Choosing the right range of packaged snacks is almost as important to a Convenience store's business as remembering to put milk in the fridge and bread on the shelves … some might even argue it's already more important!
The well-established fact is that, as people lead increasingly frantic lives, they are enjoying fewer and fewer formal dining occasions. And where do hungry, time-poor, on-the-go consumers go when they get the munchies? They head for somewhere that is convenient, offers quick service and, crucially, ranges the product they are seeking. If the operator has done his homework, that should be the friendly, neighbourhood convenience store.
But snacks is a fast-moving, ever-changing category and it's not always easy to keep up with the trends and the plethora of exciting new products constantly hitting the marketplace.
There is a buzz about snacks at the moment and, as is often the case, it is the health and wellness mega-trend that is behind the innovation explosion. Whether we are talking about chips, hot snacks, salads, snack bars, beef jerky or even the rise of fruit in a tub, it is the consumers' quest for healthier products that is driving growth.
Smith's Snackfoods – which, according to the latest Nielsen data, boasts an 83.8% market share of the salty snacks category – has enjoyed phenomenal success with its Red Rock Deli brand, which promises customers 75% less saturated fats. And now the company is launching a Red Rock Deli range cooked in olive oil.
Smith's National Business Manager, Simon Henry, says there will initially be two flavours … roasted garlic, and sea salt and rosemary.
"These will be at a price premium at what is already a premium product but our research indicates that people will be prepared to pay more for products cooked in olive oil," he said. "It is a healthier product and – just as importantly – it is delicious so we think its permissibility will draw new customers."
Smith's Snackfoods – which is also responsible for other C-Store big hitters like Doritos, Twisties and, of course, the market-leading Smith's brand – has a number of other exciting launches planned.
Smith's thinly cut chips are to be re-launched, complete with a new barbecue ribs flavour; and Grainwaves will also shortly hit New South Wales shelves on a trial basis, with plans to take it national in 2009.
"Grainwaves is a wholegrain chip that comes in a wavy shape and in three flavours – original; sweet chilli; and sour cream and chives," said Mr Henry. "It has been very successful in the US and New Zealand and we are confident it will be well received here."
Vege Chips – which are made from cassava – have, of course, already been well received, having originally appeared back in 1990. The product is made by the Vege Chip Company and comes in (12 x 21g) Multipack, 25g, 50g and 100g packs, and in eight different flavours.
"Vege Chips are well suited to Convenience because people want an on-the-go snack that has an amazing taste and can be eaten with complete confidence," said The Vege Chip Company's Marketing Manager, Joleen Sowerby. "Vege Chips are gluten free, have 80% less saturated fat than regular potato chips, and are all natural."
As a sign of its commitment to the channel, the Vege Chip Company is currently launching a shelf-ready range for the convenience market.
"The shelf-ready cartons are smaller and come with perforated 'zippers' to make displaying stock easy and convenient," Ms Sowerby said. "The practical, compact size should ease storage restraints, and enable distributors to extend their current range of Vege Chips."
Ms Sowerby believes that, as people get busier and groceries become more expensive, snacking will continue to increase.
"If people know they can snack without the traditional risks of it impacting on their health then they will choose to snack better," she said. "Retailers will be getting their range right if they offer consumers more of a choice, especially when it comes to healthy alternatives."
Thomas Chipman, which produces a range of all-natural, low-salt, organic, gluten-free corn chips and potato chips, is equally convinced that C-Store customers need more snacking options.
"C-Store operators need to follow the trends from overseas and within grocery stores in Australia, and offer a range assortment that appeals to all consumers – not just consumers looking for an indulgent snack," said Thomas Chipman CEO, Andrew Blain. "Australia has one of the highest rates of Coeliac disease … and C-Store operators continue to offer a range that is unacceptable to a growing percentage of consumers."
Mr Blain says there will always be a market for traditional artificially coloured and flavoured products, but believes consumers are increasingly aware of the associated health issues.
"We believe, as the only certified organic, gluten-free and all-natural corn and potato chip in Australia, we are very well positioned," he said. "And we will shortly release a number of new lines that build on this platform and are 100% unique to the Australian market."
But it is not just in the chips department where the health and wellness trend has spawned a raft of new products.
Australian Convenience Foods – which already produces popular sweet snack ranges such as Cup of Cookies, muffins, cookies, slices and Chilled Desserts – will shortly be launching Healthy Single Serve Salads that will come in clear packs and will include a fork and dressing.
And ACF is also very excited about its innovative new tray-pack microwaveable snack/meal accompaniment to be launched next month. It will come complete with a fork, and is designed for situational convenience offering an alternative to pies.
"We are very excited about this product," said an ACF spokesperson. "It has a great name and nothing has been done like this before in the convenience market … we believe we have found a gap."
