Mondelēz International on November 11 launched of its first State of Snacking report, a global consumer trends study examining the role snacking plays across the world at a time when increasingly busy modern lifestyles, the growing desire for community connection and a more holistic sense of well being are major factors in meeting consumers’ evolving needs.
The study reveals the rise of global snacking, underscored by regional parallels demonstrating how snacks are helping lead the future of food by delivering on the spectrum of needs that exists in our day-to-day lives.
The report, developed in partnership with the Harris Poll consumer opinion-tracking specialist, complements Mondelēz International’s global snacking knowledge estate with new research conducted among thousands of people across twelve countries. It sheds light on snacking as a growing behavior worldwide. Notably, six in ten adults worldwide (59%) say they prefer to eat many small meals throughout the day, as opposed to a few larger ones, with younger consumers especially leaning into snacks over meals as that number rises to seven in ten among Millennials.
Key findings from the 2019 State of Snacking report, which is available for download at www.stateofsnacking.com, are detailed below.
Relationship with Food Changing Fundamentally
For consumers around the world, the role food plays in health and well being is increasingly top of mind; people are more commonly considering how smaller bites – snacks – effect their emotional well being, as well as their physical health.
- For more than eight in ten people, convenience (87%) and quality (85%) are among the top factors impacting snack choice.
- 80% of consumers are looking for healthy, balanced bites.
- 71% of adults say snacking helps them control their hunger and manage caloric intake throughout the day.
However, moments of indulgence continue to have an important place in daily routines.
- 80% of adults worldwide acknowledge the need for balance by appreciating the option of both healthy and indulgent snacks depending on the moment of need.
- 77% of consumers agree there is a time and a place for a healthy snack, and a time and a place for an indulgent one.
- The majority of people say snacks are just as important to their mental (71%) and emotional (70%) well being as their physical well being.
About Much More than What One Eats
Snacking is a key way for people around the planet to connect to their culture and share a sense of identity with their communities and families.
- 71% of those polled say snacking is a way to remind them of home.
- 70% of adults make an effort to share their favorite childhood snacks with others.
- 82% of parents use snack time as a small way to connect with their children.
- 76% of parents use snacks to pass cultural snacking rituals on to their children.
- More than three out of four parents (78%) say the snacks they choose for their children reflect who they are as a parent.
“As the snacking market continues to grow globally, we’re living our purpose to empower people to snack right by constantly learning about the many different ways consumers around the world are snacking and evolving their relationship with food,” said Dirk Van de Put, chairman and chief executive officer of Deerfield, Illinois-headquartered Mondelēz International. “We see that the average global adult now eats more snacks than meals on a given day, driven by a number of evolving demands largely associated with how we live today, including a growing need for convenience, yearning to share nostalgic and cultural experiences, expanded well being preferences and the desire for choices that range from wholesome to indulgent.”
Mondelēz International, which rang up approximately $26 billion in snack food sales during 2018, launched the State of Snacking report a year after it announced a new business strategy and purpose. Over the last 12 months, the company made strong progress on its mission to offer consumers the right snack, for the right moment, made the right way. This includes developing an ever-deeper knowledge estate of the demands that motivate people to reach for snacks while continuing to meet people’s more holistic understanding of well being by focusing on sustainably sourced essential ingredients, evolving its product portfolio to a broader range of options and inspiring mindful snacking habits.
“We embrace the fact that snacking habits around the world are as diverse as the consumers who enjoy them,” said Van de Put. “However people snack, they should not have to choose between snacking and eating right, or to worry about the impact their choices have on the world and their communities. That’s why we’re committed to empowering people to snack right.”
About the Research Methodology
This survey was conducted online from September 16 – 27, 2019, among 6,068 global adults ages 18 and older. Sampling spanned 12 markets, including the United States, Canada, Mexico Brazil, France Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, India, Indonesia and Australia.
Key age groups analyzed included: Centennials, 18 to 22-years-old; Millennials (ages 23-38), Gen Xers (39-54), Boomers (55-73), and the Silent Generation (75+). Data are weighted where necessary to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. A global post-weight was applied to ensure equal weight of each country in the global total.
