New snacks ventured into healthier territory in 2012, aided to a degree by bolder flavors and a curious consumer marketplace.
Snacking may have once been regarded as a vice, but consumers have embraced the notion as a way to maintain energy levels throughout the day. The average American consumer snacks two to three times a day, and some have even taken to snacking more often and foregoing the standard three daily meals.
For the record, research by Advertising Age puts snack bar market sales at $6 billion, more than double its size of just a decade ago. That’s a growth rate far outpacing chips and pretzels, which admittedly has a larger base to grow. That latter segment has grown just 3.5% during the past 10 years but has sales of $34 billion.