ACF says suppliers and retailers are generally applying more focus to snack foods and so quality is improving, and that is what is driving consumer interest.
"Single-serve and dual-pack portion-controlled packs are also growing in popularity as consumers aim to balance between the growing trends of indulgence and health," the ACF spokesperson said. "The market for traditional snacks will always exist but, as consumers continue to self manage their eating habits, trade-offs in consumption will continue to grow."
In other words, there will be increased purchase occasions of healthier offerings and ACF says that is one of the reasons it will introduce its salad range.
"As consumers continue to gain confidence in higher quality offerings in snack foods, shopping habits are changing," the ACF spokesperson said. "Although we are starting to see a slight trend towards healthier eating, there still is a need for a concerted effort by both retailer and manufacturer to educate consumers about benefits of healthier eating."
Snack bars have also really come into their own in the past few years, and companies like Kellogg understand exactly why products such as its Sunibrite Muesli slices and Be Natural snack bars have been such a hit.
"It is simply due to the nature of the ingredients – with fruit and nut and wholegrains and that sort of healthy thing," said Kellogg's Head of Corporate Affairs, Rebecca Boustead.
"Consumers are increasingly embracing the better-for-you products, particularly in convenience, and that is because there is a dearth of options in that sector."
Ms Boustead says the Be Natural brand has broad appeal but is generally bought by health-conscious people who enjoy an active lifestyle and who are looking for wholesome, good-quality snack.
"I think that health and wellness products will continue to grow into the future but C-Stores need to have a balance between health and indulgence," she said. "We are seeing that healthy products tend to go well in the mornings and people are looking to treat in the afternoons … hopefully retailers will pick up on that trend."
Ms Boustead says C-Stores should also make the most of the recent introduction into convenience of Be Natural Trail Bars, a product made of five different wholegrains that has already proved hugely successful in grocery.
"Be Natural Trail Bars will increase impulse purchases and help to create a new segment," said Ms Boustead. "C-Stores need to make sure the product is well merchandised, given good prominence and placed in off-location displays, as well."
As with most 'healthier' products, Ms Boustead says the Be Natural Trail Bars are less sensitive to price as people are prepared to pay a little extra to get the quality and better nutrition they seek.
Sanitarium has also only recently launched its D'Vine premium range of natural fruit and nut bars into Convenience, but believes its healthy attributes will ensure its popularity.
"The D'vine brand is Australian made and is a product that is not only completely natural, but is also gluten and dairy free," said Sanitarium's Marketing Manager Steven Read. "There is an increasing number of consumers who are intolerant to gluten and dairy, and these products offer an alternative to people who would like a snack but find it hard to purchase products they can safely eat."
He says C-Store operators with a good range of these types of products will have a competitive advantage over those sites not leveraging the wellness trend. The D'Vine bars come in six variants and Sanitarium says the 30g portion size make them particularly attractive to diet-conscious consumers.
The preference among some consumers for more portion control has also been picked up on by Vitality Brands and its Well Naturally range of products. The company has recently introduced 25g mini versions of its successful 60g high protein choc coated bars.
The mini bars – that currently come in a peppermint surprise and a recently released mochaccino flavour – have a recommended retail price of $1.75 and are expected to go down a storm in Convenience.
"The larger protein bars already do very well but some customers have said they were looking for something smaller," said Vitality Brands' Brands Manager, Rebecca Zehnwirth. "The mini bar is for people who want something that's ideal for a mid-morning, mid-afternoon or after-dinner snack."
She says the mini snack bars tick all the 'tastes good', 'better-for-you', and 'convenience' boxes.
Vitality Brands is also behind the popular 30g Freggie bars that essentially take a blend of fruit and vegetable extracts and infuse them into a wholegrain bar.
"You could say that people should sit down and have a fresh orange or apple but it is not always possible or convenient to do that," said Ms Zehnwirth. "And, let's face it, none of our lifestyles are getting any slower!"
Vitality Brands believes that convenience outlets that don't fully appreciate the health and wellness trends in snacks risk losing sales.
"People are less flexible than they used to be and, if they come into the store and don't find the healthy product they want, they will leave without buying anything," said Ms Zehnwirth.
"And that is obviously a lost sale."
She is therefore convinced that C-Stores need to have a wide variety of snacks to maximise opportunities, and the products need to be displayed prominently.
Sharon Thurin from Slim Secrets, makers of the Slim Secrets snack bar range, agrees.
"Many convenience stores put these healthier options out of the consumer's immediate eye and instead have the unhealthier snacks positioned there," she said. "That is fine but why not give the consumer the choice by giving them both prime positions? Prepared snacks – particularly bars – are growing hugely in popularity and it is important to give consumers a balance between the healthy and not-so-healthy options."
