With Summer in Full Swing Snacking is Top of Mind

School is out, families are on planning for vacation, the weather is good with outside activities garnering more and more time and attention.  All that means is consumers are looking of meal substitutes, meal replacements, and an excuse to eat all the fun stuff of summer. 

Restaurants, service deli’s, conveniences store’s all want to fill that meal gap with everything from Pizza, Slurpee’s, Burgers, Ice Coffees, we could go on and on.  Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated, snacks are an important component in mix & match meal bundling solutions that every restaurant, service deli, and convenience stores should be expanding as options as a new era of what defines a meal is emerging.

Now consider this from a neuroscience-based consumer insights market research firm Alpha-Diver's "The Snack 50 Psych Pulse" unveils the first psychology-based snack brand rankings and offers insight as to what kind of snacker consumers are, and what affinities determine which brands are winning consumers over.

Alpha-Diver CEO Hunter Thurman, stated, "While previous snack food rankings have been based on popularity polls, sales volume or reviewer critiques, the 'Snack 50 Psych Pulse' is the first ranking of brands based on the WHY's of consumer behavior," ... "The Snack 50 provides diagnostics from a consumer perspective of brand performance, including brand affinity, brand usage momentum and brand growth paths."

When it comes to the five leading dimensions that determine which brands are winning the hearts and wallets of consumers, price tops the list:

1.       Price: Does the brand offer good value?

2.       Time: Does the brand fit daily life routines?

3.       Social: Is the brand socially endorsed/acceptable to one's peers?

4.       Physical: Does the brand carry any negative connotations regarding consumer feelings?

5.       Emotional: Does the brand carry any fear of disappointment?

With these factors at play, the leading snack brands ranked via Alpha-Diver's proprietary Psych Pulse composite score of key dimensions include behavior (consumption routines), emotion (consumer enthusiasm) and trajectory (product usage momentum).

The top 10 leading snack brands among consumers are:

1.       Reese's

2.       Lay's

3.       Great Value

4.       Hershey's

5.       M&M's

6.       Doritos

7.       Oreo

8.       Cheetos

9.       Snickers

10.   Kit Kat

Alpha-Diver found psychological differences across generations and genders relative to snack choices:

·         The top-ranking category among women is potato chips and is chocolate candy among men.

·         Reese's is the top-ranked brand among the general population, but Oreo is top-ranked among Generation Z (for whom Reese's slips out of the top five).

·         Hispanic consumers favor Doritos, with Reese's slipping out of the top five among this cohort.

·         Lay's ranks in the top five among all demographic cohorts, and is ranked first among younger baby boomers. Older boomers favor Hershey's chocolate.

·         Great Value emerges as the strongest snacking store brand, including strong performance among both younger and older millennials.

"One compelling insight relates to the role of store brands, or private labels. While most teams still assume they're growing due to price trade-downs, this study reveals a much more strategic role store brands are playing in fueling consumers' emotional needs," added Thurman.

The Snack 50 Psych Pulse also explores four key dimensions of consumer purchase behavior:

1.       Rational: Product provides options that make rational sense. Top performers in order are Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps, Nutri-Grain and Skinny Pop Popcorn.

2.       Experiential: Brands provide new sensory experiences. The top performers are Sour Patch Kids, Starburst and Cape Cod.

3.       Tribal: Brands provide social connection. The top performers are Aldi brands, Great Value brands and Lay's.

4.       Instinctual: These are feel-good, impulse-driven brands. The top performers are Slim Jim, Jack Links and Sour Patch Kids.

Alpha-Diver is a market research firm that applies neuroscience to understand marketplace behavior more deeply. The firm’s neuroscientists and strategists work with leading brands, retailers and the Wall Street analyst community to explain, measure and predict consumer behavior. Clients include McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Kellanova, among others.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869