The back-to-school market provides a wide range of opportunities for independents to capitalise on the anticipated increase in lunchbox sales of food and drink as the new term arrives.
Snacking products are growing in relevance for children’s school lunchboxes and, with parents keen to deter visits to the local chippy, independent stores can score with parents as well as their hungry cherubs. Offer something healthier than a fat-laden, sugar- and salt-saturated filler and you are more likely to earn parents’ gratitude and repeat custom.The back-to-school market provides a wide range of opportunities for independents to capitalise on the anticipated increase in lunchbox sales of food and drink as the new term arrives. Snacking products are growing in relevance for children’s school lunchboxes and, with parents keen to deter visits to the local chippy, independent stores can score with parents as well as their hungry cherubs. Offer something healthier than a fat-laden, sugar- and salt-saturated filler and you are more likely to earn parents’ gratitude and repeat custom.
Kay Patel, owner of five stores – two of which, in Wanstead, and one in Stratford, east London, rely heavily on schoolchildren in the morning and evening – says a focus on less salt, fat and sugar is having a big influence on stocking policies for the back-to-school market. “We have always tried to have a healthier option available in most categories – be that Walkers Baked in our crisps range or a comprehensive range of sugar-free drinks, even before the sugar tax – and Nestlé Wowsomes and reduced-sugar Fruit Pastilles in the confectionery offering.”
Health trend
Felipe Castillo, head of innovation for Europe and Eurasia at Grabits, the chicken-on-a-stick company, says: “Currently, health is the most significant consumer trend for children’s lunchboxes.” It is something each parent considers when buying food for their offspring. “They want to make sure their children have a healthy, balanced diet, and this is mainly because childhood obesity and excess weight are significant health issues that can impact health from a young age and can then follow on into adult life.”
The landscape has changed since Public Health England reported three years ago that two-thirds of adults, a quarter of two- to 10-year-olds and one-third of 11 to 15s were overweight or obese. The number of children at an unhealthy and potentially dangerous weight has become a national public health concern, which Castillo says has boosted demand for healthier snacks.
Some crisps and chocolate bars “just won’t cut it anymore” for parents buying for their children, Castillo says. “In turn, healthier products, wholefoods and gluten-free…are now favoured by many and are flying off the shelves.” Grabits ticks every box, he claims, in terms of health: low in fat, high in protein and low in calories, as well as a good flavour. However, he points out that children, especially, are uncompromising when it comes to flavour. A healthy, yet tasteless, product will rarely triumph over a product that is full of flavour and has a “high-quality texture”, he says.
Snack attack
Changing lifestyles correlate with the shift to snacking. Castillo says: “As lifestyles are changing, children’s free time is being increasingly spent at after-school activities, and their eating habits are changing to reflect this.” Therefore, snacking is becoming an increasingly important part of children’s daily eating habits as mums look to refuel kids on their way to different activities. Retailers need to have a variety of on-the-go snacks that can be easily picked up and are appealing to both mums and their offspring, Castillo says. “Parents want to know they are giving their children a snack that’s healthy, filling and one they’ll enjoy. Almost every child carries a snack to school, meaning the shift from the traditional three meals a day to a grazing approach to food has created an opportunity for snack brands to capitalise on, as retailers begin to position snacking as a key part of the daily routine.”
Top sellers
Avtar Sidhu, owner of Kenilworth Budgens, Warwickshire, expects yogurts, fruit juices, multipacks of crisps and confectionery will be his biggest sellers in the back-to-school market this year. “Our customer demographic is very much aware and conscious of a healthier lifestyle and eating perceptions,” he says. “This is even stronger for parents who have young children. We have focused on health and wellbeing for quite some time.” Sidhu says the current focus on the sugar tax and health has raised this awareness to an all-time high among the public. “We as responsible retailers need to lead the charge to focus our ranges to mirror customer sentiment and trends.”
Pavan Chandra, marketing manager at Peperami and its parent company, Jack Link’s, acknowledges that healthy eating has become embedded in the UK’s eating habits. Protein is widely seen as healthy and its role has evolved from niche muscle-building to having a broader everyday appeal where energy and vitality feature, he says. Whether processed meat snacks per se are “healthy” is a moot point, but Jack Link’s says meat snacking products such as its own Jerky demonstrate that with the inherent protein benefits, “a great category trade-up story for convenience store owners” can be had, with average price per serving close to three times that of savoury crisps. “They are also a great shopper solution for parents seeking healthier snacks for their children,” Chandra says. The meat snacking market is still young, with plenty of room for further growth, he believes.
Taste test
Matt Collins, sales director for convenience, wholesale, discounters and foodservice at KP Snacks – the McCoy’s, Hula Hoops and Space Raiders company – says sandwiches are always king at lunchtime, but the “carried-out lunch occasion” is much more likely to feature “portable” items such as fruit, crisps and yogurt. “We know taste/flavour is a major influence when choosing a snack, with convenience a key driver, too.”
But he adds that KP knows from its research that when choosing a snack, the “decision spectrum” could start at fruit at one end and extend all the way to chocolate at the other. “Within this spectrum, consumers weigh up the balance between health and taste/enjoyment. Thirty-nine percent of people who snack look for a healthy product and 49% say crisps/savoury snacks are a healthier choice than sugary snacks.”
Nutrition labels
Anca Lazar, brand manager at Dairy Crest for its Cathedral City cheeses, says the recent backlash against sugar and processed carbohydrates has seen an increasing number of Brits paying attention to the nutrition label before buying. “Consumers are becoming more mindful of the quality of calories, which means naturally nutritious, protein-rich snacking products such as dairy-based snacks have become increasingly popular with shoppers.”
The pre-packed cheese snack sector is a growing one and also presents a lunchbox opportunity for independents, Lazar says. “Furthermore, as a naturally nutrient-rich food – high in protein, a good source of calcium and packed with vitamins and minerals that keep our bodies performing as they should – cheese can make for a nutritious between-meals snack.”
Cathedral City Snack Bar is the newest launch from the brand – a 30g product available in Mature and Lighter Mature variants. Cathedral City Snack Bars are also available in multi-packs of four. “Our Snack Bar offers the opportunity to drive relevance and consideration of cheese as a savoury snacking alternative at on-the-go snacking occasions when merchandised alongside other grab-and-go food items,” says Lazar.
“We recognise there is still a gap in the market to target more health-conscious consumers with a delicious on-the-go cheese format and our 30g Snack Bar does just that. Our Mature lighter bar has just 99 kcals, which makes it a very credible alternative to a small bag of crisps or a cereal bar,” he says.
Individually wrapped
Susan Nash, trade communications manager at Mondelēz International, agrees that snacking cheese makes a great savoury component of a lunchbox. “Brands such as Dairylea are well placed to tap into consumer desires for individually wrapped formats that can help with portion control and are also ideal to grab on-the-go.” Innovation in “snacking kits” is a growth opportunity in 2018, Mondelēz says. Dunkers Sweet Chilli Baked Bites, launched in April, feature Dairylea cheese and introduce new sweet chilli flavour bites as the dunker. Dairylea Snackers Mini Oreo and Dairylea Snackers Mini Chocolate Cookies joined the Dairylea range at the same time in on-the-go snack-packs.
By Andrew Don
