Snacking trends research

This research paper from the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association provides further compelling insight into consumer demand for fresh, healthy food. This research revealed which snacks are selected, when and where they are eaten, and how those choices are made by the consumer.

Key findings from this paper that point to our Go4Fresh healthy food retailing opportunity being an ideal platform to deliver what the consumer wants include:

A healthy demand: Healthier snacks are in high demand as consumers today are very interested in products lower in fat, trans fats, and calories.
(With our machines, the consumer can choose their snack on calorific, fat or ingredient content)

Snacks take on new meaning: Having broadened their view of snacks beyond such items as chips, cookies, and crackers, consumers today are more likely to consider any small portion of food as a potential snacking candidate. Retailers, however, have not caught up to this new consumer thinking (while only 20% of consumers today define snacks traditionally, 40% of retailers still do so). This perceptual gap separating retailers and their customers is alarming — an indication that, as a group, retailers do not fully recognize their competition within the snack market.

Convenience is king: Busier lifestyles have led to an increased demand for convenient snacks — those that are easy to access, easy to prepare, easy to eat, and easy to clean up.
(You cant get much easier than healthy food provided in your workplace, with biodegradable packaging, too)

Eating several small meals a day: One of the greatest opportunities for the snack market — and one that directly addresses the health concerns that have triggered a decline in consumption — is to position snacks as part of a healthy diet of eating several small meals a day.
(With our machine, the retailer can cost-effectively and safely vend healthy foods, anytime)

The Perfect Snack: Consumers define the ideal snack as one that is healthy, tastes sinful, and is convenient in all aspects. This "holy grail" definition of snacks, though perhaps difficult to produce against, is insightful because it is constructed directly from consumer testimony. In other words, consumers know what they want and are very clear in expressing it. The question is, which companies will be able to meet this demand most effectively?
(And how are they going to vend it without the Go4Fresh system?!)

Compelling stuff, eh!?