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Surveys on healthy snacking and veganism

Source:Food Bev Asia Release Date:2017-05-03 716
Food & Beverage
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Two surveys released by Mintel on China's snack consumption and Germany's lead in vegan products

RECENTLY, Mintel shared two reports related to changing food preferences, one among Chinese consumers, and the other among Germans. The study on China finds the growing appetite for health snacks, specifically nuts, and lower intake of products with sugar or fat.  While the report on Germany reveals the country took the lead in vegan food innovations in 2016:

Survey 1: 40% of urban Chinese consumers report eating more nuts

While snacking is often thought of as an indulgent and convenient alternative to traditional meal times, many consumers are now focusing on their health, creating new opportunity for healthy snacks. Mintel’s new report reveals that four in 10 (40%) urban Chinese consumers eat more nuts and seeds today compared to six months ago. Pointing to the rise in popularity of these healthy snacks, 58% of consumers say that nuts and seeds taste good and 44% say they are convenient to eat, while only 9% say nuts and seeds are unhealthy.

It seems that nuts are high in demand in China as product launch activity is also on the rise. Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD) reveals that 17.5% of snack products launched in China between 2014 and 2016 were nuts, compared to 15.3% of those launched globally.

The healthy snacking trend is contributing to the growing popularity of nuts and seeds in retail channels as well. In China’s retail snack market, nuts and seeds is the largest category, with a retail value of RMB 263.7 billion. The segment is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 10.7% in terms of value between 2015 and 2020, reaching RMB 345.6 billion.

Ching Yang, Senior Food and Drink Analyst at Mintel, said, “Chinese consumers have become more aware of the health benefits of nuts and seeds. Now, it seems that eating nuts and seeds is no longer something to do to kill time while chatting with friends, but part of the overall pursuit of a healthy and trendy lifestyle. Therefore, companies should consider packing up the traditional nuts and seeds bulk products in favor of branded products that are positioned as a healthy snack. We’re seeing a number of the nuts brands thriving when leveraging this consumer trend.”

Mintel research reveals that six in 10 (61%) consumers associate a healthy snack with ‘all-natural’, while 42% associate it with ‘fortified with additional nutrients’. One third (31%) of Chinese consumers associate healthy snacks with ‘high in protein’, and the demographic skews towards male consumers aged 25-29 (42%). What’s more, four in 10 (41%) Chinese consumers aged 40-49 associate healthy snacks with ‘low in salt’.

According to Mintel GNPD, one quarter of snack products launched in China between 2014 and 2016 were meat- or seafood-based snacks. In line with this, Mintel research reveals that almost half (48%) of consumers think meat/seafood-based snacks taste good and are filling (46%).

On the other hand, the growth rates of traditional sweet snacks, such as sugar confectionery, ice cream and biscuits, are relatively slow. Mintel research indicates that 26% of urban Chinese consumers are eating less chocolate confectionery today compared to six months ago, while 23% are eating more. However, 63% of Chinese consumers are eating more fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks, and 42% are eating more dairy-based snacks.

Yang added, “Chinese consumers have rising awareness of their sugar and fat intake. Therefore, more consumers are switching to fresh fruits and vegetables or dairy-based foods for snacking. This suggests a growing opportunity for food and drinks brands that enjoy a healthy perception (e.g. dietary supplements, cereals and yogurt) to tap into the snacking occasion by developing snack format products. Our research shows that Chinese females are concerned with calories, while Chinese males care about protein. With this in mind – and the fact that  the average sodium level in China’s meat snacks is lower than the global average and the level is decreasing over time – the ‘reduced sodium’ claim is still rarely seen on meat snacks and, therefore, could be leveraged to meet consumer needs.”

And finally, imported snacks are gaining popularity among urban Chinese consumers. According to Mintel research, as many as four in 10 (42%) urban Chinese consumers are interested in buying imported products they’ve never tried before across a variety of purchase channels that specialise in selling imported snacks. Of these same urban consumers, while 34% have bought snacks from imported food stores, 28% have bought at local stores when travelling and 19% have bought from foreign shopping websites. In addition, though 75% of consumers have bought snacks from any e-commerce site, physical retail channels are still the most popular purchase destination (96%).

