Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources and methodology
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
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- All kids snack, but age and gender impact types eaten
- Healthy snacks—parents seek out options that kids will eat
- Savory snacks—bucking the small portion trend
- Salty snacks—chips are popular, but crackers may have greater reach
- Sweet snacks—diverse marketing and brand focus in sub-segments
- Kids want snacks that focus on fun (sometimes more important than taste)
- Factors influencing kids snacks
- Brand qualities—how brands are positioned
- Innovation relies more on tried and true tactics than exploring new ground
- Marketing kids snacks
- Kids’ snacking habits
- How kids choose snacks
- How parents choose kids’ snacks
Insights and Opportunities
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- Make healthy snacks fun
- Parents are becoming more savvy in wading through health claims
- Packaging innovation – kids need portion control too
- Returning to a focus on kids
- Dazzle kids with truly innovative products
Fast Forward Trends
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- Marketing to tomorrow's consumer today
- Candy goes natural
- Consumers get respect
- Moral brands
- What's it about?
- What we've seen
- Specifics
- Potential implications for snacks
All Kids Snack
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- Figure 1: Incidence of snacking between meals, December 2007
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Foods Eaten as Snacks
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- Key points
- The juxtaposition of healthy snacks versus junk food snacks evident in kids’ snack choices
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- Figure 2: Foods eaten as snacks, December 2007
- Snack choices vary by gender and age
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- Figure 3: Foods eaten as snacks, by gender and age, December 2007
Healthy Snacks
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- Key points
- Among healthy snacks eaten, fresh fruit offers greatest appeal
- Healthy-positioned snacks favored by kids, questioned by parents
- Fruit snacks
- Yogurt
- Cereal bars
- Portion-control packaging implies healthy snack
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- Figure 4: Healthy foods eaten as snacks, December 2007
Savory Snacks
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- Key points
- Savory snacks are typically used as an after-school snack
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- Figure 5: Ways/times in which kids/teens eat frozen snacks, July 2007
- Brands focus on young consumers, eating on the go, and helping children help themselves prepare snacks
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- Figure 6: Savory foods eaten as snacks, December 2007
Salty Snacks
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- Key points
- Salty snacks are among kids’ favorite snack foods
- Chips: unhealthy but a universal favorite—growth in BFY offerings
- Popcorn: more nutritious options but less convenient
- Crackers: marrying health, convenience, and child appeal
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- Figure 7: Salty snacks used by kids aged 6-11, Spring 2007
Sweet Snacks
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- Key points
- Sweet snacks are an integral part of children’s snacking habits
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- Figure 8: Kids’ attitudes towards food, Fall 2005 and Spring 2007
- Cookies: widespread use of portion-control packages and character licensing
- Snack cakes: relying on shapes and characters to retain child-appeal
- Pudding/gelatin: category players have less focus on kids
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- Figure 9: Sweet snacks used by kids aged 6-11, Spring 2007
What Makes Snacks Fun
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- Key points
- Kids like characters
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- Figure 10: What makes snacks fun, December 2007
- Younger kids favor characters, while older kids like unusual flavors
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- Figure 11: What makes snacks fun, by gender and age, December 2007
Market Factors
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- America’s population of its most fervent snackers is on the rise
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- Figure 12: U.S. population projections of kids, by age, 2003-13
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- Figure 13: Incidence of snacking between meals, by age, December 2007
- Kids continue to battle the bulge
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- Figure 14: Attributes important to choosing snack for kids, December 2007
- Broad-based government action targets adults and kids alike
- Marketers are spending more to attract child consumers
- Foodservice vying for its share of the snack market
Brand Qualities
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- Frito Lay
- Kraft/Nabisco
- General Mills
- Private label: Kroger’s Disney Magic Selections
Innovation and Innovators
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- Key points
- More of the same in product launches targeting kids
- Forward thinking innovators focus on function
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- Figure 15: New kids snack product launches* by sub-category and year, 2003-07
- Kellogg—category’s top innovator
Innovations in the Natural Channel/SPINS
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- Kellogg’s Kashi Division Stretch Island Fruit Company
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- Figure 16: Natural product supermarket retail sales of Stretch Island Fruit Leather and Fruitabu Organic Smooshed Fruit, 2005-07
- Homegrown Naturals Bunny Grahams
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- Figure 17: Natural product supermarket retail sales of Annie’s Bunny Grahams, 2005-07
- Honest Tea Juice Pouches
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- Figure 18: Natural product supermarket retail sales of Honest Tea Juice Pouches, 2005-07
- Clif Bar and ClifKids
Advertising and Promotion
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- Overview
- Character power
- Yogurt
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- Figure 19: Television ad for Dannon’s Danimals with tie-in to High School Musical
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- Figure 20: Television ad for Yoplait’s Trix yogurt with tie-in to Over the Hedge
