Needs are important to consider when planning what snacks to offer – whether it is comfort food, a meal replacement, a treat or for sharing to satisfy consumers.
Crisps and confectionery are obvious choices, but offering satisfying light bites continues to be a growing opportunity for grab and go operators as these allow consumers to graze when and where they want. Street food has been a huge influence on this feeding frenzy, engaging people with its repertoire of munchable cuisine-styles and informal way of eating at reasonable prices.
Gourmet hot dogs are currently seen as the top nosh for on the move and more suppliers are adding them to their portfolios.
One of these is AAK Foodservice, which has recognised the synergy between hot dogs and its sauce range, and launched Uncle John’s Signature hot dogs.
The bockwurst sausages are made in Germany from premium cuts of smoked pork combined with herbs and spices, and traditionally smoked in an authentic Beechwood smoker. To suit different operators, they come in lengths varying from 14.5cm to 29cm, and four pack sizes, 10x50g, 7x72g, 7x90g and 9x140g.
Rachel Neale, foodservice marketing manager at AAK Foodservice, says that hot dogs featured on more than 85% more menus last year. “Ideal as a quick, tasty snack or as a main for those with sit-down areas, caterers can easily add value to them, enabling them to charge more,” she says.
AAK has devised 10 ways to tap into this trend using its Lion sauces, which take into account different cuisine styles, from German and Texas BBQ to British, Mexican and Cajun.
Showing them for the first time at the Casual Dining Show in March, with its own personal branding and the flavour combos demonstrated with the help of its new Lion sauces chef ambassador, Ben Bartlett, Neale says the hot dogs fit into any sector and prices could range between £4 and £6.99, depending on presentation. The company is also looking into producing a halal version based on chicken.
Marja Lawrence, operations manager at Funnybones Foodservice, says that with consumers having less time to eat, operators should take inspiration from traditional street food snacks that appeal to young and old. “Churros, or Mexican-style doughnuts, are ideal sweet snacks and a great alternative to the usual packet of crisps or chocolate,” she comments.
Its own churros are ready to serve from frozen and are available in raw batter and pre-cooked formats. The raw ones can be deep fried in around four to six minutes, while the pre-cooked churros can be reheated in an oven at 225ºC for around six minutes or grilled or fried. Lawrence says that they also offer an alternative to biscuits and go well with hot beverages.
Recently Bidvest 3663 launched a monthly campaign called New4You to make it easier for customers to understand which on-trend products they should stock to boost sales.
Its team chose items that it felt met customers’ needs and reflected current foodservice trends, supported by introductory price promotions, market insights and recipe ideas. Among the products launched in the campaign’s first month was a range of Yeo Valley Greek-style yogurts and toppings, and the Authentic Food Company’s range of meals under 500 calories to cater for demand for lower calorie food.
Pasta pots also tap into the food on the go market as they can be quickly prepared and ready to eat. New to the marketplace are products from Kent’s Kitchen made with natural ingredients, consisting of premium mini pasta twirls in four flavours: Bolognese, porcini mushroom, cheese and chive, and tomato and chilli, which are suitable for vegetarians.
Each 65g variant has fewer than 180 calories per pot and can be served in six to seven minutes by adding boiling water to rehydrate the pasta and stirring well.
Meanwhile, Whitworths has brought out handy packs of better-for-you snacks containing only 68 calories, which includes varieties such as orange and chocolate seed shot described as “a ready to eat hit of orange flavoured cranberries, golden raisins, chocolate pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seeds”.
To cater for coeliac disease sufferers, Walkers Shortbread has just added a snack pack of gluten-free biscuits to its traditional shortbread range. Each individual pack contains two shortbread biscuits with a nine-month shelf life, and variants include pure butter and chocolate chip. Produced using a special flour blend, the gluten-free range has been certified by the charity Coeliac UK and is also suitable for vegetarian and kosher diets.
Suppliers are constantly revamping their ranges and, in the savoury snack sector, Pipers Crisps has just revitalised its packaging to make it more appealing.
“The new colours make it easier to differentiate between flavours, will improve the colour continuity of our range and will boost the standout of the crisps when displayed,” explains company founder Alex Albone. “The most significant change is to the Kirkby Malham chorizo packs, which will now become purple. Karnataka black pepper and sea salt packs will be a darker black and Biggleswade sweet chilli packs will be a deeper red. All other packs will remain unchanged.”
Albone says that premium crisps are currently driving the snacks market forward and that his company was proud to be voted Britain’s best brand of savoury snack for the third consecutive year.
Love Popcorn has also given its range a makeover with the addition of lower calorie flavours made with authentic ingredients. These include sea salt and cracked black pepper, fiery salsa made with tomato, chilli and cumin, cocoa crisp, salty sweet and sweet vanilla, all made from wholegrain corn, which is low in fat and high in anti-oxidants.
Co founder Catherine Furze says that the popcorn is “as close to homemade as you can buy in the shops”. “There are no weird flavourings, colourings or fillers, and we use only the finest ingredients such as Madagascan vanilla to ensure that, while our popcorn is lower in calories, it’s very high in quality. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the health implications of what they eat, which is why we believe there is such a strong market for Love Popcorn.”