Biscuits: healthy and posh top the biccie trends

Elevenses is becoming an expensive habit. The price of a sweet biccie to dunk in your late morning cuppa is up 2.4%.

This was largely the result of two premiumising - and contradictory - trends: health and indulgence. The former has been especially powerful, says Nielsen analyst Steven Hansell. “Healthier biscuits have grown £55m and they account for an impressive two-thirds of growth within biscuits, showing that consumers continue to look for healthier options even within treat categories.”

The area of permissible treats is where Ferrero made its biscuit debut in summer 2017 with Nutella B-Ready - a snack containing 115 calories per 22g bar (521kcals per 100g). This year, the brand racked up almost £14m of extra sales and added a 10-bar multipack to its repertoire, taking the title of the UK’s 13th biggest sweet biccie within its first 12 months.

Such roaring success was down to B-Ready’s suitability for elevenses, claims Ferrero’s customer development director Levi Boorer. “We’re seeing an increasing trend for mid-morning snacking, with 54% of consumers looking for a smaller snack that won’t ruin their appetite. Nutella B-Ready is perfect for that occasion.”

David Cox, MD of Fox’s Biscuits, confirms the trend towards salubrious nibbles - a fashion that has driven double-digit glory in cereal bars, with standout players including General Mills’ reduced-calorie Fibre One (up 105.5%). “Three in five consumers are actively taking steps to improve their health, and shoppers are seeking lower-calorie options, especially for on-the-go consumption, which the whole family can enjoy,” says Cox.

On the flip side, however, he adds that “shoppers associate biscuits with special moments, and consumers look to achieve a balanced diet with indulgent treats to enjoy and share with family and friends”.

That insight is informing current thinking at Bahlsen. “Almost a third of shoppers now always opt for indulgent products when choosing a snack and nearly half (45%) believe high-sugar snacks can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet,” says trade marketing manager Julien Lacrampe.

It may seem odd at a time when consumers are flocking towards healthy options. But for Lacrampe, it is simply a case of different biscuits for different occasions. “Data shows that shoppers tend to consume healthy snacks on weekdays and treat themselves to more indulgent snacks at the weekend.”

The appetite for richer biscuits is what led Bahlsen in January to launch Choco Moments, a premium lineup boasting “the thickest chocolate topping of any Bahlsen biscuit”. It appears to have worked: the German supplier’s value has shot up 15.7% in grocery to £31.4m - marking a second successive year of double-digit growth.

Bahlsen’s other notable NPD of 2018 was Zoo Imagination, a children’s variant that’s free from gluten and lactose. “For many parents, the free-from category has a limited offering in terms of products that taste great, are liked by their children and give them peace of mind with a gluten-free certification,” says Lacrampe.

It’s an example of kids’ biscuits following the larger market by starting to shift towards healthier options, says David Cox. “As new government initiatives push the less-than-100kcals messaging, families are looking for new innovative ways to replace the traditional household biscuit options currently available.” That’s why Fox’s, which has lost £4.9m in value sales over the past 12 months, recently added Party Milkshakes with just 78 calories per 18g mini-bag (433kcals per 100g).

Still, there’s one area of the market that’s missing out on all this appetite for health: savoury biscuits. Despite typically containing less sugar than their sweeter counterparts, savoury was down £5.3m in value.

To mitigate that decline, it could do worse than invest in NPD. For innovation has been given less consideration than in previous years, according to Nielsen’s Hansell.

“In the latest year, we have seen £34m worth of brand innovation versus £43m the year before,” he notes. “In the latest year, NPD has accounted for 13% of total growth within the category, down from 22% the year before.”

James Thomas, customer marketing director at Pladis UK & Ireland, believes that will all change next year. 2018 was “about embracing the challenge to continue developing the biscuit category”, he says.

Meanwhile, 2019 will be “about creating new opportunities” he predicts. “The biggest obstacle to growth is not daring to dream or think about where the opportunities lie.

“The category offers fantastic potential for expansion into new occasions and formats, and there are also opportunities for premiumisation and increased basket conversion.”

Jeremy Peters, head of category and insights at Burton’s Biscuit Company, expects that “the interest in healthier alternatives will continue to grow, as more consumers place importance on wellness and making alternative choices. However, ‘treatier’ biscuits show no sign of slowing down as people still want to indulge - so manufacturers will need to make sure they’re getting the balance right”.

Dare we dream of an indulgent biscuit that also hits the right health notes?

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Flipz, Pladis

Twenty-one years after being created by Nestlé, Flipz made its UK debut in May via Pladis. The bite-size, chocolate-covered savoury pretzels previously had only limited presence as a higher-priced US import. Now made in Topkapi, Turkey, boxed in Edinburgh and available nationwide, Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate were the first variants to land. These were joined in the autumn by limited-edition White Fudge. Pladis has forecast first-year value sales to hit the £9m mark.