- Snack cakes
- Fun factor
- Crackers
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- Figure 21: Television ad for Pepperidge Farm goldfish, “Bon Voyage, Finn”
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- Figure 22: Television ad for Pepperidge Farm goldfish, “Flavor Blasted Goldfish”
- Figure 23: Television ad for Pepperidge Farm goldfish, “Goldfish at Play”
- Cookies
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- Figure 24: Television ad for Kraft Nabisco’s Chips Ahoy!, “Do not you want me baby”
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- Figure 25: Television ad for Kraft Nabisco’s Chips Ahoy!, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”
- Salty snacks
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- Figure 26: Television ad for Frito Lay’s Cheetos Flaming Hot
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- Figure 27: Television ad for Frito Lay’s Cheetos Baked
- Family-centric
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- Figure 28: Television ad for Kraft Nabisco’s Oreos, Generations
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- Figure 29: Television ad for Kraft Nabisco’s Oreos, Home video
- Healthy snacking
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- Figure 30: Television ad for Quaker Granola Bites
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- Figure 31: Television ad for Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs granola bars
Frequency of Snacking
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- Figure 32: Frequency of snacking in a typcial day, December 2007
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- Figure 33: Frequency of snacking in a typcial day, by gender and age, December 2007
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When Snacks are Eaten
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- Figure 34: When snacks are eaten, December 2007
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- Figure 35: When snacks are eaten, by gender and age, December 2007
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Attitudes and Behavior
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- Figure 36: Attitudes and behavior towards snacking, December 2007
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- Figure 37: Attitudes and behavior towards snacking, by gender and age, December 2007
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- Figure 38: Attitudes and behavior towards snacking, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
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- Figure 39: Attitudes and behavior towards snacking, by region, December 2007
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Choosing Snacks for Kids (and Yourself)
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- Figure 40: Attributes important to choosing snack for kids and for yourself, December 2007
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- Figure 41: Attributes important to choosing snack for kids, by gender, December 2007
- Figure 42: Attributes important to choosing snack for kids, by household income, December 2007
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The Changing School Vending Machine
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- Figure 43: Snacks sold in vending machines at school, May 2006-June 2007
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Custom Consumer Research
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- Proof that kids know exactly which snacks are healthiest
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- Figure 44: Frequency of snacking in a typcial day, by healthy (or not) snackers and by those who favor (or not) snacks over meals, December 2007
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- Figure 45: Foods eaten as snacks, by healthy (or not) snackers and by those who favor (or not) snacks over meals, December 2007
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- Figure 46: When snacks are eaten, by healthy (or not) snackers and by those who favor (or not) snacks over meals, December 2007
IRI/Builders Panel Data
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- Consumer insights—kids snack items
- Sweet snacks: Cookies
- Sweet snacks: Cupcakes
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- Figure 47: Household sales of cookies/cupcakes/brownies, by household penetration, for the 52 weeks ending 06/24/07
- Salty snacks: Potato chips
- Salty snacks: tortilla chips
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- Figure 48: Household sales of potato chips, by household penetration, for the 52 weeks ending 06/24/07
- Healthy snacks: crackers
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- Figure 49: Household sales of selected crackers, by household penetration, for the 52 weeks ending 06/24/07
- Healthy snacks: Refrigerated yogurt and yogurt drinks
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- Figure 50: Household sales of refrigerated yogurt and yogurt drinks, by household penetration, for the 52 weeks ending 06/24/07
Appendix: Other Useful Consumer Tables
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- Foods eaten as snacks
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- Figure 51: Foods eaten as snacks, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
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- Figure 52: Foods eaten as snacks, by number of kids in household, December 2007
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- Figure 53: Foods eaten as snacks, by region, December 2007
- What makes snacks fun
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- Figure 54: What makes snacks fun, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
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- Figure 55: What makes snacks fun, by region, December 2007
- Frequency of kids’ snacking
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- Figure 56: Frequency of snacking in a typcial day, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
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- Figure 57: Frequency of snacking in a typcial day, by region, December 2007
- When snacks are eaten
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- Figure 58: When snacks are eaten, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
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- Figure 59: When snacks are eaten, by region, December 2007
Appendix: IRI/Builders Panel Data Definitions
Appendix: Trade Associations
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