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The appetizers and snacks category is continuing to expand beyond traditional definitions as consumers disregard tidy labels and add Asian and Hispanic foods to their shopping lists, along with current favorites like tasty chicken and shrimp offerings, bite-size pizza snacks, stuffed mushrooms and mozzarella sticks.
The traditional appetizers and snacks category is showing substantial growth of 4.9%, for the 12-week period ended late February, according to Information Resources Inc.(IRI), Chicago, but several brands that consumers have included in this product group are showing sales growth that is significantly higher.
Clearly, brands in this category succeed on the basis of their great taste, but there are also multiple motivations that contribute to shoppers' decisions—everything from ease of preparation, the need for more variety in the family menu, increased emphasis on healthy snacks, and a fast-growing trend in which consumers are eating smaller, more frequent meals in the course of their day.
Leading brands include Heinz' T.G.I Fridays and Poppers, Schwan's Asian Sensations, Rich Products Corporation's Farm Rich brand, Ruiz Foods' top-selling El Monterey line, Kahiki Foods' wraps and egg rolls, and Alexia Foods' all-natural pizza snacks, onion rings, mozzarella stix and mushroom bites. Many of these brands are also maintaining consumer interest in the category with a raft of new product introductions.
Changing Lifestyles, Attitudes
Senior executives and marketers for these leading brands are nearly unanimous in their conclusion that busy consumers continue to move away from the traditional pattern of three square meals to smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day, including many who "graze" and are less likely to sit down for a formal lunch or dinner.
"The desire for convenience is a trend that doesn't seem to be slowing down. Consumers don't want to take time to prepare a meal," notes Bryce Ruiz, president and COO, Ruiz Foods, Dinuba, Calif. "In some cases, consumers are not really even eating meals but 'grazing'—eating smaller meals, more frequently. They're eating on the run—on the go—between work and social activities, whether it's their own night classes or taking the kids to baseball and soccer practice or dance classes."
"Frozen snacks align with today's increasing patterns of smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day, rather than the traditional three square meals," says Jason West, senior brand manager for Heinz' T.G.I Friday's frozen snacks, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa. "Plus, the offerings in the frozen snack category are higher in quality than they've ever been and more abundant in variety than ever before. All these factors make it a ripe environment for growth in the category."
Kahiki Foods, Gahanna, Ohio, is promoting the "fourth meal" concept, which is defined by Tim Tsao, vice president of sales and marketing, as more than a snack but not a full meal. "It's a true meal occasion that people have come to want with smaller more frequent meals. This fourth meal is the most pervasive and impactful trend for appetizers and it is finding its home in the supermarket. That's where we are finding our Kahiki wraps. We are seeing more fourth meal presentations."
The Asian Sensations line in benefiting from its decision to relaunch the Pagoda brand as an Asian inspired mainstream snack under the Asian Sensations brand name, with the overarching goal of creating a more approachable brand that resonates with consumers and makes a better fit within the growing mainstream frozen snacks and appetizers category.
"The household penetration for mainstream snacks is 60% of American households, but only 11% for Asian products," says Mark Jansen, vice president of product strategy, Schwan's Consumer Brands North America, Bloomington, Minn. "One of the key learnings from the research we conducted is that frozen Asian products are consumed as mini-meals and as snacks. So the greater growth opportunities lie outside the traditionally defined ethnic segments and more in the snacks segment."
Using that strategy, Asian Sensations has "been a clear contributor to the $2.3 billion snack and handheld category," he adds. "This is all about taking an occasion in Asian food and bringing it into the snacking mainstream. We developed the solution that effectively leveraged what consumers love to eat in Asian restaurants and brought it home in a mainstream way."
The brand's current product line includes: Large egg rolls with white meat chicken, pork and shrimp, pork and vegetable, and vegetable, appetizers in white meat chicken mini egg rolls, cream cheese wontons and crab Rangoon.
Rich Products Corporation's Farm Rich brand, St. Simons Island, Ga., is generating significant sales growth based on the popularity of its cheese snacks.
"Cheese snacks continue to drive the category and are attracting more and more frozen snack consumers," notes Rob McCoy, marketing manager. "Our Family Pack Cheese Stick continues to be a real winner. The product is now available in a new stand-up, resealable, gusseted bag, enhancing merchandising capabilities and shelf presence."
Among national brands, Farm Rich's family pack cheese stick is the number one dollar velocity item in the cheese segment, says McCoy, and he cites IRI data showing Farm Rich's produce eclipsing sales of overall cheese snacks of 9.7% with 12% growth.
"We believe consumers are looking for great taste with quality ingredients—the essence of our Farm Rich brand. We also know they're looking for convenience and value, which is another benchmark for all our products. We know that moms are looking for snacks that provide both nutrition and convenience. We offer products that parents can feel good about while giving kids the taste they love," he observes.
