Sweet Snacking Takes the Biscuit

Snacking – that all-important meal between meals – has been around for a long, long time. It offers a brief respite from a job’s routine and provides that necessary pick-me-up in energy and focus to continue with the task at hand.

And this, for many of us, is where the biscuit comes into play. Yet before I go any further, a brief history of the term “biscuit”, as opposed to “cookie”, is warranted.
Americans call biscuits “cookies” and that thing they call a biscuit is not a biscuit at all, according to most English-speaking countries.

This has bothered me for some time, so I did some background digging while having my afternoon biscuits and coffee!

The word “biscuit” is derived from the Latin “bis cotus”, which means twice baked. The word “cookie” is based on the Dutch for “small cake” or “koekje”.

Over the years, as technology advanced, the global “biscuit” family was extended to include filled biscuits, covered biscuits, delicate wafers and so on. So much so that some are like small cakes.
The US version of the “biscuit”, however, has remained fairly constant – a small, soft, quick-leavened bread product, served hot and usually in place of a slice of bread with a meal.

So, I hear you conclude, the Americans chose the word “cookie” over “biscuit” to avoid confusion. Actually, probably not. There are two more likely explanations: the early Dutch heritage of the US and Americans’ “revolutionary” predilection for distinguishing themselves from the British.

I won’t go into “chips”, “fries” and “crisps” just yet. That’s snack confusion topic for another day.
Now that takes the biscuit…

To the task at hand, then. Why are biscuits a popular snack and is the recent health trend affecting their market share?

Take Britain, for example. Biscuits have been a way of life since way back when – they are an ingrained habit, not just a fad.

For instance, the recent floods in the west submerged Carlisle’s McVities factory ovens, halting production of custard creams, bourbons, ginger nuts and table water biscuits.

Used to consuming about 34,000 tons of biscuits a month, the British public was suddenly facing gaps on shelves and traumatic changes to their daily routines.

It is not only the Brits who take to snacking between meals, with a biscuit as the preferred bite. In Italy, France and many other countries, a biscuit is often served with coffee. In Holland, a cookie (koekje) with an afternoon coffee is also acceptable.

Southern Germany goes that little bit further and offers Black Forest gâteau as an option.
And here’s where the catch comes in. Surveys and statistics show us that people are trying to eat more healthily. A recent Nielsen survey on snacking showed that non-sugary snacks were demonstrating strong.
“Non-sugary snacks, closely aligned with meal-replacement foods, are showing strong growth, which signals a shift in a consumer mindset to one focused on health,” said Nielsen’s Susan Dunn, executive vice president of Global Professional.

“While conventional cookies, cakes and confections categories still hold the majority share of snack sales, more innovation in the healthy snacking and portable food space is necessary to adjust to this changing dynamic.”

She added: “The growth of healthy options does not automatically come at the expense of indulgent offerings.

“There is room for both healthy foods and occasional treats in consumers’ diets.”
So, the market is moving in a healthy direction and biscuit manufacturers are well aware of this trend, amending products and ingredients to meet the demand.

Oh well, a savory biscuit goes quite well with afternoon coffee…