HEALTHY SNACKS
RIDING THE
HEALTH WAVE
COVID saw consumers indulge, but healthy snacks will always have a place in the market, writes Thomas Oakley-Newell. 14 December 2021/January 2022 | C&I | www.c-store.com.au
T
he healthy snacking trend continues to grow within Australia, with more and more consumers no longer seeing snacks as a way to simply tide them over until mealtime, but as a means to provide them with nutritional benefits. Consumers have a greater understanding of what is beneficial in a product and what to avoid. We have seen this reflected in the way brands sell their products, it is no longer good enough to just be tasty, there is an expectation that a snack must also provide some kind of health benefit. This expectation of a product to not only provide nourishment but nutritional value, means the petrol and convenience (P&C) channel must continue to update its retail offer to include more healthy snacks. Theo Foukkare, CEO, Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), said healthy snacking has experienced good growth over the last three years, however it experienced some challenges as consumers during lockdown found comfort in traditional and guilty comfort foods. “COVID-19 in 2020 was the worst thing that could have happened for healthy anything for a lot of consumers. Guilty pleasures increased, whether it was chips, beverages, ice cream, or alcohol, to name just a few. It was like a bad day every day, so what better to do than eat junk!
