Millennials and Generation Z consumers are revolutionizing the snack industry. In fact, according to fooddive.com, Millennials’ hectic lives often lead them to opt for snacks instead of sit-down meals.
Perhaps this is why Millennials have caused a major shift in sales from conventional snacks to the healthier or organic options offered by private store brands.
As the big brands of snacks try to keep up with new consumer trends, they face the threat of being overtaken by these private brands.
To top it off, private labels throughout the world are on the rise. “The US trails private label market share with only 16%, compared to 52% in the United Kingdom, 42% in Spain, 40% in the Netherlands and 38% in Germany,” according to Ryne Misso, director of product marketing at Market Track.
Many think that big brands ought to be weary of the growing popularity of private brands. “Amazon is the end of brands – and soon it is likely to be producing its own brand of chocolate too,” said Peter Schwartz, senior Vice President for strategic planning at Salesforce at the Chocodivision 2018 Conference.
This change in snacking trends is expected to last a while, as Millennial and Gen Z consumers are expected to keep snacking as they get older. It is also projected that per capita snacking at meal times will rise by at least 12%. According to DataEssential, most consumers eat on average 4 to 5 snacks per day outside of breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Another obstacle that public snack companies in the US face is the recent arrival of German private label supermarkets Aldi and Lindl. “These are largely private label focused grocery stores,” said Miso. “As we’ve seen, even outside of Aldi and lidl, other US grocery stores are looking to expand not only the quality of their private label but also the diversification of their private label offerings.”
If the big snacking brands want a part of this flourishing millennial marketer, their only option will be to work with this new trend and start creating snacks that appeal to a new demographic.
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