The Cookie, from Indulgence to Better-for-you Snack
The global cookie market is fueled equally by the rising snacking habits of Millennials and GenZs and by the better-for-you trend, which looks at food as medicine or, at least, a vehicle for functional ingredients that impact mental and physical health.
The days of snacking as a travel or sports habit are long gone. In the past few decades, snacks, may they be sweet or savory, came to replace whole meals and, not rarely, be on the menu every day.
Mondelez’ latest State of Snacking Report quantifies the changes in the way people look at snacks. “This year’s data reveals that snacks are replacing meals for a majority of people around the world,” says the report. “64% of global consumers say they prefer to eat many small meals throughout the day, as opposed to a few large ones, up 5% from 2019 – a statistically significant jump. A similar percentage indicate that they replace at least one meal each day with a snack (62%), including stronger majorities of GenZs (75%) and Millennials (69%).” Consumers are looking for snacks to improve physical (80%) and emotional (80%) health. Those who eat at least one snack for sustenance and one snack for indulgence each day count for 85% of the surveyed group.
And while these numbers refer to all snacks, cookies win the race as the first snacking choice: 76% of those who snack, snack on cookies at least twice a week. It might seem counterintuitive when you look at cookies – a mix of fat and simple carbs perceived as having no nutritional value – but they actually fulfill the expectations of the young generations. They offer indulgence, portion control and they can be (and increasingly are) vehicles for better-for-you ingredients.
76% of those who snack, snack on cookies at least twice a week
Several market research companies took all these trends into consideration when estimating the growth of the global cookie market. Grand View Research sets the value at USD44.01bn by 2025 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.3%. Market Research Future looks even further to 2030 and estimates USD45.40bn with a CAGR of 5.55%. Others, like Verified Market Research, are more optimistic with an estimated value of USD47.87bn by 2028. They all agree though on the vectors of growth and which are the most emerging markets.
Urbanization
Cookies on-the-go are a mark of urban life. “Consumers prefer to take a light snack along with hot beverages”, says Market Research Future. And cookies are the most used snacks. “Starting from small tea stalls to cafe owners, everyone serves the cookies with tea and coffee.” They are easy to store and they are portable. So, as long as the planet gets more urban – since 2007, more than half of the world population lives in urban areas, according to the UN, with more people moving away from rural areas in search of better life opportunities – there is more room to grow for the humble cookie.
You can read the rest of this article in the Fall issue of World Bakers Digital, which you can access by clicking here.