Is Snacking Contagious?

WICHITA, Kan., June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Snacking is fundamentally changing the way consumers eat food in America, with 81% of consumers saying they snack at least once a day. A new white paper "Snacker Nation" by Sullivan Higdon & Sink (SHS) FoodThink details Americans' continued obsession with snacking and outlines five distinct snacker consumer segments including the "Social Snacker."  

"Consumers have different reasons for their snacking choices and styles, so we dug deeper into these specific segments to see why they snack and how food companies can appeal to them," said Christy Niebaum, senior FoodThink researcher. "Consumers have evolved their definition of snacking, and it now has a social aspect to it, in addition to wanting to add variety and healthy options to their diet."

Meet Today's Snackers:
These specific snacker consumer segments include: "the Healthy Snacker (29%)," "the Bored Snacker (28%)," "the Starving Snacker (21%),""the Non-Snacker (12%)" and "the Social Snacker (10%)." The new white paper breaks down the segments according to their particular demographic insights, snacking attitudes and possible snack offerings. FoodThink readers can determine their snacker segment by taking a quiz at shsfoodthink.com/snackerquiz and receive a free in-depth profile.  

Quick Snack Stats:
Food marketers can learn more about how to satisfy snacking consumers in FoodThink's latest white paper. Some of the key takeaways include:

• ­   44% of Americans say their definition of a snack has evolved.
• ­   23% say they intend to snack more in the future, especially Millennials at 37%.
• ­   3 in 4 say snacking can be part of a healthy diet.

"People aren't as concerned about spoiling their dinner by snacking anymore, and they are looking at food companies to provide them with more snack-size meal choices," said Niebaum. "Food marketers that consider delivering a variety of smaller meals with some healthy, convenient options on the menu or on the shelf that encourage shareable meals will strongly appeal to consumers."

FoodThink white papers are built on proprietary research conducted in 2014 and utilize the responses from more than 2,000 U.S. consumers of diverse demographic backgrounds.

Download a free copy of the white paper with key implications for food marketers and follow the blog at shsfoodthink.com. 

About Sullivan Higdon & Sink's FoodThink: Sullivan Higdon & Sink is a full-service advertising and marketing agency with a focus on food value chain marketing – promoting products all along the farm-to-table spectrum.

SOURCE Sullivan Higdon & Sink

Related Links

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