The success of your business is enabled by creating a product assortment that offers a variety of choices, but variety alone isn’t enough. Your shoppers look for new flavors and experiences to add excitement to their day1 and bring joy to mundane, everyday moments2. Offering insight-driven innovations prevents your assortment from becoming the "same old, same old" – and helps you meet your shoppers' demands. By providing your shoppers with products that not only meet their functional needs, but appeal to their emotional connection to brands, you can ultimately drive traffic in your store and increase shoppers’ basket sizes.
Below are trends, insights and innovations to keep top-of-mind as you’re optimizing your assortment to keep shoppers coming back for more:
Taste will always be the #1 purchase driver for snacks3, so look to products with trending “spicy” flavors that are hot with consumers right now4. Pringles® introduced its hottest flavor yet, Scorchin’ Buffalo. Coming in at 7,000 Scoville heat units, this flavor is sure to bring more and more heat with every bite.
Another way to meet your shoppers’ expectations is to consider demographic-specific trends. Growth in Millennial snacking is expected in savory flavors as well as single serve and on-the-go options that can keep up with their busy lives5. The new offerings from Club® Crisps meet both of those demands – the savory Sea Salt and Ranch crisps are now more portable and snackable than ever in new 2oz packs.
There’s also an opportunity to drive more traffic and capture repeat customers in the morning occasion with Gen Z, since these young consumers are driving the most growth to the morning snacking occasion5. Pop-Tarts® latest innovation, Pop-Tarts Bites® Cinnamon Roll, is perfect for Gen Z – it combines their favorite sweet snack with the most loved breakfast pastry flavor by Pop-Tarts® fans in an easy-to-eat, bite-sized format6.
Nearly 60% of consumers say they enjoy trying new takes on their familiar favorites.7 To capitalize on this interest, you can offer the latest innovations from their favorite brands. The new Original Homestyle 33g Bar from Rice Krispies Treats® mimics the homestyle taste experience and is now 50% larger than the original 22g bar, with even gooier marshmallows and a thicker cut, making it a hit with families and single adults alike. Consumers’ still demand the Original Bar format, but retailers have experienced 25% incrementality from the new bar, thanks to new customer purchase and increased basket size8.
Or, look to familiar favorite brands releasing new, crave worthy flavors. Harvest Blends, the wholesome new snack from Pringles®, infuses popular flavors like Farmhouse Cheddar and Homestyle Ranch, now blended with multigrain. And, the new RXBAR® A.M. Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter – the #1 new flavor in consumer testing – still fulfills consumers’ demand for No B.S., but now in a new, nutty flavor9.
Lastly, Pop-Tarts® latest innovation packs a punch by combining two consumer favorite snacks with their new Pop-Tarts® Apple Jacks®. This flavor combination capitalizes on the brands’ joint audience – 50% of Apple Jacks® Households also buy Pop-Tarts®10 – and meets consumers’ desire for sweet snacks with nostalgic flavors11.
Your shoppers are looking for classic yet inventive snacks that complement their evolving lifestyles. When a convenience store can provide excitement and variety to shoppers – transforming their visit from a quick bite destination into an experience that adds joy to their day – the potential for repeat visits increases12. For this reason, it’s essential to keep your assortment innovative with the latest flavors and experiences they demand. The “same old” just won’t cut it.
For more information on snacks coming in 2024, please visit KellanovaAwayFromHome.com, contact your Kellanova Sales Representative or call 877-511-5777.
Sources:
- IRI, The Snacking Frenzy, April 2021, pg. 33
- Guardians, “Shift Happens”, 2023
- IFIC Foundation, Food and Health Survey, 2023
- Datassential, Spice Up Summer: The Hottest Food Trends to Savor Webinar, 2023
- NPC, The Future of Snacking, 2023
- Circana MULO+C YTD Ending 10/30/22
- NACS State of the Industry Report, 2021
- NielsenIQ Connect; XAOC, L52 WE 12/31/22 –YA; Nielsen Trial & Repeat Data
- Kellogg's, Proprietary Panel Survey, 2022
- Nielsen Homescan, 2022
- FONA, Snacking Trend Bite, 2021
- NCSolutions, C-Store E-Book, 2022
This post is sponsored by Kellanova