whether we're hungry or not. Cookies, pretzels, chips and nuts all satisfy our daily snack cravings. Big bags to feed the family are yielding more and more often to individual portion-controlled packs, often in 100-calorie packs and trans-fat free to assuage our guilt as we munch away.
Sweet And Salty Merge
The most exciting trend in the snacking category? Crossover snacks. The intersection of our favorite salty snacks with our favorite sweets.
Honey Roasted Peanut Roca is the first sweet and salty addition to Brown & Haley's renowned toffee buttercrunch line. The warm buttery profile upfront is heightened and deepened by the perfectly salted roasted peanuts; and the golden honey notes in the buttercrunch linger.
Dale & Thomas Popcorn has mastered chocolate-covering individual sweet and salty pieces of Kettle Corn for an addictive hand-to-mouth snack. The popcorn stays surprisingly crunchy inside the chocolate, and again, the sweet and the salty merge in harmony with the creaminess of the milk chocolate.
I believe these visionary companies are on to something."When we want a "little something," a je ne sais quoi snack,
we can now have it all in one self-indulgent small bite — chocolate, sweet treat, salty snack.
Candy canes, a traditional favorite, are morphing into crushed peppermint candy
for more year-round appeal,
especially when mixed into and
onto pretzels, toffee and even
popcorn. Tropical Nut and Fruit's
Palatable Pleasures Chocolate
Peppermint Twists cover all
three bases — sweet, salty and chocolate — with chocolate-covered pretzels sprinkled with crushed candy canes.
In the premium chocolate world, Fran's Chocolates of Seattle has twice swept the title for NASFT Outstanding Confection with her luxury salt caramels. Both milk smoked salt caramels and dark gray salt caramels have won the prestigious specialty confection award. New salty snacks with chewy caramel, and sweet caramels with salty crisp, crunchy inclusions might both emerge as snack/confection crossover favorites. Will nostalgia for retro snacks and our insatiable craving for chocolate create an old-but-new category of sweet and salty chocolate-covered crunchy products? Maybe Spitz' newest flavors of sunflower seeds — Chili-Lime and Smoky BBQ — will be drenched in chocolate in another year. I've recently seen salty and barbecue corn kernels covered in chocolate and sold in cello tubes as not-too-sweet, not-super-salty snacks for young hipsters and more adventuresome snack-seekers. Shockingly, pastry chefs have expanded the boundaries of their craft by sprinkling crushed corn kernels on chocolate desserts as well.
Sweet Heat, Cacao Nibs, High Cacao Percentage Panned Fruits
Snacks with sweet heat have also
emerged north of the border. Salty snacks
from chips to peanuts have continued to
show strong growth and chocolate artisans
have enticed heat-seeking chocolate lovers for
several years with their exotic chili-infused confections. As
brands such as Beer Nuts pair Spicy & Hot Peanuts with Miller
beer using national tie-in merchandising, and brave journalists
break new ground by covering pairings of micro-brewed beer
and various types of chocolate, the foundation is being laid for
a new era in spicy sweet and salty bar snacks.
Cacao nibs — the heart of chocolate — might be the next IT snack. Think caramelized cacao nibs in addition to chocolate-covered versions — nibs with sea salt, cocoa-dusted nibs and chile and cacao nibs for savory snacks with added heat. For a new antioxidant take on an old favorite, how about trail mix with cacao nibs, roasted almond bits, dried cherries and blueberries — all chocolate-covered?
One night a couple weeks ago, when the munchies hit, I ventured into the kitchen and grabbed a handful of lightly salted roasted chopped almonds, some cacao nibs and some
shaved dark chocolate. Quickly,
before the chocolate melted in
my hand, or my hunger pangs
subsided, I closed both hands together, and shook them up
and down to mix my new
concoction. The earthy crunch of the nibs, the salty
roasted almonds, the
deep, bold chocolate — it
was so good, I confess to
having my new sweet and
salty chocolate snack every
night now. (Please contact me if
you'd like assistance with any late-night R&D efforts.)
Next, I'm going to try adding a little shake of cayenne. Maybe this will be my new afternoon wake-up snack.
The point is that there are major snacking opportunities beyond what is traditionally thought of as sweet snacks in the realm of candy — chocolate-covered almonds for example, as well as salty snacks such as salted roasted nuts. The simple addition of cacao nibs adds a savory note that creates an entirely new snack taste experience.
Did you know that according to the Almond Board of California, 84 percent of consumers agree that chocolate is better with almonds? I imagine those consumers would really be excited about a mix of chocolate, almonds and cacao nibs.
Along these lines, chocolate panned fruits and fruit bits, often made with high cacao percentage dark chocolates, continue to be. strong sellers, and manufacturers from Madelaine Chocolate Novelties, Inc. to Koppers Chocolate Specialty Co. and Marich Confectionery Co. all have successful lines in mass and premium retail channels.
Another snack sector I predict will continue to show even stronger growth is the nutrition/protein bar segment. Nestle's new Nut Naturals line is packed with protein and the PowerBar Harvest Whole Grain bars are indicative of new heart-healthy nutritionally balanced snacks. In the not-too-distant future, imagine nutrition bars with cacao nibs, and Himalayan Goji and/or Acai berries — the latter is purported to have more antioxidants than blueberries or pomegranates, and a taste that's a cross between chocolate and berries.
What's next? I'd love to hear from you. Write me, call me, send me your thoughts and your new products. Or order my 2006 Top Ten Trends Report and see for yourself. It comes with my take on What's Hot & What's Not, and new this year, is a special feature — What's Next!
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