Page 53 - Demo

SNACKS products is they have to meet a consumer need and provide at least three or more points of innovation, because the snacks space in convenience is very competitive,” he said. “They have to be creative and innovative, whether through packaging, portion size, ingredients, supply process, or social and environmental position, etc.” A category buyer’s interest can no longer be elicited by a product such as “another water cracker” being presented as cheaper or featuring 5g more per pack, he says. Mr Tucker says “quality” remains the most important factor for the Tucker’s Natural snack products, accompanied by “value for money”, as well, of course, as being Australian owned and made. “In times of crisis, mass produced cheaper products have always provided volume sales,” he said. “However, through this health crisis consumers are also looking for products that support their health – both physical and mental – and nutrition, and this trend will continue well beyond Covid-19.” He adds that packaging and positioning are the brand’s best marketing tools in P&C outlets. “We make sure our packaging calls out the fact that we’re an Australian family owned business that manufactures all its products in South Australia and sources its ingredients locally, as we feel this now more than ever holds weight with consumers.” Pinpointed snack trends Mr Tucker points to a general increase in the consumption of salty snacks, given that sweet snacks have been established for a long time, “Salty snacks lend themselves to healthy credentials through the addition of fibre and protein and the like,” he said. “People are also looking towards more plant- based products from both a health and environmental perspective. With the entry of Covid-19 to our world, both attributes will continue to command greater consumer interest.” Fortunately, both trends perfectly align with the company’s philosophy of ‘natural snacking every day’, and the style of product it seeks to produce and how it’s produced, says Mr Tucker. “Consumers are demanding sustainable, plant-based proteins from traceable farmed ingredients,” he said. “This is a strong focus for our business, and we’ll be bringing through products with these types of credentials in the next six months. If a snack can cater to the vegan and gluten free market with the same product and still deliver on convenience and taste, it will do well because there’s definitely growing demand in this space.” And the “snacking space” is only going to grow, Mr Tucker says, with the extent to which Australians “graze” across the day. He says it’s interesting to watch his own kids snack constantly and still manage to eat their main meals. “There’s no doubt that people are snacking throughout the day and I think that's a positive thing for metabolism and for overall weight management,” Mr Tucker said. “That’s where we’re targeting our snacks: for snacking on the go, between meals and occasionally as a substitute for meals.” Online shopping The online channel has become more of a focus during the pandemic, Mr Tucker says, but previously Australia generally has been reluctant to embrace online food shopping. “There’s definitely a bigger opportunity for us to work with retailers to develop and support their online offer, and in turn, our customers,” he said. “That’s one of our focus points coming out of this crisis. I think if we’re honest, through this health crisis many of us have at times been scared to go out into the physical retail environment and have been relieved to have the option of online ordering.” SEP/OCT, 2020 CONVENIENCE WORLD 51