Sophisticated Snacking Trends: Moving Away From Traditional Consumption Patterns
Eating habits have moved from incorporating traditional nutrition and health considerations with complex carbohydrates and fresh foods to more processed dishes that are higher in sugars, refined starches, fats, and saturated fats. This transformation has resulted in increased levels of obesity and related health concerns.
Due to globalization, urbanization, technological advances, food marketing changes, and prevalent access to fast foods, this trend is worldwide. Access to convenience foods is often accompanied by greater affordability than traditional, healthier meal preparation. At the same time, increased wealth has resulted in more frequent out-of-home eating.
Modern-day demands and lifestyles leave less time for home cooking, meaning many consumers turn to convenience foods for main meals and snacking—whether via retail, takeout, ready-to-eat, or microwave dishes. The content of convenience meals and snacks has also changed, including more chicken and less beef, more grains and fats, less sugar, and more corn-based sweeteners. Time shifts in meal times leave many people eating later in the day and others doubling up on main meals—by having two breakfasts during morning hours, for example.
Adding complexity to these changes is eating between main meals. Snacking is an everyday activity for most of us, especially since the onset of the global pandemic. Snacking habits are increasing, and snacks often replace meals entirely. Unfortunately, snacking choices often include unhealthy options, high in sugar and salt and lacking nutrients.
Increased risk of illness and enforced sheltering-in-place have generated a return of healthier eating habits. Consumers are seeking out more home cooking, eating together as families, and, in some cases, focusing on health, immunity, and overall wellbeing—including in their snacking habits.
The Healthy Snacking Evolution
Global eating and dietary habits have evolved significantly. While this change incorporates some negative directions— such as overeating, excessive portion sizes, and reliance on unhealthy convenience foods—there is also a growing trend of seeking out healthier ingredients that are sourced responsibly, sustainably, and compassionately. This trend embraces purer and cleaner snacks, protein-based mini-meals, and plant-based options.
The tendency towards healthier snacking includes smart snacking, or swapping high-calorie, low-nutritive options for foods that sustain and nourish. These snacks contain carbohydrates for energy combined with high-quality protein. Sophisticated snacks are lighter, have less or no sugar, and often rely on plant-based ingredients. They offer texture and crunch through nuts and seeds rather than processed grains.
Smarter snacks tend to be fat-, gluten-, GMO-, and preservative-free, relying on natural rather than artificial flavorings. The category is also moving towards mindfulness, with ethically and compassionately sourced ingredients, supply chain, manufacturing, and packaging.
Savory or sweet-and-savory snacks are prominent, incorporating cheese, spices, and herbs for exciting and tangy accents. Also trending is ‘adultification’–incorporating beer, wine, and coffee into flavor and aroma profiles.
In turn, manufacturers offering sophisticated convenience eating can rely on advanced flavor ingredients to boost their snack products and take their impact and appeal to the next level.
Rely on Advanced Biotech for Sophisticated Snacking Surprises
Advanced Biotech offers an extensive selection of pure, natural, EU-certified flavor and aroma molecules.
Snacks may be savory with chicken, smoked, warm, vegetative, or spicy profiles, sweet with fruity, vanilla, tropical, and malty tastes, or grown-up with coffee, wine, or healthy hemp notes. Advanced Biotech’s plant-based range can accommodate all your ingredient requirements—naturally.
Join the smart and sophisticated snack revolution with Advanced Biotech’s range of healthy and highly effective flavor and aroma ingredients. Please contact us for more information.