This year has seen a steady stream of innovations in the confectionery and snack industries, according to a recent review of various product launches by Mintel's Global New Products Database (GNPD). The most notable trend in the GNPD review is the emergence of more fortified products and many more portable and convenient snacking formats. Yet this does not mean the end of fun shapes and flavours, as the two continue for children and adults alike.
In the biscuits and snacks sector, one of the new trends to emerge has been the increased demand for products that are free from ingredients which are detrimental to allergy sufferers and diabetics, particularly in the UK and the US. Launches of fortified and functional lines have been particularly widespread. Popular additional ingredients include vitamins, minerals, iron, calcium and fibre. These fortified varieties are also often targeted at a particular audience (especially children and females).
Among the products launched in this category in the last year are Lu Prince Start cereal biscuits in Belgium and the Netherlands from Danone, which are enriched with calcium, iron and vitamins, while also from Danone, but this time in New Zealand, are CalciWine biscuits, which contain more calcium than half a cup of milk and are said to offer an ideal way to boost calcium intake.
In the US, meanwhile, recent launches include Nature's Health Life Rising Herbal Health Cookies, which are specifically formulated to perform a functional duty, such as the Happy Stomach Cookie which help supports the stomach and spleen to improve immune function.
Looking forward to this year, GNPD expects to more vitamin and mineral-enriched mainstream varieties to cater for the health conscious. In the confectionery market, meanwhile, interactive products and those with toys/accessories (e.g. tattoos or stickers) are also popular, as the sweet/candy becomes more than something that is simply eaten, and sometimes this is combined with functionality too - as with Fr-Ooze Oozing Lollipop from Au'some Candies in Singapore and the US, a squeezeable tube lollipop that shoots a shot of vitamin C-fortified gel through the hard candy pop.
Children - the main target of such interactive products - are the main drivers in sugar confectionery, but adults are an important target audience for potential growth. Recent moves include those to target adult activities, such as alcohol consumption, or adult brands. The adult-orientated products include Maxi Energy Sucker from South Africa, targeted at ravers and containing caffeine, guarana and ginseng.
Functional confectionery is not a new innovation, of course, and this is a trend which continued throughout 2002, with products such as Function prebiotic sweets from Zile). But functional sweets are also coming into the mainstream, such as the new Fruit-tella Plus line in Italy from Perfetti Van Melle, which comprises soft sweets with real fruit juice and enriched with vitamins B, C and E as well as calcium.
One novel product GNPD saw last year in the other confectionery sub-category was Harmony Polar Bearz Gummi Breath Fresheners. The bear-shaped, peppermint-sanded gummies have a menthol effect when eaten. This product is an example of multi-functional products that have been popping up lately, and we are sure to see more of them in the future.
As far as the future is concerned, GNPD predicts that there will be more products targeting adults, in response to an ageing population, including more premium and indulgent lines. There will also be more exotic or fashionable flavours such as smoothies, fig, prickly pear, kiwi, cranberry and pomegranate, and the health trend will continue, with more sugar confectionery with fortified/functional positionings, especially enriched with calcium and ACE vitamins, likely to hit the shelves.
For more information about the Global New Products Database, contact Anne Bourgeois at Mintel International, 18-19 Long Lane, London, EC1A 9PL, United Kingdom. Telephone: +44 20 76064533; fax: +44 20 76003327; e-mail: rdigesu@mintel.com or anneb@mintel.com.
Mintel has more than 25 years' experience in providing global product intelligence to the world's leading packaged goods companies. In addition to Mintel publications, the company's product consultants are able to advise on the most appropriate markets for customised global product research. Its network of field researchers, who conduct both product monitoring and product retrieval, extends to more than 130 countries.