UK Snack Foods

UK Snack Foods

For the purposes of this report, snack foods are defined as crisps, savoury snacks, nuts and baked snacks needing no preparation. In 2005, the total market for snack foods was worth £2.2bn, a decrease of 2.4% from 2004. As the trend towards snacking and `grazing on the hoof' becomes firmly established, more and more products flood onto the market. Manufacturers of crisps and salty snacks not only compete in a mature market dominated in the UK by Walkers, but they face increased competition from manufacturers in other food categories also striving to meet the needs of snackers.

Given the amount of publicity and debate surrounding a healthy diet and an obesity crisis, savoury snack producers are taking measures to make their products healthier before legislative intervention forces it on them. Certainly, healthier products, with reduced sodium and levels of saturated fats, continue to be the fastest-growing segment of the snack market. This is partly due to the fact that food giants are effectively being forced to improve product ingredients in the wake of a backlash from consumers concerned about child health. United Biscuits and PepsiCo are among those companies slashing saturated fat levels and salt content, bringing out healthier versions of the UK's best-selling snacks, such as Hula Hoops and Walkers crisps.

Of major concern is what children are eating in schools and the amount of money they spend on confectionery, chocolate, crisps and canned drinks when travelling to and from school. According to the Sodexho School Meals and Lifestyle Survey 2005, children's spend on the `four Cs' is spiralling out of control and is nearly £190m more than is spent on food by school caterers in producing every school meal in the country. There is a school of thought that says banning such foods from canteens and abolishing vending machines, as from September 2006, will do nothing to alleviate this; in fact it may have the opposite effect. Meanwhile, in the work place, research conducted for United Biscuits by BMRB found that snacking often acts as an excuse to take a break from work and socialise with colleagues.

Mention has already been made of PepsiCo-owned Walkers' domination of the UK snacks industry. In fact, it is this dominance that is blamed for the demise of Golden Wonder, which reigned supreme in the UK in the 1960s, but went into administration in January 2006. Apart from struggling against the power of Walkers, fierce price competition among, and discount offers by, retailers have made trading conditions difficult. There is an increasing trend towards consolidation in the retail grocery industry in both the UK and Western Europe, and these consolidations have concentrated sales channels, increasing the bargaining power of the major grocery retailers.

On the positive side, percentage penetration of crisps and other potato snacks is high, with 88.2% of respondents to a recent Target Group Index (TGI) survey saying that they had eaten them within the preceding year, albeit a decreased percentage from a similar survey conducted in 2004. However, the industry does face the challenge of bringing out new flavours and products to stimulate demand, yet treading carefully for fear of legislative measures aimed at preventing the obesity crisis to which they indisputably contribute.

For the purposes of this report, snack foods are defined as crisps, savoury snacks, nuts and baked snacks needing no preparation. In 2005, the total market for snack foods was worth £2.2bn, a decrease of 2.4% from 2004. As the trend towards snacking and `grazing on the hoof' becomes firmly established, more and more products flood onto the market. Manufacturers of crisps and salty snacks not only compete in a mature market dominated in the UK by Walkers, but they face increased competition from manufacturers in other food categories also striving to meet the needs of snackers.

Given the amount of publicity and debate surrounding a healthy diet and an obesity crisis, savoury snack producers are taking measures to make their products healthier before legislative intervention forces it on them. Certainly, healthier products, with reduced sodium and levels of saturated fats, continue to be the fastest-growing segment of the snack market. This is partly due to the fact that food giants are effectively being forced to improve product ingredients in the wake of a backlash from consumers concerned about child health. United Biscuits and PepsiCo are among those companies slashing saturated fat levels and salt content, bringing out healthier versions of the UK's best-selling snacks, such as Hula Hoops and Walkers crisps.

Of major concern is what children are eating in schools and the amount of money they spend on confectionery, chocolate, crisps and canned drinks when travelling to and from school. According to the Sodexho School Meals and Lifestyle Survey 2005, children's spend on the `four Cs' is spiralling out of control and is nearly £190m more than is spent on food by school caterers in producing every school meal in the country. There is a school of thought that says banning such foods from canteens and abolishing vending machines, as from September 2006, will do nothing to alleviate this; in fact it may have the opposite effect. Meanwhile, in the work place, research conducted for United Biscuits by BMRB found that snacking often acts as an excuse to take a break from work and socialise with colleagues.

Mention has already been made of PepsiCo-owned Walkers' domination of the UK snacks industry. In fact, it is this dominance that is blamed for the demise of Golden Wonder, which reigned supreme in the UK in the 1960s, but went into administration in January 2006. Apart from struggling against the power of Walkers, fierce price competition among, and discount offers by, retailers have made trading conditions difficult. There is an increasing trend towards consolidation in the retail grocery industry in both the UK and Western Europe, and these consolidations have concentrated sales channels, increasing the bargaining power of the major grocery retailers.

On the positive side, percentage penetration of crisps and other potato snacks is high, with 88.2% of respondents to a recent Target Group Index (TGI) survey saying that they had eaten them within the preceding year, albeit a decreased percentage from a similar survey conducted in 2004. However, the industry does face the challenge of bringing out new flavours and products to stimulate demand, yet treading carefully for fear of legislative measures aimed at preventing the obesity crisis to which they indisputably contribute.