Group trading controller, Bestway The last 12 months have seen two key trends shaping the category and leading to exciting growth. First, nearly all brands have increased the size of their bags, or have introduced larger bag sizes to the range. Where once larger family packs remained a fairly seasonal purchase, as people watch more sport, TV and films at home with their friends, these larger bags are becoming the norm. Secondly, it's almost as if you can't have snacks without dips. This area remains heavily dominated by Doritos and Dippas. Although all the three dominant manufacturers ­ Walkers, KP and Golden Wonder ­ have followed these trends. Walkers Dippas is the clear winner. Launched this year, the company addressed every possible success factor and, as a result, the brand has outperformed the market. Products were well displayed on their own merchandising stands alongside dips, and Bestway sales teams then sold on direct to retailers. The decision to make the packs available as singles as well as a multipack box, enabled retailers to test the brand without risking a large stock purchase. The result is that Bestway is now achieving very good growth over and above the market. New products which have stuck to more traditional promotional mechanics such as free stock deals have not enjoyed similar success. At the other end of the snack market, Redmill Snacks is performing very well with their growing range of children's 20p bag savoury snacks. I suspect that as the bagged snack market continues strong growth, traditional non-snack' companies will enter the category. Jacobs, McVitie's, Kellogg's and Weetabix are already beginning to present their product in different formats to suit different meal occasions. {{P&P }}

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