains 14 grams of protein, as well as hot sauce cheddar cheese and cream biscuits.

Photo by Shrewd Food
 
And Ready Nutrition Protein Puffs instant nutrition puffs strengthen the protein content by adding pea protein, each containing 10 grams of protein, with pink Himalayan sea salt, sweet pepper, cinnamon and other flavors;


Source: Ready Nutrition
 
IpsAll Natural has also introduced potato chips containing 6 grams of protein per serving and popcorn containing 5 grams of protein per serving, using whey protein concentrate for protein fortification.


Photo by: Ips All Natural
 
Compared to protein, the bite-by-bite protein globular provides a new form of protein intake.

At the Chicago candy and snack show, manufacturers also introduced a variety of protein balls, such as Bounce Energy protein balls, Orbs organic snacks and The Protein Ball Co. of vegan protein balls, whey protein balls and egg white protein balls.


Photo by KLBD


Photo by Orbs
 

Photo by The Protein Ball Co.
 
As people pay more attention to human health, functional snacks are also expanding the field.

Among the savoury snacks, Vegan Rob's potato chips and puffs line adds ingredients such as moringa, turmeric and probiotics, and Wai Lana tapioca chips are also available in a turmeric version;


Photo by Vegan Rob
 

In sweet snacks, Amplify Snack's Oatmega snack bars and cookies contain omega -3 fatty acids derived from three fish oils that contribute to heart health, as well as a large amount of rich protein derived from whey and milk protein concentrate.


Image source: Oatmega
 
2. Which raw materials have become the new favorite of snack materials? Beans

Bean ingredients are everywhere in this year's snack products. Hippeas Organic Chickpea Puffs organic chickpea puffs and Biena Chickpea Snacks chickpea treats are typified by chickpeas, while Snapea Crisps and Peeled Snacks Pea Puffs feature peas; Calbee Harvest Snaps are available in both peas and black bean versions.


Photo by Foodie City Network


Photo by Snapea Crisps

The application of bean mixtures in snacks is becoming more and more common. World Peas Peas and Supereats Puffs both used a mix of peas and lentils.


Source: The Shelby Report

PepsiCo's Frito-Lay Off the Eaten Path brand has introduced pea and black bean vegetable crisps in addition to hummus crisps.


Photo by: Off the Eaten Path

In addition, many legume snacks will also be mixed with cereals, especially rice, to provide a crispy base.
 
AEOC

Acura oil is expected to replace coconut oil and become a new generation of net red. Now avocado oil is added to a variety of packaged foods, including snacks. BoulderCanyon Authentic Foods Acura Oil Spicy Wave Potato Chips and Pop Art Snacks Hawaiian Black Sea Salt Acura Oil Popcorn are both eye-catching with Acura Oil.


Image source: VeganSupply.ca
 
Cassava

Cassava is a kind of root vegetable similar to potato, which has appeared more and more in people's vision this year. As a new staple food product in addition to eating long-established non-potato and corn, it has attracted considerable interest. Therefore, Wai Lana cassava chips and cassava balls, Plant Snacks cassava root chips and NOVA CRISP cassava chips are all made of cassava as a novel raw material.

Photo by Wai Lana


Photo by Plant Snacks
 
dragon fruit

Dragon fruit, this sweet and bright pink fruit has crossed the border to the snack field.

Pocas premium pitaya crisps give pitaya a new look, and who wouldn't want to try a crispy version of pitaya? And EVOLVE's pitaya lemon-flavored super grain, infused with pitaya to make a handy granola roll; pitaya is one of Welch's fruit snack Superfruit Mix's signature flavors.


Photo by: Pocas

Photo by: Welch's
 
3. Mix and match cross-border, multiple experiences, globalization, and play with snack flavor
 
Mix and match, multiple experiences



"Snackfections" is a term coined by Hershey to describe a new hybrid snack category that combines traditional sweets and snacks. In response to the slowdown in the confectionery industry, several confectionery companies have made product innovations in the field, such as Hershey's KitKat Blend and Mars' M & M's Sweet and Salty Blend, which have achieved impressive success.


