Category Intelligence: Fruit and Nut Snacks
Offer something better
Products that are healthful and feature bold flavors could improve sales
in the store brand fruit and nut snack category.
By Michal Christine Escobar
s a whole, American consumers are
snacking more often — and more
healthfully — creating a new
generation of snackers, states
Packaged Facts, a division
of Rockville, Md.-based
MarketResearch.com, in its September 2013
“Healthy-Ingredient Snacks in the U.S.: Cereal/
Granola, Fruit, and Seed/Nut Snacks and Bars”
report. Concern about what is in their food is
prompting consumers to search for snacks made
with healthful ingredients, including exotic fruits
and vegetables.
And a desire for something new and different
among consumers is encouraging inventive flavor
combinations, innovative formats and shapes,
and unexpected combinations of spices from
around the world, Packaged Facts says. Therefore,
retailers could benefit by fine-tuning store brand
fruit and nut snacks to better align with this new
generation of snackers.
Offer healthful options
When it comes to healthful snacking, organic
options are becoming more important to
consumers, says Mike Swiatkowski, vice president
sales and marketing, Hickory Harvest Foods,
Akron, Ohio.
“We are seeing pockets of growth on the organic
side, so we’re gearing up — as a company — to
offer more organic products. For example, we’re
beginning to organically roast nuts,” he says.
Buoying this trend for organic fruit and nut
snacks could be consumers’ concern with GMO
products and their desire for pure, simple ingredient
lists, says Aram Karapetian, vice president sales and
marketing, Woodland Foods, Waukegan, Ill.
As for the types of ingredients consumers’ seek,
as snacks begin to function as meal replacements,
consumers are looking more for high-protein
snacks, Packaged Facts
states. One way to increase
offer more protein in snacks is by
organic or high- adding ancient grains such
as quinoa, hemp and flax.
protein fruit Additionally, superfoods have
and nut snacks. found their place within the
snack market. For example,
Do
fruit and nut mixes using pomegranate, kale,
seaweed, goji berries or acai are piquing the
interest of consumers who want to eat foods high
in antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, amino acids
and enzymes.
Bold flavors are better
Don’t
ignore the rising
popularity of
bold, spicy
flavors.
Fruit and nut snacks continue to innovate around
indulgent flavor trends, specifically in the trail mix
segment, states global market researcher Mintel in
its December 2013 “Category Insight: Nuts, Fruit
Snacks and Snack Mixes” report. For example,
Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co. recently
launched a premium trail mix under the Good &
Delish brand containing chocolate caramel bites,
chocolate candies, roasted peanuts and cashews.
“People like to eat what tastes good,”
Swiatkowski says. “So we’re going to start doing
flavors such as butter toffee and praline, as well as
offering some sugar-coated nuts.”
However, offering only trail mixes that are
indulgent could jeopardize future growth in the
market given consumers’ increased focus on health,
Mintel reports.
“Attitudes [about] trail mix are already changing,
with snackers in the United States now perceiving
[trail mix] as less healthy than nuts and dried
fruits,” the report says.
Bold, spicy flavors continue to remain popular
among consumers as well, Packaged Facts states.
And rather than offering just one dominant flavor,
www.storebrands.info / January 2015 / Store Brands
35
Category Intelligence: Fruit and Nut Snacks
creative and unexpected combinations of flavors
are becoming popular. One example of this comes
from Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway Inc.,
which recently developed a Sweet and Salty Chili
Crunchy Trail Mix under its The Snack Artist
brand. The mix is made with honey nut crunch,
Cajun peanuts, honey sesame sticks, salsa corn
sticks, almonds and corn nuggets.
Catch their eye
As for packaging, fruit and nut snacks are typically
sold in bags and tubs. However, some retailers
— specifically those in the convenience channel
— are experimenting with packaging that will fit
in the cup holder of a car for on-the-go snacking,
Swiatkowski says.
One fruit and nut snack company innovating
Fruit and nut snack category performance
Nutritional
snacks/trail mixes
Private
Label
Snack nuts
Fruit rolls/bars/snacks
Dried fruit
All
Brands
Private
Label
All
Brands
Private
Label
All
Brands
Private
Label
All
Brands
$980.4
Dollar Sales (in millions)
$469.2
$861.1
$1,205.3
$3,829.6
$137.2
$1,008.2
$249.9
Change vs. Year Ago
+10.1%
+5.7%
+5.7%
+4.3%
-8.8%
+2.5%
-0.7%
-1.5%
54.5%
100%
31.5%
100%
13.6%
100%
25.5%
100%
328.3
Dollar Share
Unit Sales (in millions)
107.4
209.3
288.7
890.0
58.7
402.8
90.8
Change vs. Year Ago
+8.8%
+1.6%
+7.2%
+2.9%
-10.9%
-1.2%
-1.2%
-2.9%
Avg. Price Per Unit
$4.37
$4.11
$4.18
$4.30
$2.34
$2.50
$2.75
$2.99
Source: IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm. Total U.S. supermarkets, drugstores, mass market retailers (including Walmart), military commissaries and select club and dollar retail
chains, for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 2, 2014.
