Over the past couple of years, 100-calorie snack packs have soared in popularity as a convenient way to control portion size. But sales are falling and, according the Mintel Global New Products Database, new launches of 100-calorie packs have slowed too.
Senior research analyst at Mintel Marcia Mogelonsky says the reasons for this are threefold: consumers are looking for value over convenience in the current economic situation; 100-calorie packs were a diet fad that has been shown not to work; and they use an unsustainably large amount of packaging.
Mogelonsky told FoodNavigator-USA.com: “They are expensive compared to making the effort to get a plastic bag and measuring out 25 chips or whatever it says on the pack. Convenience is being trampled by a need for value.”
Weight management
The 100-calorie packs were touted as a weight management tool but that reason for their purchase has lost its sway too after a Journal of Consumer Research study last year found that participants given 100-calorie snacks ate significantly more than those given regular-sized bags of potato chips.
This led Mogelonsky to conclude that the snacks are “almost a license to overeat” and that they are a gimmick that “filled the void after the last diet fad faded.”
She said that Americans – two-thirds of whom are overweight or obese – are always on the look-out for quick-fix ways to lose weight, but consumers have become aware that snack packs are not as effective as a diet aid as they had hoped.
“The major driver here is that the economy means people are being much more careful,” she said. “…They are too expensive and people are doing a do-it-yourself on portion control. People saw them as a magic bullet but they don’t work.”
Excess packaging
“These are also environmentally unsustainable. They have too much packaging and so much waste. I think many younger people are especially aware of how much wrapping they have.”
But Mogelonsky added that portion-controlled packs do still have a place, especially for parents looking for convenient snacks for their children’s lunchboxes.
“Perhaps it’s more of a pause than an end. Convenience may not be the number one concern at the moment but for those who like convenience, portable is still a big factor,” she said. “…They may come back when things get better. But by then we might have another diet prop.”
According to Mintel’s Global New Products Database, 21 new food products were launched with ‘100-calorie’ in the product description last year, compared to six in 2007 and five in 2006. Just seven new 100-calorie products have been launched to May 28 this year.