Maintaining flavour, manufacturers keep health-conscious consumers sweet
Media coverage about obesity and the constant barrage of diet books is certainly having an impact on cake and biscuit lovers, but not because they’re opting for fruit instead.
Sweet-toothed consumers are looking for healthy alternatives to their sugary treats and healthier biscuits is the second biggest sector after chocolate biscuit bars. It was also the fastest growing category last year, with double digit growth, and is now worth £301m, up 13.6% [TNS
52 w/e September 11, 2005].
Manufacturers are reformulating products to appeal to health-conscious shoppers. United Biscuits is reducing salt levels and removing trans fatty acids. Says Mark Sugden, head of customer marketing: “We’ve also launched a range of ‘light’ products such as digestives and talk about a healthy diet and daily allowances on-pack.”
McVitie’s Go Ahead! range continues to thrive, with newcomer Go Ahead! Yoghurt Breaks now the eighth-biggest seller within healthier biscuits, according to TNS. Similarly, Fox’s Biscuits has been reducing salt, removing hydrogenated vegetable oil and developing even greater consumer-friendly labelling, as well as refreshing and adding to its Fox’s Officially Low Fat range of cookies, cereal bars, mini bites, fruit bakes and crunchy biscuit fingers.
Meanwhile, Nana’s biscuits is going even further with a vegan, sugar, wheat and gluten-free offering, listed in food chain Fresh & Wild.
Burton’s Foods - behind the growing Cadbury Highlights brand - is bringing out chocolate and honeycomb flavour Nibbles, as well as Delights in chocolate and
coffee varieties. It forecasts the better-for-you category will become the largest segment in biscuits by 2007 and buyers share this prediction.
Nisa reports a significant increase in the healthy category over the past 12 months and Kate Forbes, category marketing manager for biscuits at The Co-operative Group, says: “The healthier biscuit category is set to continue to grow and is therefore a good opportunity for the category.”
But is the cake category creating the same healthy appeal? Martin Wiltshire, marketing controller at Memory Lane Cakes, reckons cakes are all about indulgence for most consumers.
“Shoppers would rather avoid cakes altogether than sacrifice treat values,” he says. “However, there are a significant number of shoppers on low-fat diets who still want a treat and low-fat cakes provide an excellent treat for those who need to reduce their fat intake.”
Anthony Alan Foods sees mileage in healthy cakes as long as they deliver on taste. Consumers aren’t simply buying the products as part of a diet, they want better quality cakes, says marketing director Sarah Morgan.
“We’ve seen huge growth over the past couple of years with the WeightWatchers cake licence - mainly at the expense of other branded low-fat cakes.”
Companies are also trying to give cakes a healthier image by following the yoghurt category’s lead and introducing functional products. Burton’s Foods, for example, recently launched its fruit bar Fruvo, which has added health benefits.
Says Helen Tomlinson, customer marketing controller: “It’s done well so far in retailers that are strong in the healthy category, such as Waitrose and Tesco.
“Women are the main target, and it is really good for lunchboxes when they’re looking for an alternative to chocolate biscuits.”
Media coverage about obesity and the constant barrage of diet books is certainly having an impact on cake and biscuit lovers, but not because they’re opting for fruit instead.
Sweet-toothed consumers are looking for healthy alternatives to their sugary treats and healthier biscuits is the second biggest sector after chocolate biscuit bars. It was also the fastest growing category last year, with double digit growth, and is now worth £301m, up 13.6% [TNS
52 w/e September 11, 2005].
Manufacturers are reformulating products to appeal to health-conscious shoppers. United Biscuits is reducing salt levels and removing trans fatty acids. Says Mark Sugden, head of customer marketing: “We’ve also launched a range of ‘light’ products such as digestives and talk about a healthy diet and daily allowances on-pack.”
McVitie’s Go Ahead! range continues to thrive, with newcomer Go Ahead! Yoghurt Breaks now the eighth-biggest seller within healthier biscuits, according to TNS. Similarly, Fox’s Biscuits has been reducing salt, removing hydrogenated vegetable oil and developing even greater consumer-friendly labelling, as well as refreshing and adding to its Fox’s Officially Low Fat range of cookies, cereal bars, mini bites, fruit bakes and crunchy biscuit fingers.
Meanwhile, Nana’s biscuits is going even further with a vegan, sugar, wheat and gluten-free offering, listed in food chain Fresh & Wild.
Burton’s Foods - behind the growing Cadbury Highlights brand - is bringing out chocolate and honeycomb flavour Nibbles, as well as Delights in chocolate and
coffee varieties. It forecasts the better-for-you category will become the largest segment in biscuits by 2007 and buyers share this prediction.
Nisa reports a significant increase in the healthy category over the past 12 months and Kate Forbes, category marketing manager for biscuits at The Co-operative Group, says: “The healthier biscuit category is set to continue to grow and is therefore a good opportunity for the category.”
But is the cake category creating the same healthy appeal? Martin Wiltshire, marketing controller at Memory Lane Cakes, reckons cakes are all about indulgence for most consumers.
“Shoppers would rather avoid cakes altogether than sacrifice treat values,” he says. “However, there are a significant number of shoppers on low-fat diets who still want a treat and low-fat cakes provide an excellent treat for those who need to reduce their fat intake.”
Anthony Alan Foods sees mileage in healthy cakes as long as they deliver on taste. Consumers aren’t simply buying the products as part of a diet, they want better quality cakes, says marketing director Sarah Morgan.
“We’ve seen huge growth over the past couple of years with the WeightWatchers cake licence - mainly at the expense of other branded low-fat cakes.”
Companies are also trying to give cakes a healthier image by following the yoghurt category’s lead and introducing functional products. Burton’s Foods, for example, recently launched its fruit bar Fruvo, which has added health benefits.
Says Helen Tomlinson, customer marketing controller: “It’s done well so far in retailers that are strong in the healthy category, such as Waitrose and Tesco.
“Women are the main target, and it is really good for lunchboxes when they’re looking for an alternative to chocolate biscuits.”
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