A growing market for packaged snacks is driving suppliers to search for more ways to tap into online opportunities, particularly on social media.
The packaged snacks industry is projected to be worth $150 billion by the end of 2025 due to consumers’ growing disposable incomes and appetites for convenience and comfort, according to a new report by software company Digimind.
In addition, Euromonitor recently reported that Asia Pacific’s sweet biscuits consumption overtook North America's between 2012 and 2017.
However, sales per capita remained low in comparison, illustrating the industry’s low maturity and high growth potential.
Digimind says there's lots of scope for brands to boost customer engagement and experiences to stay top-of-mind and drive sales.
Using its social media listening software, the company analysed consumer discussions and interactions with packaged snack brands online.
Looking at public mentions and interactions on social media, blogs, and websites about leading brands such as Oreo, Chips Ahoy, Tim Tam, Pocky, Pepero, Loacker, and more, the report had a number of key findings:
- Snack brands embraced quality over quantity with their social media posts. The majority of packaged snack brands opted not to post daily but instead towards the end of the week, when most users were on social media and enjoying their weekend.
- Branded content during the period monitored consisted mostly of holiday greetings, and campaigns and contests held in collaboration with other brands and celebrities. Such collaborations helped to boost brand engagement for Pocky and Pepero, who, during the time of the study, promoted campaigns with Uniqlo and K-Pop music group EXO, respectively.
In Asia Pacific, Facebook was the most used platform for sharing branded content, and earned the highest engagement, however Twitter was the channel most rife with user-generated content. - Asia Pacific’s favourite biscuits were Oreo, Tim Tam and Pocky. 87.4 per cent of user-generated content about packaged snacks in Asia Pacific were about Oreo, Tim Tam, and Pocky. Oreo saw the largest share of voice in the market, with 57.3 per cent of all mentions, which was boosted by the mentions of Oreo flavoured desserts. The Tim Tam Slam, a challenge that involves biting both ends of a Tim Tam biscuit and drinking through it like a straw, was fervently discussed by fans, making up 48 per cent of posts about Tim Tam. A similar trend was also noticed with the Pepero Challenge, and Oreo Dunk, showing that creating fun ways to consume snacks encouraged consumers to share experiences.
While collaborations and user generated content are a strong way for snack brands to reach customers, sharing snackable content on social media is a go-to social media strategy for most brands, Digimind says.
The researcher found 59 per cent of consumers prefer to buy products from brands that are familiar to them.
Therefore, by feeding audiences with bite-sized pieces of content that is attention-grabbing, visual, and emotional, packaged snack brands are able to increase engagement and stay top-of-mind with consumers.
“As with all fast-moving consumer goods, consumer purchase habits for packaged snacks is largely ruled by convenience, with point-of-sale promotions continuing to be a key motivating factor in driving sales,” Digimind GM for APAC Stephen Dale said.
“This raises the pressure for brands to keep their products top-of-mind in order to be the go-to choice at supermarket aisles.
“By understanding consumer trends and behaviours, brands can leverage social media to engage with consumers in their daily lives, hence increasing familiarity and driving sales potential.”
