Snack Food Market Size, Share, Opportunities, And Trends By Type (Savory Snacks, Sweet Snacks, Fruit Snacks, Frozen Snacks, Others), By Distribution Channel (Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Convenience Stores, Specialty Stores, Online Retailing, Others), And By Geography - Forecasts From 2024 To 2029

Snack foods can be considered as a small portion of food generally eaten in between meals. Snacking gained great relevance due to changes in lifestyle in recent years and also because many people have less time to spend eating. Snack products can be categorized based on the raw materials used, which include vegetables, fruits, restructured dough, and many others, and the unit operations used for the production of snacks such as frying, baking, extrusion, roasting, and many others. Some of the well-known snack products include potato chips, corn, tortilla chips, extruded snacks, pretzels, ready-to-eat popcorn, granola products, multigrain chips, and many others. Snack foods are also known for providing a wide range of benefits, which include providing a boost of energy if several hours pass between meals and blood glucose levels drop, helping in curbing appetite to prevent overeating during the next meal, providing extra nutrients when consuming snacks that include fresh fruits or nuts, and can help maintain adequate nutrition to those with poor appetite and is unable to eat full meals due to illness. Several motivations have been linked to the increase in snacking, which include hunger, social/ food culture, distracted eating, indulgence, boredom, and food insecurity. 

Introduction:

The global snack food market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecasted period of 2024-2029, due to factors such as the increase in urban population, and the increasing relevance of the snacking habit.

Drivers:

• Urbanization: Urbanization is one of the major factors that affect the growth of the global snack food market during the forecast period. The increase in urbanization means the increase in urban populations due to an increase in the incomes of individuals or due to growth in development in urban areas. As per the United Nations, the global urban population is expected to increase to reach two-thirds of the total population by 2050, an increase from half of the global population. Also, as per the World Bank, the urban population is expected to increase by 1.5 times to reach a total of 6 billion by 2045. The increase in urbanization can be linked to the increase in disposable income of people as well, further leading to the increase in demand for snack foods and ready-to-eat foods.  Therefore, the increase in urbanization can be expected to provide the necessary boost for the growth of the global snack food market during the forecast period.
• Relevance of Snacking: Snacking has been considered one of the common eating behaviours amongst children and adults. As per the statistics provided by one of the largest snack food producers in the world, Mondelez International, 75% of consumers always find room in their budget to spend on snack food purchases. It was also found that 55% of the consumers make a meal out of snacks weekly. The relevance of snacks is expected to increase along with household spending. Another factor that increases the relevance of snacking is the increase in work hours of employees and workers. Due to the increased work hours of individuals, the time for preparation of food will shorten, leading to a change in preference towards ready-to-eat foods and snacks. As per the International Labour Organization, over one-third of all workers globally work regularly for more than 48 hours a week, while a fifth of the global workforce work short (part-time) hours less than 35 hours.  This leads to the need for snack food due to the convenience of acquiring and consumption of snack foods. Therefore, the relevance of snacking will be expected to display significant growth during the forecasted period.

Key Players:

• PepsiCo: A global leader that is known for producing and manufacturing several products in the food and beverage industry, which include snacks, and beverages such as Frito-Lays and Quaker Oats.
• General Mills, Inc.: An American and global leader in the production of several variety of food and nutrition products, which include snacks, breakfast cereals, flour, and prepared mixes.

Regional Analysis:

The North American region is expected to witness a significant increase in growth in the global snack food market during the forecasted period of 2024-2029, due to factors such as increasing urbanization and an increase in growth of household spending, which includes leisure foods such as snacks. Household spending consists of the increase in the general income of the household, which includes disposable income as well. The increase in household spending can also be linked to the increase in urbanization, especially in the developing economies. As per the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United States has the highest total household spending as of 2021, which accounts for an estimated US$15,902,575. Household spending includes the final consumption expenditure made by resident households to meet their everyday needs such as food, rent, transportation, durable goods, health costs, and several others. Another factor that can increase the growth of snack food consumption is the increase in household disposable income, which displays a percentage change of 1.19% in Canada from Q1 of 2022 to Q2 of 2023. This increase in disposable income can lead to changes in the preferences of the consumers, which include increased preference towards snacks and other ready-to-eat foods. Hence, the increase in household spending and disposable income can provide the necessary boost in the growth of the global snack food market during the forecasted period of 2024-2029.

Market Developments:

• June 2023: Herr Foods, Inc. announced the launch of 3 new chip flavours for people to buy, try and vote to determine the winner of their Flavoured by Philly: Local Eats contest, dubbed Mike’s BBQ, Korean BBQ Wings, John’s Roast Pork, Roast Pork Sandwich, and Corropolese Bakery, Tomato Pie. The flavours are available at all major retail stores and encourage people to try different varieties of their chip flavours.

Segmentation:

• By Type:
  • Savory Snacks
  • Sweet Snacks
  • Fruit Snacks
  • Frozen Snacks
  • Others
• By Distribution Channel:
  • Supermarkets/Hypermarkets
  • Convenience Stores
  • Specialty Stores
  • Online Retailing
  • Others
• By Geography:
• • North America
    • United States
    • Canada
    • Mexico
  • South America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Others
  • Europe
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • Others
  • Middle East and Africa
    • Saudi Arabia
    • UAE
    • Others
  • Asia Pacific
    • Japan
    • China
    • India
    • South Korea
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Indonesia
    • Others