Farmley Unveils Healthy Snacking Report 2024: High Retail Prices Hinder Transition To Better Snacks In India
Farmley Co-founder, Akash Sharma, stressed that the Indian snacking future consists of three keys: taste, health, and sustainability.
The preliminary research findings of a study on the healthy snacking pattern in India were unveiled at the Indian Healthy Snacking Summit in New Delhi. The first Healthy Snacking Report 2024, conducted by Farmley, truly focuses on the snacking behavior of Indian consumers, revealing a need for better snacking products. At the same time, high retail prices remain a challenge, with 58% of consumers claiming that they can’t upgrade their snacking habits because of the high prices of snacking products.
Thus, Farmley launched a survey with 6,000 participants from boomers, Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z. However, the company’s Co-founder, Akash Sharma, stressed that the Indian snacking future consists of three keys: taste, health, and sustainability. Opting for snacks has become trendy and more preferred in this region, something Sharma attributed to three factors that are presently giving India a snacking revolution.
The present study shows that overall, 73% of consumers read the labels on snacks in terms of ingredients and nutrient content; 93% of them are labeled as concerned consumers who want to change to healthier snacks. This trend shows that consumers are becoming more enlightened and hence are able to ask for the quality of their snacks and the ability of the different ingredients to be sourced and displayed.
Furthermore, the survey established that 60% of respondents had a preference for additive-free natural snacks with nuts, seeds, and whole grains, which is a new and healthy trend. It also reveals that consumers are diversifying their taste buds; for instance, millennials and Generation Z prefer peri-peri flavors, whereas baby boomers still favor simple flavors like salt and black pepper.
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Makhanas and dry fruits are emerging as popular snack choices, with 67% of people indulging in them for nutrition’s sake. More specifically, a favored snack for these consumers is chips, where 59% of millennials, 49% of Gen Z, and 47% of Gen X consumers are reported to consume these products. The report also captures that more than two-thirds of consumers prefer to snack during their tea or coffee break time.
Furthermore, the report was presented against the backdrop of increasing food adulteration concerns in products such as spices, dry fruits, and confectioneries. This has made consumers more cautious, especially with certain substances and the need to read labels to be safe from these substances.
About snacks, the survey showed that 39% of the respondents confess to having snacks at twice the frequency on weekends as on weekdays. The raw data of customer research unveils that 90% of customers are already searching for healthier snacking options, which means that the Indian snacking market is on the verge of a health revolution, shifting from impulse snacking to the conscious type.