36
Store Brands / January 2015 / www.storebrands.info
Category Intelligence: Fruit and Nut Snacks
around the “eating on-the-go” trend is Diamond
Foods with its Emerald Breakfast on the go! brand.
It sells portion-controlled bags, each with contents
containing 200 calories or less, in flavors such
as Apples and Cinnamon, Berry Nut Blend and
Breakfast Nut Blend.
However, while packaging innovation is
important, Karapetian cautions retailers not to go
overboard with the innovation.
“As a whole, packaging should include
some form of innovation, but only if it
benefits the customer experience on a
practical level or does not substantially
increase costs,” he notes.
Regardless of the format, consumers
generally want to see what they’re getting
before they buy.
“We don’t see it as a benefit to hide the
product in the packaging,” Swiatkowski
adds. “If you’re providing a good-quality
product, show that to the customer.
They’ll buy with their eyes as opposed to
the packaging.”
Karapetian agrees.
“Our white quad-seal packaging
is designed with tree branches and a
transparent window to show the product
inside with no visual obstruction,” he says.
“We want to show our customers that our
foods [contain] pure, simple ingredients
free of preservatives — and that they
haven’t been processed.”
Of course, in some instances, the
product might require special packaging
to protect it from degrading. For
example, freeze-dried fruit benefits
from gusseted upright foil packaging,
states Jeff Hulme, vice president of
sales — retail and store brand products,
Modesto, Calif.-based Mercer Foods. In this case,
retailers would want the packaging to be airtight
and to prevent light penetration.
Looking specifically at natural and organic
products, retailers years ago thought these products
had to look like they were packed in the store, so
they often used clear plastic containers or bags with
a peel-and-ply label, says Bob Kaufman, divisional
general manager, Woodstock Farms Manufacturing,
www.storebrands.info / January 2015 / Store Brands
37
Category Intelligence: Fruit and Nut Snacks
Do
merchandise
fruit and nut
snacks in
various areas of
the store.
Edison, N.J. People back then often associated plain
and simple packaging with wholesome and organic
products. Today, however, packaging for natural and
organic fruit and nut snacks can be modern and
attractive, and still be labeled organic or all natural
— and consumers will buy it.
Regardless of how the package is
designed, the message that the retailer is
trying to convey needs to be honest, to
the point and easy for the consumer to
understand, Karapetian states. Whether
its contents are gluten-free, non-GMO
or gourmet, use the package to “toot
your own horn” and display some pride
and passion about the product.
And when it comes to freeze-dried
fruit, bullet points could really make
an impact, Hulme states. For example,
“This package contains the equivalent
of three apples” could help shoppers
better understand how much product
they’re purchasing.
Location, location, location
With merchandising, placement is
everything, Swiatkowski states. One
Don’t
great area to merchandise
fruit and nut snacks is the
package fruit
produce department, as
and nut snacks
consumers often browse
this area and make impulse in opaque
purchases. For example,
packaging
cranberries, seeds,
unless
sliced almonds,
absolutely
walnuts and
necessary.
pecans could all
be sold near the
salad area in a topping display.
And to prevent confusion among
consumers, make sure organic products
are clearly labeled and merchandised
separately from traditional products,
Swiatkowski cautions.
Of course, the more areas in which
a product is merchandised, the more
likely it is to be seen and purchased. So
merchandise various package sizes in
multiple locations, Hulme says. Freezedried fruit specifically could be positioned
in the produce section, the snack aisle,
the baking aisle and in the front of the
store for impulse purchasing. SB
Look what’s new
t New from Kmart, Hoffman Estates, Ill., is Smart Sense Blueberry Nut Perfection Mix. The premium blend
of almonds, blueberries, walnuts and pecans is kosher certified, features 0g trans fat and is very low in sodium.
The product retails in a 12-oz. flexible stand-up pouch.
Trader Joe’s More Than a Mouthful Trek Mix from Monrovia, Calif.-based Trader Joe’s u
contains dried cranberries, dark chocolate, sea-salt-and-turbinado-sugar almonds, pumpkin
seeds and Greek yogurt-flavored pretzels. The kosher-certified product retails in a 14-oz.
flexible stand-up pouch.
t Walmart Canada, Mississauga, Ontario, introduced Our Finest Kettle Cooked Sea
Salt & Balsamic Vinegar Flavored Peanuts.. The nuts are said to be delicately seasoned,
extra crunchy and kosher certified. The premium product retails in a 450g resealable
flexible stand-up pouch.
Longo Bros Signature Protein Powder Booster is a mix of fruits, nuts and seeds, u
including sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, golden raisins, almonds, cranberries,
walnuts, pecans and pistachios. New from Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc.,
Vaughan, Ontario, the product retails in a 350g PET tub and contains 8g of protein
and 3g of fiber per 50g serving.
t Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS/pharmacy now offers Gold Emblem Dried Tropical Fruit
Blend. The blend is made with a mix of dried pineapple, papaya, coconut, mango and bananas, and is
described as a sweet, chewy treat that is bursting with flavor. The certified-kosher, gluten-free product
retails in a 6-oz. resealable flexible stand-up pouch.
Source: Mintel’s Global New Products Database
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Store Brands / January 2015 / www.storebrands.info