Kantar: Snacks Up; Desserts Down

A new report from research company Kantar reveals three major trends for today’s’ consumers.

The healthy snacking boom is the first of them. “While habits vary in different markets, there is an indisputable shift towards snacking—with a focus on perceived health benefits. People are beginning to balance intake throughout the day, rather than the more traditional breakfast-lunch-dinner split,” Kantar says.

The decrease in at-home consumption may have an impact at breakfast, lunch and dinner, but this is not true for snacking occasions. While the number of global at-home occasions has plummeted by 36 million between 2014 and 2018 – a 2% decline in breakfast, lunch and dinner occasions – snacking has increased, according to Kantar.

With people eating fewer main meals, especially at week-day lunch and dinner times, there has been a 0.5% rise in snacking moments. The rise in snacking is a major trend around the world, and there are many drivers and market differences at play. What’s common across every market, however, is that snacking makes up a significant proportion of consumption occasions throughout the day. Snacking accounts for close to one in every four at-home occasions, with afternoon and after dinner being the most popular—while morning snacks are growing the fastest. In France there has been 0.8% growth in snacking, but mainland China offers the greatest opportunity.

Breakfast routines remain is another major trend identified by Kantar. “Habits may differ by country, but routines are set. There are multiple breakfast menus globally, so understanding cultural nuances and context is the key to finding growth,” the company says.

The analysts underline that people are spending less time cooking at home and are simplifying their menus—with a huge impact for categories positioned as dessert occasions. Convenience is a major driver, too, offering vast potential for ready-to-eat solutions.

Menus in the UK, for example, are dominated by cereals (60%), while those in Mexico and mainland China include far more ingredients as the component parts of a larger meal— including oil, eggs and spices. In Mexico, 17% of people will also consume a soft drink during breakfasts taken after 10am.

Age is another differentiator. In Spain, for example, as people grow older their breakfasts become more complex. They move from drinking cocoa and eating simple carbohydrates as children, to enjoying coffee and incorporating healthy choices like fruits as adults.

The third important trend is the simplification of main meals. People are simplifying lunch and dinner, and Kantar has seen a 6% decrease in the number of courses that make up these occasions.

Despite France, Spain and mainland China still having several courses, this trend of decline is seen across all markets. The course that has suffered the greatest decline is dessert. “In France, Spain and the UK, there are 66 million fewer dessert occasions today than there were four years ago, representing an 8% decline versus 2014. This presents a real challenge for brands playing in categories related to such occasions, as people quit dessert and reallocate that consumption as snacking throughout the day. As such, these brands should consider how to reshape their portfolio to position their products within snacking categories,” Kantar adds.