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Unguilty pleasures: How brands are making savoury snacks healthy

Snacking is going through a redefining period, with consumers increasingly interested in snacks that are healthy and guilt-free but still taste great. We look at some recent innovations in the savoury snack space.

Predictions suggest that global health and wellness snack sales could top $98 billion (€92.5 bn) by 2025. This was the focus of the Fi Webinar Series on the topic of Healthy Snacking: From healthy indulgence to ‘mood food.

‘Better for you’ snacks bridge the food and wellness industries and informed awareness around the impact of diet on general health and wellbeing is determining snacking habits.

Functional ingredients that confer certain health benefits, like gut health or focus, are also prevalent in the snacking sector. Producers also focus on lifestyle diets like paleo, keto, or vegan, detailing what is on a label, whether they are promoting clean label attributes like no artificial sweeteners or if a product is high in fructose.

Unguilty pleasures is a leading trend in the snacking sector in 2023, particularly among the Generation Z demographic, market research company Mintel identified. The trend calls for brands to support and champion new product development (NPD) that helps consumers indulge, enjoy, and enter a food and drink snacking experience, minus guilt.

Among the Generation Z population, nighttime snacking is dominant, offering opportunities for brands. Understanding the habits of consumers, brands can lean into offering snacks that provide comfort and satiate hunger. Nearly 60% of Generation Z snackers in the US snack to relax, while 40% of those say they snack to alleviate stress, Mintel says.

Brands are launching products with familiar and comforting flavours that reflect childhood treats like ice cream or sweets, for example, to attract and appeal to new consumers and expand consumption occasions in the carbonated soft drinks category. They can also formulate traditional sugar confectionery flavours reflective of cultural nostalgia to connect with younger consumers.

Legal shifts prompt healthy snacking growth

Regulations drive real growth in the sector, with high sugar, fat, and salt reduction a key regulatory principle. In the UK, regulations of products high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) are shifting the snacking market, and introducing nutrient profiles is also anticipated to shape the market. If implemented, any product with above-average sugar, fat or salt content could not display a health or nutrient claim. Regulations lead to change as producers need to reformulate products.

“In the UK, companies are looking to bring to the market products that are HFSS compliant, but consumers are unlikely to want to trade health for indulgence 100% of the time,” said Andrew Curtis, director general of scientific and regulatory affairs of the Snack, Nut and Crisp Manufacturers Association (SNACMA), the trade association for the savoury snack food industry in the UK.

“Our members, through long-term reformulation programmes, have removed significant amounts of salt, saturated fats, total fat and calories from their existing product ranges,” Curtis told Ingredients Network.

Food brands in the UK have also launched, and continue to launch, new products that meet the Government’s Nutritional Profile Model and salt and calorie reduction targets. “However, none of this is possible without consumer support, and members still have to produce products which are tasty and meet consumer demand for indulgence and treats,” Curtis says. “Yes, there is a balance between improved health and nutrition and not compromising taste or quality,” Curtis said.

Snacks in the UK: A case study

Savoury snack manufacturers are a significant part of the manufacturing industry, SNACMA says, investing in and pursuing novel product launches.

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In August 2023, SNACMA released a report entitled Celebrating the savoury snacks industry in the UK. The country’s savoury snack industry has a total value of the savoury snack industry is estimated at £4,053 million.

Currently, savoury snacks contribute only 1% of an average adult’s total saturated fat intake, according to NDNS. Producers may use alternative vegetable oils, including sunflower and rapeseed, lower in saturated fat. The industry “has also spent significant resources in reformulating ‘standard’ products to improve their nutritional profiles”, Curtis said.

The sector has reduced the saturated fat content of products, such as sliced potato crisps, by more than 70% since 2003. The report states that the UK has also removed partially hydrogenated vegetable oils from products. Simultaneously, the total fat content for the average sliced potato crisp has decreased by approximately 23% since 1991.

Mintel data has identified that salty snack producers are exploring products with adaptogenic ingredients to help consumers relax and promote positive sleep hygiene.

Manufacturers forge ahead with new launches with lower salt content. Over the past three decades, manufacturers have voluntarily lowered the amount of salt in standard crisps on the market by 53%, SNACMA says. The association's National Diet & Nutrition Survey (NDNS) results show that 2% of consumer dietary intake now comes from crisps and savoury snacks.

Snack reformulation

Various government initiatives and legislation have progressed the snack industry. Taste and convenience remain top priorities for consumers looking for satisfying snacks that fall into the permissible indulgence trend. Health-centred, better for you alternatives are also popular for producers to introduce into their new or reformulated ranges.