Healthy snacks continue to enjoy massive consumer demand

Modern eating patterns, health awareness and hectic lifestyles mean that consumers are favouring healthy snacks and more and more options are hitting our shelves.Well made, high quality healthy snack products are enjoying massive consumer demand and many manufacturers are extending existing ranges, or developing new ones to take advantage of this buoyant market. More than 20% of consumers in Europe and the US are seeking more healthy snacking options than before, according to Datamonitor.

The term ‘snack’ is gradually encompassing a wider range of products, and it now includes all kinds of foods and drinks from cereal bars, yoghurts and smoothies to rice cakes, sushi, crackers and dried fruit. For snack manufacturers to succeed, it is crucial that their healthier products still taste great. If consumers perceive a trade off between health and taste, a product is unlikely to do well.

Some healthy ingredients have taste issues and often the development work required to mask or improve taste can be time consuming and costly. Furthermore, some ingredients that are used to improve taste are not suitable for healthy products and can compromise clean labels. The answer is to use healthy, natural, great tasting ingredients such as fruit and nuts.

One particular ingredient that adds value to a wide range of healthy snacks in terms of taste, nutritional content, texture and consumer acceptance is peanuts. In a large body of published research, peanuts have been shown to help protect against heart disease, contribute to lowering blood cholesterol and help to maintain a healthy weight.

They contain a wide range of nutrients such as magnesium, folate and Vitamin E alongside potassium and resveratrol - a plant chemical which is thought to help the body protect itself against heart disease and some cancers. Peanuts are also an excellent source of protein.

Louise McKerchar, European Marketing Director for the American Peanut Council