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SNACKS ‘HEALTHY’ SNACKS TAKE THE LEAD Before the pandemic hit, research from Roy Morgan found that nearly 90 per cent of surveyed Australian adults consumed packaged snack food in an average week, with ‘healthy’ snacks attracting the biggest rise in popularity over the past decade. The data, from a single-source survey of face-to-face interviews with more than 1,000 Australians, showed that savoury and healthy snacks were the most popular packaged snack categories, while the number of people consuming sweet biscuits had declined. Savoury snacks were eaten by 66 per cent of those surveyed, followed by healthy snacks at 54.7 per cent, chocolates at 48.1 per cent, yoghurt at 44.8 per cent, sweet biscuits at 41.2 per cent, ice cream at 39 per cent, lollies or gum at 30.2 per cent, dips at 22.4 per cent, and frozen/ dairy desserts at 11.5 per cent. The rising healthy snacks category includes items such as muesli bars, breakfast bars and rice crackers. The declining sweet biscuit category includes chocolate and cream filled biscuits, as well as large cookies. Twenty-eight per cent of survey respondents aged over 14 were classed as being ‘heavy’ snackers, consuming seven or more snack items in an average week. ‘Medium’ snackers (four to six snacks) made up 34.5 per cent of the group, and ‘light’ snackers (one to three snacks) 26 per cent. Just 11.5 per cent of those surveyed consumed no packaged snacks in an average week. “Over the past decade, the proportion of Australians who regularly consume packaged snacks has declined slightly, moving from 90.8 per cent to 88.5 per cent,” Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said. “Savoury snacks, such as potato chips, are the most popular choice of Australians, with two- thirds of adults eating them in an average week. “Compared with 10 years ago, there have been increases in the proportion of Australians consuming healthy snacks (3.2 per cent), savoury snacks (1.6 per cent), dips (0.7 per cent) and yoghurt (0.4 per cent).” In contrast, she notes that declines have been recorded in sweet biscuits (8.2 per cent), lollies and gum (7.2 per cent), ice cream (4.2 per cent), chocolates (2.3 per cent) and frozen/ dairy desserts (0.1 per cent). As Ms Levine points out, consumer advocacy group Choice and nutrition experts have repeatedly cited a wide variation in the health factor of products in the snacks space. REPORTS SHOW THE COVID EFFECT In calendar year 2019, snacks in P&C attracted their strongest growth in three years, at 4.1 per cent, after only a 0.7 per cent increase in 2018, according to the AACS State of the Industry Report 2019, sourced from AACS figures, shopper insights from Convenience Measures Australia, IRI and retailer information. AACS CEO Jeff Rogut tells Convenience World the sales performance of snacks in P&C was $202 million in 2019, which constituted $8 million in growth. Dollar share was comparable to 2018 at 2.3 per cent, he says, and margin was down 1.7 per cent to 44.4 per cent, “which was still on the buoyant side”. The average spend on basket snacks was $10.80 per visit in 2019, a nine per cent improvement on 2018, with men comprising 51 per cent of shoppers. Women comprised 49 per cent of shoppers, which was five per cent more than in 2018. The average age of all shoppers was 37, driven by a high share of those aged 18 to 25, Mr Rogut says. The main mission for basket spend in 2019 was buying a drink, at 36 per cent. Nuts, jerky and rice snacks grew the most at 8.3 per cent, according to the report. Their dollar share was 16 per cent, which represented 8.9 per cent dollar growth compared with a decline in dollar growth of 18.5 per cent in 2018. Chips delivered the biggest value contribution. Their dollar share was 80.4 per cent, which represented five per cent dollar growth over 0.5 per cent dollar growth in 2018. Popcorn performed poorly, with its dollar share coming in at 3.6 per cent, which represented a decline of 26 per cent in dollar growth in 2019 after a decline of 18.5 per cent in dollar growth in 2018. “This was the second year of double- digit value decline for popcorn after good growth in 2016,” Mr Rogut said. The AACS has recently released its 'State of the Industry Half Yearly Report 2020', prepared for the association by Convenience Measures Australia. It shows that on a MAT basis, snacks growth is now at 0.1 per cent. The largest category, chips, represents 80 per cent share and remains in growth of 2.7 per cent on a MAT basis. Like a number of categories, the report shows that the latest quarter has been tough for snacks, with a decline of 6.9 per cent. Chips declined by 3.6 per cent in this period, with nuts down 14.3 per cent and popcorn down 41.9 per cent. Mr Rogut underscores that innovation is a critical avenue for growth as consumers seek out new products and taste sensations when it comes to snacking products. “It’s important that snack companies balance price with quality and wellness as well as value,” he said. “With more people working from home and fewer opportunities for mobility and eating TO PAGE 50 "It’s important that snack companies balance price with quality and wellness as well as value.” 48 CONVENIENCE WORLD SEP/OCT, 2020