Snacks. They’re everywhere. In fact, in 2018 Americans enjoyed almost 386 billion ready-to-eat snacks. Whether they are eaten on their own, as part of a meal, or as a meal replacement, snacks need to continue to evolve so they can meet the needs of future San Diego consumers. David Portalatin, NPD Group’s food industry advisor, explained it best when he said, “snack food rolls [are] is changing in different ways in reaction to Americans’ desire for balance, portable snack foods, and holistic wellness.”
San Diego employees are no different. They are also looking for snacks that offer balance, portability and wellness. But what do those three things mean?
Balance
The concepts of healthy and great tasting no longer exist on opposite sides of the aisle. Today’s snacks and beverages meet in the middle. It’s all about balancing enjoyable flavors, textures, and healthy ingredients with a reasonable amount of something sweet over the course of a day or week to help create a balanced diet. Manufacturers are working to meet consumers in the middle by offering thinner versions of their most popular cookies.
Wellness
For a snack or beverage to fall into the wellness category, it must offer more than just healthy ingredients. It needs to have a purpose or be considered functional. Snack or beverage choices that are high in protein, offer weight management benefits, or include immune-boosting or pro-digestive health ingredients all fall into the functional category. Ingredients such as fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, and alternative protein sources all help a snack or beverage to perform a specific purpose.
Portable
Single-serve, on-the-go, and functional are three attributes that San Diego employees look for when choosing portable snacks. With 86 percent of Americans eating a snack instead of a meal and 20 percent of Millennials eating snacks while running errands, there are a lot of people eating on-the-go. Successful snack manufacturers take that into account and create options that can be enjoyed anywhere.
Do your San Diego employees have access in their breakroom vending machine or micro-market to snacks that are balanced, wellness-focused, and portable? First Class Vending can make sure that those who don’t eat a traditional lunch also have a variety of choices to help meet their dietary needs. For more information or to schedule a product sampling, please call First Class Vending at 800-515-8363.