Health & Wellness in everyday snack food in the Covid era

How can we start 2022 with renewed energy, even if the pandemic isn’t over? How can we energize ourselves, our family members and organisations? What we have learned from the pandemic is that going back to basics can help us to cope and even thrive. Spending more time at home has taught us many things: combining work and family, caring more about our health, and valuing our connections with others, even digitally, are well worth it and deserve to be prioritized.

Today, more than ever before, health is our most precious gift. And this is reflected in the way we have been living and eating since the pandemic came along. We run or walk, or we go cycling and we also snack more than before the pandemic.

In this blog post we dive into the data of the post-Covid snack market and explore possibilities to bring health into everyday snacks, to support a healthy lifestyle.

40% More Snacking at Home since Covid

Consumers tend to snack more while shut inside their homes (The World of Food Ingredients, September 2020). According to research by Mondelez, 40% of consumers say that they have been eating more snack foods since the outbreak began. Launch activity in the global snack category continued to rise up to 3% in the 12 months up to end of March 2020, according to Innova Market Insights.

35% of European consumers will continue buying healthier products than before the crisis

After Covid is over, we will likely continue buying healthier food. In August 2020, an IFF Consumer Insights survey in France, UK, Germany, Spain and Russia asked: ‘How has the Covid-19 situation changed your daily food consumption and meal preparation; are there any changes that you expect to last after the crisis is over?’ 35-40% of respondents said they would continue buying more local, natural and healthier products.

Snacks as Meal Replacements

The increased snacking NPD activity reflects the move toward smaller meal portions and more eating moments spread throughout the day. According to Innova, nuts & seeds are just over 21%, closely followed by fruit-based snacks (15.6%) and potato-based snacks (13.3%). With nuts, seeds and fruit leading new snack development, health and wellness clearly are a key driver in the category. Bonus: if snacks are becoming meal replacements, fortification with added health ingredients becomes very relevant.

3 Focus Points for Health & Wellness Snacks

1. IMMUNITY
   Food and beverage products that deliver immune benefits are likely to see strong demand growth well beyond the coronavirus crisis.There are pleasant and tasty ways to include ingredients that support immunity in snacks. Natural immunity boosters are berries or honey. Think of vitamin C in a nutritional bar or in fruit pieces included in a trail mix, or echinacea incorporated into a gummy.
   
   Did you know that Taura also offers honey inclusions? Did you know that the IFF Health portfolio offers Echinacea? Ask our team about it.
   
   
2. ENERGY
   We are currently living in a world, where more than ever, consumers want their food and drink to have a little something extra about them. Not only supplements or invisible extracts but also certain fruits and vegetables are being flaunted for their energizing benefits. Ingredients that contribute to a better energy level include: citrus fruits, coffee and tropical fruits like guava, kiwi or mango.
   
   Did you know that our Food Technologist Lore has just developed a lemon and ginger bliss ball with guarana? It is a fresh tasting bite-size energy snack.
   
   
3. MENTAL HEALTH
   Since the pandemic more people suffer from depression, anxiety, stress and insomnia. Consumers are looking for food that boosts mood and promotes mental wellbeing. Relaxing ingredients include tea, herbs like mint and rosemary, spices like pepper or cinnamon an botanicals like lavender.
   
   Did you know that we can create fruit inclusions with botanicals and also savoury inclusions?
   
   

Are you looking for more information to develop Health & Wellness Snacks? Check out our Health & Wellness Snack Inspiration Sheet:

To conclude

In many ways we can turn our food into a vital component of our wellbeing. The desire for healthy and tasty with along shelf like can be combined. New snack developments in 2021 will definitely happen at the exciting intersection of food and health. Next to functional snacks, there is a rise in food supplement consumption too. 

Find out more about fruit pieces or pastes for food supplements: