Crunch time

The nation's insatiable appetite for snacks has food manufacturers competing for a bigger cut of the action. But are hosts beingbombarded by too much choice?Alice Whitehead reports France is a nation of wine drinkers, Italy is a nation of gastronomes and Britain ­ a nation of snackers! According to marketing analysts Mintel, more savoury snacks are consumed in the UK than any other country in Europe, with the average adult eating £43-worth of savoury snacks a year, compared with £12 for the French. Although this trend doesn't do the UK's junk food image any favours, it is good news for the nation's licensees. Mintel estimates the snacks market to be worth more than £2.4bn in 2003. "Twenty per cent of pub customers eat crisps and snacks every week. Sales of crisps and snacks in pubs are incremental, so they represent a real opportunity for landlords to generate additional profit," says Victoria Fussell, Walkers' trade marketing manager. She continues: "Over the past 12 months there has been a decline in the consumption of alcohol by volume in pubs. Our studies have found that pubs stocking crisps and snacks turn over an extra £3,300 every year, on average." And this has led to lots of competition in the market. Crisps are still the favourite savoury snack in the UK, with almost £1.4bn spent on them last year, and according to Information Resources Inc data, Walkers is by far the brand leader in Britain. However, Mintel suggests that consumers are no longer always drawn to the standard, branded-bag of crisps, as they are now being tempted by other styles such as traditional hand-cooked. This means that there is aneed for established brands toconstantly re-invent themselvesin order to remain competitive. "It may come as a surprise to landlords to hear that snacks (ie, not made with potato) are as big as crisps in the market," says Fussell. "And the majority of snacks are consumed by adults, which makes them entirely relevant for the pub environment. "We believe that stocking both will deliver greater sales." Because of this competitiveness the licensee is faced with a plethora of choice. Many brands are beginning to bring out exotic flavours, such as Red Mill Snack Foods' ethnic brand of Mini Poppadoms and Bombay Mix. There has also been a rise in "health conscious" brands. Golden Wonder Crisps, which has just announced a £3.5m relaunch, is focusing its campaign on the "nutritional" benefits of its crisps, pushing the fact they "contain 75% less saturated fat than the leading competitive crisp brand". Similarly, Kettle Foods, which produces Kettle Chips, has recently launched an Organics range. James Dixon, from Kettle Foods, says: "Organic customers represent a smaller sector of the market, but they are important because they spend twice as much on their food than the average consumer." Along with many other brands, Kettle has also begun to focus heavily on the pub trade, bringing out flavours and styles that are "a great accompaniment to beer". Walkers has gone as far as setting up a Trade Club for bar and pub owners, offering advice on selling crisps and how to get the most profit. Moreover, with Christmas fast approaching, the bigger brands are also tapping into the novelty crisp market. Walkers recently announced a new range of Doritos Christmas Trees and Turkey & Paxo flavoured crisps. But is all this choice a good thing? "Yes, competition is essential," says Dixon. "It is important that licensees appeal to a wide range of consumers, giving them the opportunity to trade up' to premium snacks which will ultimately earn the licensee more profit." Will Carter, managing director of United Biscuits' snacks category (which owns the KP brand), agrees and says: "The future of this industry lies in taking up the opportunities offered by radical changes in consumer eating patterns. "With the traditional three-meal pattern continuing to decline, the challenge is to offer consumers the right products, in the right format, at the right time, on a 24/7 basis.