Crisps and chocolate may be the stalwarts when it comes to snacking, but baked goods are increasingly becoming the ‘go to’ choice for consumers in between meals.
Businesses of all shapes and sizes are keen to capitalise on this with NPD, marketing campaigns, and listings to ensure their snacks are to hand when consumers get peckish.
“Snacking or eating between meals was once frowned on but is now part of our everyday eating experience,” says Jacqui Passmore, marketing manager UK and Ireland at Dawn Foods. “Consumers have shifted their perception of sweet goods to be an essential part of a balanced lifestyle.
“The change is tied to the growing importance of mental wellness, with consumers finding ways to bring moments of joy into their daily routine with smaller-sized, high-quality sweet snacking treats.”
Over the years the snacking/on the go space has moved away from confectionery influenced to much more health focussed
So, other than joy, what are consumers looking for from baked goods in the snacking market? Where are they buying their snacks from? And what are bakery businesses doing to cater to this?
Notably, sweet bakery has the second largest share of the snack market after confectionery, with savoury snacks coming in third, according to Rob Macklin, branded dessert ingredient category lead at Nestlé Professional. What’s more, sweet bakery saw “particularly high growth” last year thanks to a 41.5% increase in sales out of home (Kantar 52 w/e 30th October 2022 vs 2021 vs 2019).
“This could be attributed to the boom in food-to-go, with more people returning to the office and picking up a treat on the way. Easy to grab and consume on the go, muffins, cookies, and other cakes such as brownies were the fastest growing categories in 2021 to 2022,” he says.
Coffee shop crowd
Coffee shops are the top spots to purchase sweet baked goods, followed by bakeries, sandwich shops and retail OOH, according to Kantar take home data for the 52 w/e 30 October 2022.
“Notably, consumption does not always happen at the point of purchase,” Macklin says. “Although the workplace was only the fifth most popular place to actually buy sweet bakery, it’s one of the top locations for consumption, with two in three sweet bakery items bought from retail consumed outside, in the workplace or at a sandwich shop.”
Viennoiserie also performs well in this arena as research from Délifrance found that 87% of consumers say they snack on pastries. It also found that two thirds of consumers eat pastries as a treat, reward, or to cheer themselves up.
What’s more, half of pastry purchases are made on impulse so Stéphanie Brillouet, marketing director at Délifrance, urges operators to ensure they have a visually appealing selection on display at all times.
“Our breakfast market research revealed that consumers were having ‘split breakfasts’ – having a slice of toast or bowl of cereal at home and then treating themselves to another snack on the go. Pastries are one of the top items eaten on-the-go, and consumers are two and half times more likely to buy these or muffins from coffee shops, bakeries and chain or independent cafes,” Brillouet adds.
Grabbing the opportunity
Food-to-go is certainly grabbing the attention of bakery businesses as an increasing number of products are made suitable for grab and go consumption.
Higgidy, for example, is seeking out listings in food-to-go retailers such as Boots and WH Smiths alongside traditional grocery outlets. “Food on the go presents a huge opportunity for the brand, even in more traditional outlets,” explains CEO Rachel Kelley.
The pastry specialist launched Cheese & Onion Twin Pack Rolls into Waitrose at the end of January 2023, “adding premium to front of store and drawing a different shopper to the fixture with increased value driven by pre-families and high affluency shoppers”, Kelley adds.
Recognising that many snacks aren’t eaten at the point of purchase, it has also expanded its range with the likes of Little Lattices in Sweet Potato Katsu Curry and Spinach, Feta & Red Pepper variants aimed at the snacking market. Bang Bang Cauliflower Dinky Rolls and vegan savoury muffins are another recent innovation aimed at peckish consumers.
Soreen is also making a play for the market as the malt loaf brand notes 52% of all its consumption occasions are for snacks. “Bakery snacks tend to be consumed in the home and therefore the bulk of purchasing comes from ‘back of shop’ locations,” notes Charlotte Turner-Roberts, category manager at Soreen. However, like Higgidy, Soreen has spied opportunity in food-to-go and has created pre-spread malt and banana loaves to cater for this.
Cross category collaboration
As alluded to previously, wellbeing in all its guises is a huge driver as consumers predominantly turn to snacks for health or indulgence reasons to meet their physical and mental health needs.
“Over the years the snacking/on-the-go space has moved away from confectionery influenced to much more health focussed, with nut and protein-based products with much greater visibility and an opportunity for other type of snacks such as bakery goods to take their place,” Turner-Roberts adds.
“For bakers, this, along with the blurring of mealtimes means desire by consumers for an indulgent treat that is ‘better for you’ provides real opportunity for innovation and sales in both branded bakery and in-store bakery. Where previously a consumer may have bought a confectionery treat at the till, now they may pick up a protein bar or a healthier bite size bakery item during their shop.”
It’s important that bakery snacks have added value. It is this which Mike Bagshaw, founder of flavour supplier I.T.S., believes will help them stand out in an “incredibly crowded” market. This could be an ‘added protein’, ‘added fibre’, or ‘low in fat’ claim, as bakery takes its cues from other markets.
Ancient grains, fruit and vegetables, nuts, and seeds are among the ingredients helping to add health cues to baked goods.
“The growing trend of snacking and health combined has created a ‘crossover category’ of bakery snacks and sports nutrition products with a growing trend for products that deliver indulgence but without the consequences,” Bagshaw adds.
Steve Monk, founder of Good Guys Bakehouse and formerly general manager for the savoury snacks business at Pladis, says baked snacks are back post-pandemic but believes there is a “polarisation of the market as both health-focused and indulgence-focused brands drive growth at the expense of the ‘middle ground’ mainstream brands”.
“While baked products are still being sought by consumers vs fried snacks it is not enough to drive preference. Healthier brands need to deliver benefits in taste and texture above all else, and to clearly communicate this through the brand identity and pack design,” he adds.
It seems there is plenty of opportunity for baked goods, with the right proposition, to help shoppers when they have a snack attack.
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