Edinburgh House Abbey Street Market Harborough Leicestershire LE16 9AA Tel: 01858 410410 Fax: 01858 414110 Key personnel Chief executive Clive Sharpe Commercial director Paul Monk Sales director grocery David Revell Sales director impulse Andy McCreath Category marketing director Kirsty Taylor Key brands Golden Wonder Crisps Wotsits Bugles Nik Naks Wheat Crunchies Golden Lights Quite Hot Crisps Jungle Fresh Nuts The value of the UK's £2bn bagged snacks market may not have grown significantly last year but there is still a huge opportunity to drive sales value forward, according to Golden Wonder category marketing director Kirsty Taylor. "Golden Wonder has undertaken its biggest ever research programme to identify the most effective ways of meeting retailer and consumer needs. Meeting the needs of adults who shop the crisps and snacks fixture is just one example. Over three quarters of lunchbox users are adults but very often they're eating snacks bought originally for their children." In light of this Taylor believes that targeting more snacks directly at adults, and merchandising them in-store so that adults can easily identify them for their own consumption, will help to generate value growth. Manufacturers also have a role to play in developing new products that clearly meet consumer needs. Golden Wonder has tracked consumer shopping patterns and identified that 20% of people ( heavy' buyers) who buy bagged snacks account for over half of all snacks sold, choosing up to 18 brands on a regular basis. In contrast, people who spend less on bagged snacks ( light' buyers) only buy five brands. "If brand and new product development can meet the needs of so-called light' buyers, their overall contribution to the category will grow. This is due to the very fact that they will buy into more brands and will move towards becoming more heavy' purchasers," says Taylor. New product development is also fundamental to profitable category growth. In the last two years 154 new brands have been launched, yet the top ten brands still account for 79% of sales value from new products. "This highlights that a lot of new products are confusing both retailers and shoppers and doing very little for the category," says Taylor. "The key is to deliver new products that genuinely meet consumer needs and support them with investment that drives awareness and trial." Golden Wonder believes that retailers can encourage consumers to try new brands by making them much more visible, using eye-catching display mechanisms or by siting them close to complementary products such as drinks and confectionery. Taylor adds: "Product availability is also critical. Out of stocks not only impact on profits, it irritates the consumer too!" As bagged snacks become more important to retailers' profits, Golden Wonder believe it's essential that the space allocated is a reflection of this. "There is much more cross-purchasing with categories that complement bagged snacks and this opens up new and innovative merchandising solutions. This not only makes shopping more interesting, it encourages shoppers to spend more," adds Taylor. Historically, retailers have merchandised crisps and snacks by manufacturer. But, Taylor says: "That's not how consumers shop the fixture. By merchandising children's snacks together and adult snacks elsewhere, consumers will find shopping easier, they will have more to choose from and this will result in incremental sales." According to Golden Wonder, despite the fact that consumers are now more health conscious, the healthier snacks sector only accounts for a tiny proportion of the total bagged snacks market and was in decline last year. "In contrast, major snack brands continue to lead the way, with Golden Wonder at the forefront thanks to innovative new product ideas and on-going support both for retailers and our brands." {{Z SUPPLEMENTS }}