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SNACKS SNACKS A CONSIDERED DECISION IN THE COVID ERA Blue Dinosaur Director Mike Watts- Seale tells Convenience World that prior to Covid-19, sales of the brand’s selection of snack and protein bars and bites were “going really well” in the P&C sector, but he wasn’t surprised by the downturn due to the pandemic. “Even now, customers are less inclined to browse through stock at petrol stations, as there’s still an inherent feeling that being in public is dangerous,” he said. “So, when customers are purchasing something, their modus operandi is to quickly grab and go. “Sales will return to normal, but it’ll take quite some time.” He says Blue Dinosaur snacks are sold “pretty much everywhere” except for Coles Express. Mr Watts-Seale says that with less gluttony evident during the pandemic, snacking and spending have been “considered decisions”. He adds that people have been focusing on what’s important to them, with health “coming up as a priority”. “It’s not new that when times are tough people resort to comfort food,” he said, “but what we’re picking up is that people are especially keen on permissible indulgence, which means selecting a snack that tastes nice but also helps them achieve a dietary goal, improve brain function, or that comes in a smaller format, and they’re prepared to pay for that. That’s the space we’re in. “I don’t think in the healthy snacking space there’s as much concern with price as with quality in terms of reaching protein count, etc.” This, he says, is where the Blue Dinosaur Lamington bar and protein bar “over index” above other snacks, because they meet the criteria of taste and functional benefits – as well as the lamington reminding people of their childhood, which also contributes to sales. “Consumers are increasingly reading ingredient labels to find out what they’re eating, with a tremendous amount of information coming through gyms and the like about fitness and diet,” Mr Watts-Seale said. “Health used to be focused on excluding fat, sugar, calories, cholesterol, whereas now it’s more focused on nutrition – putting fuel into the body to achieve health goals and make sure that adequate calories are consumed that come from a good place.” He says superfoods “aren’t trending as hard” as they were, with the focus on holistic eating. “There’s no one ingredient people are preoccupied with, but rather a focus on wholefoods as well as plant- based protein,” Mr Watts-Seale said. “This sees a consumer switch from our brand at times, because they were educated about something they wanted to achieve in their own diet.” As to plant-based protein, Mr Watts- Seale says this can be inefficient to work with because for every 50 per cent of usable protein, 50 per cent by- product is involved. “This means that to get a high protein content in a product is difficult, because there’s such an extreme amount of dehydrated plant product that’s not enjoyable to eat,” he said. “So, we use egg instead, which is 98 per cent protein, enabling us to get closer to the protein holy grail.” Snacking through the day the new norm Mr Watts-Seale highlights that Australia tends to follow the US, where people snack all day, but a “proper meal” still has its place. “Australians are open to novelty in that they love to try new things, but trends can fall by the wayside quickly, with a movement back to the baseline of foods known – so there’s a mix there,” he said. “Social media does play a part in getting younger people, who are generally more open to experimenting, to try new things.” He emphasises that the brand attracts plenty of business from older, educated consumers who could be going through a “change of hormones later in life, as an example” and are happy to try out new foods and diets to help them cope. Mr Watts-Seale says the lack of perceived disruptors, barring a few companies that are doing well in the “online health and protein bar space”, bodes well for the new niche products Blue Dinosaur has in the wings that are currently not being serviced in the market. “We will also put more focus online from a marketing perspective, as it provides a wonderful opportunity to talk directly to the consumer and get to know who they are and what they’re looking for,” he said. "People are especially keen on permissible indulgence, which means selecting a snack that tastes nice but also helps them achieve a dietary goal..." 52 CONVENIENCE WORLD SEP/OCT, 2020