I love it when folks break away from the daily rut and try new things. Especially when they share their experiences with us all! A leading food industry polling firm recently asked snackers across the land what they’re popping…
The results of the Datassential survey told us one thing above all: There’s no real consensus on what a ‘snack’ is, anymore. In 2024, a snack can be anything that satisfies a craving, indulges a whim, or tides you over until the next official meal. Or whatever…
The majority agree
There is definitely one food that folks grab for a snack more than all others. Almost more than all others combined! Yes, it’s Pizza – the world’s eternal, enduring Fast Food fave.
A full 42 percent of those surveyed said their first preference for a snack was a slice of pizza. Ordered in, not homemade.
But after that, it’s a free-for-all.
Healthy alternatives
- ‘Healthy’ snacks are coming on strong as overall popular preferences.
- 38 percent of respondents said their most recent snack was a ‘healthy’ one.
- 49 percent said ‘snacking is an important part of a healthy diet’.
- ‘Healthy’ snacks ranked, in descending order: fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, cheese, and salad.
Salty snacks fairly predictable
- Not surprisingly, 94 percent of survey respondents said French Fries were at the top of their list in the hot, prepared snacks category.
- 52 percent of those polled said their fave ‘cold’ salty snack was Potato Chips.
- 46 percent chose Popcorn.
- 38 percent named Tortilla Chips.
- A surprising (to me) 34 percent chose Beef Jerky.
And…
- 32 percent chose the old-school fave, Pretzels – still going strong!
Sweet snacks surprised
- Applesauce, of all things, topped the ‘sweets’ category.
- Cookies came in near the top of the list.
- Toaster Pastries (eg.- Kellogg’s Pop Tarts) came in close behind.
- Fruit was next,
- Followed by Yogurt,
- And Chocolate/Candy bars.
- Chocolate-covered Nuts made an appearance down the list. As did…
- Breakfast Cereal. (Either with sugar and milk, or dry and tossed in the mouth like popcorn.)
The tip of the snackberg…
That’s just the highest of the highlights from the Datassential snacking survey. Among other tidbits, you’ll definitely want to see where you fit into the overall snacking demographic chart. It profiles each of the main ‘generations’ now in play by 10 different measures of motivation and behaviour. They tagged me pretty accurately as a Boomer. Other segments include ‘GenX’, ‘Millennial’, and ‘GenZ’…
My take
There were no major surprises for me among the results of the survey. And it was actually comforting to see my own expectations more or less fulfilled.
The one aspect of the survey results that I wasn’t expecting was the new emphasis on ‘healthy’ snacking. That’s good news for us all…
~ Maggie J.