New Products
Heinz' newest introductions fit comfortably with consumer preferences for ethnic flavors, in this case, Mexican and Italian. They consist of two new T.G.I Friday's products, Mexican style chicken quesadillas, and Buffalo mozzarella sticks, and the new Poppers pepperoni pizza bites. These latest entries swell Heinz' offerings in the category to more than 20 individual products ranging from chicken, potato skins, cheese sticks, "rolled" products such as egg rolls and quesadillas, onion rings and several party pack sizes.
Schwans' Asian Sensations has expanded its lineup with two new products: sweet & sour chicken mini egg rolls, and Kung Pao chicken mini egg rolls. Both carry a suggested retail price of $2.89. The April introductions include an on-pack trial offer of "Get 2 Free," which will run through the end of the year. Point of sale will be part of the brand's marketing support to create excitement in-store.
Alexia Foods, Brooklyn, N.Y., has two new products: Chicken nuggets with spinach and Feta cheese, and broccoli and cheddar, with a suggested retail of $6.99. Both are all-natural, antibiotic free and with a Panko bread crumb coating that bakes up crisp. Previously, Alexia introduced its new pizza snacks in sweet Italian sausage, roasted peppers & parmesan, and Pesto chicken with fresh mozzarella. These newest products join the company's existing line of all-natural onion rings, mozzarella stix and mushroom bites.
In May, Farm Rich began shipping its newest introduction, mini stuffed pizza slices with 100% natural mozzarella cheese, whole pepperoni slices and a zesty marinara sauce. The product is positioned as a good source of protein and calcium as a snack or quick meal.
Kahiki's launch of its new Naturals line, which began shipping early this year, consists of eight all natural products, including General Tso's chicken wraps, Kung Pao chicken wraps, vegetable egg rolls and chicken egg rolls.
"Sales of the new Naturals line have been terrific. We are already getting a lot of reorders. We introduced the new line with our mainstream retail clients that have natural and organic sections and we are still making our way into the natural and organic retail channel," says Tsao.
Product Positionings
From Schwan's, Jansen observes, "Asian Sensations fit perfectly with this product group because they are hot snacks that fit the needs of the larger mainstream frozen snacks and appetizer category…Research uncovered the opportunity to redefine and broaden the existing definition of Asian frozen snacks and appetizers from the narrow positioning of an 'ethnic side dish' to a 'mainstream approachable snack."
Alexia Foods is gaining a loyal following on the strength of its all-natural products. "With our pizza bites, a pesto chicken and a sweet Italian sausage, we are positioned between mainstream pizza snacks and some of the all-natural vegetarian-based pizza items," says Jack Acree, national sales manager. "For those people looking for all-natural snacks who are not vegetarians, which is a large majority of them, until we launched, we were the only ones focused on natural products for those consumers who are not vegetarians, so we are hitting a good spot with those items," says Acree.
And with the company's niche for all-natural products, he points out that the company's ingredients—such as antibiotic-free, sustainable chicken, offers consumers reassurance about food safety from imported products. "We have records showing what our chickens were fed, the conditions in which they were raised, and the certifications that they are antibiotic free, grain fed and only domestic sources," he observes.
At Ruiz Foods, the company president notes, "As the leader of this category—frozen Mexican, we see it as our responsibility not only to continue to grow what we bring to the category but to continue to grow the category as a whole. What drives the growth of our El Monterey brand products within the appetizer/snack sub category is the consumer's desire for convenience, taste and Mexican—whether it's our El Monterey taquitos, burritos, cruncheros, quesadillas. You name it—they want to be able to eat the exciting flavors of Mexico outside of a QSR or restaurant. They want to be able to enjoy those flavors in their home whether they're snacking, enjoying a meal or entertaining family and friends."
Citing IRI data for the frozen Mexican category for the 13-week period ending Feb. 25, he reports sales increase 1.8%, while taquitos were up 4.5% and El Monterey taquitos increased 6%. "We not only outpaced the growth of all taquitos but outpaced the growth of the entire category as well," says Ruiz.
Retail Prescriptions
Farm Rich's McCoy emphasizes the positive impact of creative displays in driving category sales.
"Feature and display drives the category, and we're pleased to continue to partner in unique ways with our customers to drive incremental sales. More and more retailers have come to understand the importance of creative display, and those retailers that offer outstanding point of sale, opportunity-driven coupon machines and display activity focused on seasonal activities are the ones that are seeing real growth," he observes.
Farm Rich proposes five specific steps retailers can take to increase category sales. These include: Leveraging creative displays to draw shoppers' attention to the category and drive impulse purchases; take advantage of key seasonal activities like the SuperBowl and March Madness; create promotional themes for the back-to-school season and events like family game night; tap into consumers' spirit of adventure with the snack category by ensuring that new products are consistently available on the shelf and, lastly, create product portfolios that are appropriate for both adult snacking and kid-friendly occasions.
author: By Michael Hartnett