Opportunities for healthy food and drink brands in the US vending channel

Snacking is the over-arching driver in the food industry, affecting every category. This report examines innovations in format, ingredients and marketing and includes 15 detailed Case Studies of healthy snacking brands (see full list of case studies below). Among the case studies are the three most successful snack launches of the last two years – one of them offering “natural functionality” and fun marketing, another the natural health benefits of fruit, while the third is a brand that has legitimized the idea of snacking at breakfast for slow-release energy.

This 122-page report is written by experienced food marketers to be a practical guide to strategy:

* The three Key Trends in snacking that provide the greatest opportunities – and which are the focus of the most successful brands – are detailed in a concise 45-page introduction, along with a step-by-step guide to practical innovation strategy and brand positioning for snacks.

* The 15 Case Studies detail which strategies snacking brands have adopted to become successful with oats, wholegrains, fruit and vegetables, protein, fibre, cocoa, nuts and berries.

* Each Case Study addresses packaging, choice of ingredients, nutrition profiles, product messages, marketing communications strategy, pricing strategies (and why some brands are able to earn premium prices), which consumers buy them and why, all supported with supermarket sales data.

* The Case Studies will enable you to understand how to communicate a range of benefits – from “slow-release energy” to “a serving of fruit” – and why some brands succeed and others fail.

This report provides practical insights and examples for any company, large or small, aiming to create a successful snacking proposition and better-manage the risks of new product development and innovation.

Each Case Study gives our usual independent and opinionated analysis, based on interviews with executives at all of the companies concerned, as well as independent industry experts.

Table of contents

Executive summary

1. Healthy snacking: a wealth of innovation opportunities
1.1 Four factors for success in snacking
1.2 Innovation without limits
1.3 The essential qualities needed for innovation

2. Key trends in healthy snacking
2.1 Trend 1: Naturalness
2.2 Trend 2: Fruit & vegetables
2.3 Trend 3: Higher protein, slower carbs

3. Brand positioning in healthy snacking
3.1 Targeting the right consumers
3.2 Distribution & routes to market: smart thinking finds smarter ways to take health to market
3.3 Marketing communications

4. Seven strategies to increase your chances of success in healthy snacking

5. Case studies
Innovation in format
Case study 1: Popchips - new product format delivers healthier chip at premium price

Innovation in ingredients
Case study 2: Mars - exploring how to make cocoa the next ingredient success in snacks

Targeting the technology consumer
Case study 3: Probake 50 - new format brings a healthy dose of protein

Targeting the lifestyle consumer
Case study 4: Smaller, leaner, kinder: bars tap into womens needs
Case study 5: ThinkThin Bars wellness platform resonates with women

Targeting the mass market
Case study 6: Kraft Belvita Breakfast - giving people permission to have a sweet snack at breakfast
Case study 7: Fiber One - an expert brand in digestive health

Naturalness - the biggest trend
Case study 8: PepsiCo transforms the snack food aisle into the natural food aisle
Case study 9: Wonderful Pistachios - making natural into a super-premium success
Case study 10: Nairns - product innovation, natural energy from expert brand in oat-based snacks

Fruit & vegetables
Case study 11: Nature Addicts - Europes most successful new snack brand
Case study 12: Castus fruit snacks - a hit with Danish children
Case study 13: Frito-Lays fruit and vegetable snack brand ambitions fall to earth
Case study 14: Ocean Spray - from bog fruit to big fruit
Case study 15: Berries - convenience, indulgence and natural functionality drive a super-premium success story

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Related research categories

By sector: General drinks

By market: United States (in North America)