Ms Thurin says the success of Slim Secrets, especially the Mintabolism Boost bar, can be attributed to funky packaging, attractive names, informative nutritional panels and great taste.
"The appeal to consumers is simple … food bars satisfy cravings for quick, on-the-go foods that can curb hunger between meals, in a pinch or on a diet," she said. "From a nutritional standpoint, Slim Secrets are a convenience food consumers can feel good about eating as they are low GI, high protein, a good source of fibre and have little sugar and fat compared to most other similar products."
Slim Secrets has recently launched a new range of bars, Nutrient Secrets, that has already been embraced by consumers. These are smaller, all under 100 calories, have added nutrients such as flaxseed, and are gluten free.
Another company that says its products tick all of the boxes when it comes to a healthier snacking option is Go Natural.
Go Natural Sales and Marketing General Manager, Joel White, says the health food category is constantly on the move and consumers are constantly gaining more knowledge about healthier eating.
"Much of our development at the moment is within our Nature's Superfoods sub-brand and these products use ingredients widely recognised as superfoods such as almonds, Brazil nuts, walnuts, wholegrains and berries," he said. "This range delivers these foods in nutritionally significant quantities and is naturally high in anti-oxidants, Omega 3s, and fibre, and is both wheat and gluten free."
Go Natural has a complete range of products ranging from light snacks to meal replacements and includes organic ingredients.
"Having a range and, importantly, making a destination for consumers to find healthy snacks, is important," Mr White said. "Because consumers are moving to healthier lifestyles and are more knowledgeable about the foods they eat, any retailer must include a healthier option in their range or consumers will just walk out without making a purchase."
When it comes to healthier eating, it's hard to beat pure fruit and SPC Ardmona has tailored two healthy fruit snack ranges specifically for convenience retailers … Goulburn Valley Fruit in Juice which is aimed at health-conscious adult consumers, and SPC Fruit in Jelly which targets younger families.
"The Goulburn Valley Range is our top seller and has been in market for almost two years now led by the key variants peach, fruit salad and 2 Fruits," said SPC Brand Manager, Michael Davies. "These ranges have performed very well to date and are aligned with consumers' desire for healthier snacking options."
SPC believes its ranges are successful because they help consumers achieve their recommended daily intake of fruit (at least two serves per day for adults) in an easy and convenient format.
SPC Fruit in Jelly, which is a proven performer in grocery and comes in four flavours, was launched into Convenience in March this year. The company says the new range combines the goodness of fruit with the fun of jelly and is conveniently packaged for on-the-go consumption.
"Our sales projections indicate that the Goulburn Valley 220g range of fruit in juice will grow 71% year on year at current run rates," Mr Davies said. "The new SPC Fruit in Jelly range will help extend this growth by appealing to a wider, younger consumer franchise."
While Mr Davies says variety in snacking is important he believes that, with limited space available in convenience, the right variety is more important.
"That's why we only offer the best selling fruit and fruit in jelly variants from the grocery environment, custom packaged to suit convenience retailers," he said. "Our products are inherently healthy and by stocking them, convenience store operators are giving their consumers a wider range of snacking options and are therefore less likely to lose a sale."
While fruit is automatically assumed by everybody to be a healthy product, the public sometimes needs more persuasion about the benefits of others.
Jack Link's beef snacks, for example, are 97% fat free, high in protein, and high in iron and the yet the company says it is only slowly educating consumers about these major plus points.
"It's also all about perceptions," said Jack Link's General Manager, James Wonson. "It's been an enormous job trying to change people's perceptions of what meat snacks is all about, and this will be the same for any supplier that brings out new healthier snacks that aren't consistent with the everyday chips and nuts."
He says consumers are now realising that there is a far broader range of products that fit within the 'healthier snack' range.
"Jack Link's has always marketed its beef products as the guilt-free snack," he said. "And we are now starting to see convenience accounts wanting to implement a guilt-free snack area within their stores."
The company says the introduction of Jack Link's Steak Bars (the one-handed beef snack) has been instrumental in driving its growth through the channel. Interesting flavours like teriyaki and barbecue have also played a major part in attracting new consumers.
Jack Link's has recently introduced a 50g range of beef jerky products into convenience and is about to launch a range of 15g beef X Sticks.
Mr Wonson says Jack Link's products are perceived to be an afternoon type snack, often bought by people buying fuel.
"Previous sales data has proven that beef snacks are incremental to the category when included as part of the standard snack offering," he said. "Beef Jerky offers a point of difference and convenience store operators have the opportunity to be a part of the world's fastest growing snack segment."
It seems then, that when it comes to considering their snacks range, convenience store operators really do have plenty to chew over.