WASHINGTON, DC — Innovation is the language of emerging CPG brands, and these days, the snack market is the centrifuge.

During a recent webinar hosted by the Emerge Network, David Walsh, VP of membership and communications for SNAC International, shared insight on snacking trends that will impact emerging brands the most.

Even before the pandemic hit, the snack category was one of the fastest growing, and it has picked up even more momentum over the past 18 to 24 months. In fact, IRI data has indicated the category will reach $16 billion in growth over the next five years.

Lifestyle changes have been a massive driver for change, setting the stage for much of the recent category growth, according to Walsh.

“We have seen how consumers were kind of snacking everywhere, at all times,” he said. “It was all about on-the-go, convenience and portable options. And now, as working from home becomes such a popular concept, snacking from home has really grown along with it.”

While the need for portability may have slightly waned, the frequency of snacking throughout the day persists, regardless of where the occasion takes place.

Walsh noted that the average consumer snacks about 2.7 times per day, but the number of people who snack five or more times per day is on the rise.

“These are the people who really snack throughout the day instead of eating traditional sit-down meals,” he said. “They’re grazing throughout the day.”

It’s also important to think about where consumers are purchasing their snacks, as there are more channels at play than ever before. This is especially important for creators of new snack brands still determining their channel strategies.

Walsh noted that snacking in all channels increased 5% over the past year, and e-commerce in particular has had a heyday as consumers relied on new shopping methods during lockdowns, quarantines and general hesitation to in-person shopping.

“E-commerce is up 27% over the past year,” Walsh said, “and that was on the heels of 83% in 2020 and 35% in 2019. The pandemic really caused that trend to explode. So, if you’re in snacking, you really need to think about your e-commerce strategies more than ever.”

In this new pandemic-laden reality, consumers have a different view of health, and it permeates nearly every facet of their lives. During those frequent snacking occasions, consumers are thinking about holistic health at the same time, and this is giving rise to the popularity of innovative healthy snacks.

“People are looking for food that benefits things like their brain and their digestive or heart health,” Walsh noted. “And they’re doing that by eating all kinds of functional, new ingredients. We’re really seeing the snack category as a home for a lot of that innovation.”

Specifically, Walsh noted that functional snacks that tout alternative ingredients are blowing up in popularity of late. He said products high in fiber, protein, whole grains and calcium, or fortified with vitamins, minerals or antioxidants, are playing out well in the category.

“What we’ve seen over the past couple of years is that many consumers are willing to pay more for snacks they perceive as healthy,” he added. “They’re not only saying they prefer these things, but they’re also putting their money where their mouth is, so to speak.”

SNAC International is part of the Emerge Network partner community, established to help Emerge members — founders of emerging CPG brands typically in post-startup — network and discover new brand building and business opportunities.

Emerge will host more webinars throughout 2022, covering topics such as the buyer’s journey and evaluating alternative foodservice channels. More information about emerge member benefits can be found at www.moreshelfspace.org.