The joy of snacks

Prepared Foods,  March, 2006  by William A. Roberts, Jr.

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* More with less

* Healthful alternates

* Inspiration breeds variety

Low-calorie and low-cholesterol snacks regained some popularity in 2005, as consumers embraced their respective weight-loss and health benefits. However, low-sodium offerings also began to trickle onto store shelves and could well be a sign of things to come. Trader Joe's Vegetable Root Chips, for instance, promised a "gourmet snacking experience" with 35mg of sodium and no cholesterol per serving.

Introductions of baked and puffed snacks experienced a surge, largely due to their healthful connotations. The lack of fat and/or calories enticed weight-conscious consumers, particularly those not willing to sacrifice taste. The Crispy Delites line from Healthy Delite, for example, married the best of two health-positive worlds--being baked and being vegetable chips. The 100% Natural Veggie Chips line was made with 100% real vegetables, with one 1.07oz bag providing an equivalent to one pound of vegetables. The low-fat product could be found in seven flavors: carrot, Asian cucumber, celery, red onion, taro, pumpkin and sweet potato. In addition, Frito-Lay has been exploring a move into more-healthful territory, as its chief executive noted the company is looking at launching chips made with vegetables and fruit, as well as extending its popular multigrain SunChips snacks line, in early 2006.

A more-traditional baked potato chip offering, however, came from Classic Foods. Its Baked Classics Potato Crisps were 95% fat-free, and Guiltless Gourmet's Baked Potato Crisps took the benefit a step further by promising to be a good source of iron and protein, while also being free of trans fat.

Trans-formations

With the coming rule requiring labeling of trans fat content, snack manufacturers were quick to reformulate their offerings to avoid that particular label, and they were equally quick to flag the "low trans fat" claim on-package. Potato Poppers from Lantev were a low-fat alternative to potato chips and free of cholesterol and trans fat, as was a range of tortilla chips from Firefighter Brands. Similarly, Jays Crispy Ridged line of potato chips expanded to include trans fat-free varieties of roasted garlic and Parmesan, jalapeno and cheddar, and garden herb ranch.

Further benefiting certain popcorn manufacturers, the revised dietary guideline recommendations called for increasing whole-grain consumption. ConAgra Foods announced its most popular microwaveable popcorn brands, Orville Redenbacher's and ACT II, will be made with 100% whole grain (starting in early 2006) and also will be free of trans fat. According to ConAgra, an analysis of the USDA's dietary intake determined that if consumers ate popcorn regularly, they could more than triple their whole-grain intake and, at the same time, increase their fiber intake by 20%.

A variety of cheese-flavored popcorn options were available in the U.S., where Weaver Popcorn's Pop Weaver brand boasted a White Cheddar flavor, and General Mills' Pop-Secret 1-Step Premium Popcorn promised to "pop up cheesy." This product differed from other flavored popcorn varieties in the sense that past introductions required two steps--the cooking of the popcorn and the addition of the flavor (typically a separate pack of flavored powder). With Pop-Secret 1-Step Premium Popcorn, the consumer needed only a microwave. The product was available in white cheddar and cheddar flavor varieties.

Taking Control

In 2004, Kraft Foods launched a range of 100 Calorie Packs of such snacks as Wheat Thins, Cheese Nips, Oreos and Chips Ahoy! cookies. While Kraft's efforts did involve a reformulation of a number of these into "thin crisps," the notions of portion and calorie control helped inspire competitors.

Procter & Gamble, for instance, launched Pringles 100 Calorie Packs in 2005. The moniker, identical to the Kraft line, was a bit of a surprise, but it did communicate nutritional content quickly and easily to the consumer. Each pack had 6g of fat and was free of cholesterol and trans fat. While, at first glance, this would appear simply a re-packaging and re-branding of the single-serve Pringles crisps already retailing in six-packs with an oversleeve, this product was branded differently and came in a multi-pack box.

Kellogg also had the portion-control idea with Gripz Cheez-lt Baked Snack Crackers. Each "Rip 'n Tip" package, ideal for consuming on-the-go, had 130 calories, 6g of fat (1g saturated) and 16g of carbohydrates. Kellogg also took the Gripz concept into the cookie aisle with Keebler Chips Deluxe Gripz Mighty Tiny chocolate chip cookies, which actually had fewer calories (120) and fat (5g) than the Cheez-It variety, though more saturated fat (1.5g).

The single-serve concept also extended into other snacking segments, as Kraft introduced Planters Go-Nuts Mixed Nuts, a container of six 1.5oz packs of peanuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans and hazelnuts. Each 42g serving contained 260 calories, 23g of total fat (2.5g saturated), Og of trans fat, 4g of fiber, and 80mg of sodium. An on-pack note informed consumers that each pack was "conveniently packed in an amount to help your heart."