Snacks: A Booming Industry; A Delicious Opportunity

1. Snacks: A Booming Industry; A Delicious Opportunity According to a Nielsen Global Snacking Report September 2014, Snack sales totaled $374 billion annually ending March 2014, an increase of 2% year-over-year. In developing regions, annual snack sales grew more than two times faster. Snacks as meal replacements are a growing trend – and an exciting opportunity for manufacturers. The ‘breakfast snackification’ trend in Asia is a case in point. Leisurely breakfasts are becoming history in Asia’s rapidly-modernising developing countries. Hectic lifestyles, more women joining the workforce, urbanization and resulting traffic snarls, etc. are contributing to the preference for convenient breakfast alternatives that can be eaten on-the- go or in the office, according to Nielsen’s 2014 global report. As a result of this trend, Asia Pacific’s snack industry is expected to grow faster over the next few years than anywhere else in the world. Within Asia, China and India are among the fastest growing markets in the world for biscuits and snack bars – which include breakfast muesli and granola bars – as per a 2015 report by market research firm Euromonitor International. In India, the snack food market is growing at 25% CAGR, according to industry sources. In 2013, the market was estimated at close to Rs 8000 crore as compared to Rs 2400 crore in 2008. The growth rate continues to remain robust, since at that level, the market was less than 0.5% of total food expenditure in India. The market is divided into 3 segments: chips, extruded snacks and traditional snacks. Each of these have around equal share of the snack food market. The market is dominated by Pepsico, which has more than a third of the market. Pepsico’s leading products are Lays, which has 50% share of the chips segment; and Kurkure, which has over 50% share of the extruded snacks segment. The second largest company in snack foods is Haldiram which dominates the traditional snacks market. With snacks like bhujiya, namkeen and salted dals, Haldiram has close to 50% share of the traditional snacks market. Gujarat’s Balaji Wafers is the third largest company with a market share of 9%. ITC has a share of 7%. After these, there are smaller companies like DFM Foods, Bikanerwala, and SM Foods. As the snack market flourishes worldwide, and as consumers across the world develop a taste of Indian snacks and flavours, the potential for Indian snack manufacturers is booming. Indian snacks already enjoy a huge market in the Middle East, Canada, USA, UK, Australia and Asia-Pacific, and the demand keeps growing. Packaging plays a crucial role in the marketing strategy of snacks in India and abroad. Snacks Packaging machines supplier, Nichrome offers a range of advanced VFFSsnacks packaging machines protect the fragility and odd shapes of snack foods while preserving the crunch and freshness – thereby enhancing shelf life. Nichrome’s Snackpack is a snacks pouch packaging machine that delivers speeds of 150 packs/min for chips packaging, dry fruits packaging, puffed snacks packaging, etc. The snack filling and sealing machine handles multiple formats including the CSSP, Gusset pouch and chain of pouches. Its unique stripping action before cross sealing avoids product entrapping in seal. It is designed for quick and tool-less changeover in size parts resulting in minimum product falling height. The ball of innovation keeps rolling in the snack industry in India. Every month brings new manufacturers, new flavours, and new varieties as per regional and global trends. The innovations have no boundaries – and Nichrome, the leading packaging machine manufacturer in India, with over 3 decades of expertise, is ideally positioned to keep pace.