In consumers' search for healthy snack foods, nuts reign

Drug Store News,  Nov 12, 2007  

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Americans aren't giving up snack food, they are just looking for more healthful alternatives. They might be finding just what they are looking for in nut snacks. Nuts are natural, don't include carbohydrates or high-fructose corn syrup and aren't messy. No wonder sales of nut snacks are as healthy as the snacks themselves.

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"Healthy snacks like nuts are growing at a much faster rate than snacks like chips and cookies," said Rob Enfinger, director of alternate channels for Diamond Foods, manufacturers of the Emerald brand of nut snacks.

"According to data for the United States from Euromonitor, sweet and savory snacks [excluding nuts] grew at an average rate of 3 percent per year from 2000 to 2006, while the nut segment or the category grew at a rate of 7.5 percent."

Dollar sales for the nut snack category were up more than 6 percent, according to data from Information Resources Inc. for the 52 weeks ended Sept. 9.

Product introductions have helped fuel growth. Planters Nutrition lower-sodium line of nuts in specially-blended varieties designed to meet nutrition and wellness needs, is a good fit for retailers looking to add more healthful snacks to their mix. The line, which includes a heart-healthy mix, a South Beach Diet mix and an energy mix, promotes nutritional information and health claims on its packaging.

Planters also is adding a Digestive Health Mix line extension in January. The new blend combines nuts and fruits to provide a good source of beneficial nutrients. Cross-promoting the product with fiber products could be a natural way to tie consumables to the OTC section and help create a whole-health image in the store.

New to shelves this fall is Planters' Trail Mix Daybreak Blends granola nut and fruit clusters in two varieties. Stand-up bag versions will be introduced in January.

This spring, Diamond's Emerald bold-flavored peanuts in unique canisters were rolled out nationwide. Featuring such flavors as wasabi, chipotle and barbeque, the Emerald oven-roasted peanuts are packaged in 12-ounce hourglass canisters designed to fit into cup holders. The canister's lid doubles as a one-third cup measure--the Food and Drug Administration's recommended daily amount for heart health. The roasted peanuts also are available in re-sealable 1-pound value packs and checkout-friendly 2.5-ounce packs.

Emerald, which has expanded its line from 14 to 23 products since 2004, also has added three varieties of trail mix in packaging that feature windows through which consumers can view the product. The company also has introduced dry roaster almond varieties and a deluxe mixed nut product.

While branded products account for much of the innovation in the category, the lion's share of sales come from private label mixes and single-nut products. Nearly 57 percent of category dollar share comes from private label nuts, according to IRI. Growth of private label nuts outpaced category growth as well. Dollar sales of private label nuts jumped 13 percent.

Drug stores have taken advantage of the opportunity. CVS devotes five shelves in an 8-foot section to nuts--three of those shelves are stocked with private label products.

Merchandising and promotion also can give this growing category a boost. "Retailers can offer multiple pricing promotions, such as two for $5, and promote off-shelf with feature displays," said Diamond's Enfinger. "Retailers also can take advantage of impulse purchases at the front end with single-serve items." Snack nuts, Enfinger said, are a good alternative to candy items that almost exclusively hold the front counter positioning at drug stores.

Cross promoting nut snacks with beverages also can give sales a big lift. Diamond recently joined forces with Coca-Cola on an in-store Snack Happy, Snack Healthy promotion that invited consumers to save $3 on two Emerald snacks when they purchased two 2-liter bottles or one 12-pack of any CocaCola product.

Harris Teeter stores recently cross-promoted its private label nuts with Grolsch beer using Vestcom AdTags, fourcolor shelf-edge labels that combine a brand's product image and advertising message with retailers' price and bar codes. "It's a way to break though clutter on the shelf," said Vestcom International's director of in-store marketing Sue Reinis. "When we put AdTags on the shelf, we have seen a 12 percent sales lift. When combined with a price promotion, those numbers can jump to 30 percent."

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