Image source: Hershey's

Not only mixing snacks, but mixing chocolate with nuts, seeds, fruits, biscuit chips or pretzels can also achieve good results in many ways. A good example is Reese's Crunchers, which is made of chocolate wrapped around an inner core made of peanut butter, corn and peanuts.
 

Image source: YouTube

At the same time, the two-in-one new snack combination has also attracted the attention of consumers. Kellogg's Cheez-It Duoz contains caramel and cheddar cheese popcorn, providing consumers with a combination of sweet and savory taste and two different tasting experiences.


Image source: Cheez-It
 
The advantage of two-in-one is that it can be eaten alone or in combination, and it can provide a variety of flavors at one time. Calbee's Popper Duos offers flavors such as BBQ & Ranch & Milk and Zesty & Queso Cheddar & Salsa.


Source: The Shelby Report

PopcornFactory's Kettle KravePopcorn Popcorn offers a bag of two flavors of popcorn, including maple bacon flavor, honey barbecue flavor and peanut butter jelly flavor.


Image source: Popcorn Factory

The unique flavor of tender truffle or truffle oil on dishes is a well-known culinary pleasure. This year, the truffle flavor has expanded from upscale dining to retail packaged products. Several truffle popcorn and chips were on display at this year's Chicago Candy and Snacks Expo, including white truffle and Parmesan flavored OOLALA chips, Pop! Gourmet, Pop Art and Live Love Pop black truffle and olive oil flavored chips and popcorn.

Photo by OOLALA


Source: Live Love Pop

Flavor of globalization, led by India

Global flavors are on the rise, with Indian flavors leading the way. The World Peas Peatos Masala Masala from the Lundberg family farm is a typical Indian snack with peas and vanilla Indian milk tea.
A variety of Indian flavors are MasalaPopcorn available, including Spicy Marsala, Tamarind Sesame, Indian Marsala, Indian Caramel, Spicy Coconut and Indian Classic Original.


Image source: Hipinion
 
4
Summary: The ultimate convenience of creating snacks

Busy lifestyles have created a demand for convenient, portable but nutritious foods. What types of food, packaging and nutritional value can be favored by today's consumers?

From normal temperature snacks such as potato chip biscuits, nuts and protein bars to convenient fresh foods such as oatmeal cups, ready-to-eat soups and fresh fruit chips, to frozen convenient foods such as frozen Mexican rolls and frozen sandwiches, the characteristics of convenience and nutrition have firmly grasped the needs of consumers. But consumer demand is by no means more than that, packaging, marketing and nutrition labeling have been important considerations for consumers to buy ready-to-eat food.

Packaging materials, closures, size and weight become particularly important product considerations.

The packaging is light and conforms to the concept of multi-pack single, yogurt cups, soup cups, oat cups and other cups containing bottle caps or with peelable bottle caps have become popular packaging containers, and even snacks such as biscuits and crisps can be packed in cups. Bags are suitable for products that need to be squeezed, such as dried fruits or nut spreads. When the amount of product is more than one serving, it is desirable to have a resealable package such as a zipper bag, screw-on bottle, etc.

In addition to packaging, nutrition also plays an important role in ready-to-eat foods. More and more consumers hope that the snacks they buy can bring them a sense of fullness and provide rich nutrition. When snacks are used instead of meals, beef jerky, yogurt, nut snacks, protein bars and protein drinks can provide protein, while oatmeal cups, cereal cups and fiber bars can provide a lot of fiber.

Another consumer area focuses on calorie and portion control. These consumers first check the total calories on the nutrition label when they buy. For ready-to-eat snacks, setting a consistent calorie goal, such as a 100 calorie pack, throughout the entire product line can build caloric trust in the product among calorie-conscious consumers.

Source-Daily Food Network.