“As consumers continue to look for new and different flavor experiences, international snacks have become a sector that many consumers are gravitating towards. E-commerce is an especially important channel for international snacks. It not only allows consumers to easily access foreign products, but also provides a less costly channel for international players to enter the Chinese market. However, one of the challenges for consumers is deciding what products are good and worth the higher cost, especially for consumers living in tier-one cities as they are more likely to shop online. A product targeting mainstream consumers could use regular retail channels in order to reach more consumers, especially in the lower tier cities.” Yang concluded.

(Photo: Dreamstime)

Survey 2: Highest number of vegan launches came from Germany

While vegan is a hot market worldwide, it seems that Germany is the leading country for vegan product innovation globally. According to Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD), Germany was the leading market for vegan food and drink product launch activity in 2016, with 18% of all global food and drink product launches with vegan claims occurring in Germany. The only country coming close to this amount of vegan launch activity in 2016 was the United States, where 17% of all new global vegan food and drink products were launched, followed by the UK with 10% global share.

Mintel research reveals that vegan-friendly launches have soared over the past few years in Germany, with the share of food and drink products featuring vegan claims in total food and drink launches rising from 1% in 2012 to 13% of all launches in 2016. This is in stark contrast to the fact that, globally, food and drink products with vegan claims only accounted for 4% of new food and drink introductions in 2016.

Vegetarian claims have also witnessed growth in recent years in Germany. Over the past five years, the share of food and drink launches with vegetarian claims in total food and drink product launches in Germany more than doubled, rising from 3% in 2012 to 7% in 2016. The global share of food and drink product launches with vegetarian claims is, meanwhile, relatively stable at around 11% of all food and drink launches in 2016, with little fluctuation over the last five years.

Katya Witham, Senior Food and Drink Analyst at Mintel, said: “Veganism is now seen as a trendy lifestyle, and Germany is home to the most vegan product launch innovation. Today, vegan products attract attention from a much wider audience, namely health and ethically driven, flexi-vegan consumers.”

Currently there is a strong following for meat-free diets in Germany with as many as 7% of German adults considering themselves to be vegetarian, while 5% claiming to be vegan, however it seems that younger generations in particular are embracing the lifestyles. Mintel research shows that 14% of 16-24 year old Germans identify themselves as vegetarian and one in ten (10%) are vegan.

In comparison in France 13% of 16-24-year-olds identify themselves as vegetarian, followed by 11% in Italy, Spain (8%) and Poland (11%). The picture is similar for vegan consumers aged 16-24, with 12% of this age group in France following this diet, followed 9% in Italy, Spain (7%) and Poland (10%).

However, while the levels of vegan and vegetarian product launch activity continues to rise in Germany, research from Mintel GNPD shows that the number of meat-substitute products launched in Germany fell by 17% between 2015 and 2016.

“The image of vegans has undergone a significant shift in recent years. The decline in meat substitute product launches could be a sign that the current offering does not fulfill consumer expectations. The trend towards naturalness plays a dominant role in the food choices of German consumers, who prioritise health benefits of unprocessed, natural and wholesome products. Germans are also very distrustful towards the content of the food and drink products they buy, opting for natural products with short ingredient lists.” Katya comments.

Mintel research confirms this, revealing that one in three (33%) of German adults regularly check the ingredients list, while 35% avoid food and drink products with artificial additives and preservatives. And it seems that the majority of meat substitute products do contain some sort of food additives: according to Mintel, over two thirds of German launches in 2016 in the meat substitute segment contained stabilisers (74%), thickeners (72%) and bulking agents (63%); while over half included emulsifiers (63%) and gelling agents (52%).

“German consumers are increasingly sceptical about the ingredients in meat substitutes, creating the need for natural formulations with shorter ingredient lists. With long ingredient lists and food additives becoming a topic of growing concern and a possible threat to future sales growth, meat substitute brands should begin to embark on reformulation work in order to make their products more natural. We’re seeing a number of innovators in this area already offering simplified ingredient lists and using naturally sourced ingredients.

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