The snack meals trade is continually evolving, formed by altering shopper tastes and life. Comfort, well being, and indulgence are key drivers, resulting in a various vary of snack choices. International snack gross sales have always been on the rise, pushed by busy life, on-the-go consumption, and the demand for fast, satisfying bites.
In response to Statista, the worldwide market is anticipated to develop yearly by 6.13% (CAGR 2024-2028) with the common quantity per individual within the snack meals market anticipated to quantity to 9.2 kilograms in 2024.
“India being residence to the biggest inhabitants on the planet out of which 70% are Gen Z and millennials, lots of pleasure exists across the snacking trade within the nation”, Nikhil Rao, chief advertising officer at Mars Wrigley India informed Marketing campaign Asia-Pacific. Mars Wrigley in India focuses on chocolate and confectionery manufacturers.
As urbanisation drives a rise in shopper spending, the Indian snack trade is about for substantial development, projected to succeed in US $23.69 billion by 2028. Corporations are adapting their choices to align with native shopper preferences to capitalise on this development.
Rao defined “the evolving tastes within the Indian market embody a rising choice for fusion flavors. Customers search consolation in acquainted meals whereas additionally embracing international tastes. Moreover, there’s a want for Western meals with native attraction, reflecting a shift in the direction of extra numerous and worldwide taste profiles.”
Two examples of fusion flavors by Mars are Snickers Kesar Pista and Doublemint betel taste, specifically crafted to spotlight the mix of flavors for the Indian market.
The quick paced world of at this time can also be seeing comfort grow to be a prime precedence. Rao sees the development of rising choice for “on-the-go snacks” within the Indian market.
The third development of notice is well being and wellness as customers globally are extra conscious of what they’re consuming, and India is not any completely different. Elaborating on this development within the nation Rao talked about how Mars Wrigley has labored with customers and segmented this market into 4 sorts.
First, customers are in search of the identical tastes, however with out guilt, driving demand for portion management. “This has made us supply packs beneath 12 grams throughout our manufacturers, out there in multi-packs, share luggage, and as particular person models,” shared Rao.
Rao underscored well being and well-being developments noting, ‘One other vital facet is fortification, the place customers search merchandise enriched with important macro or micronutrients.”
The third section can be customers on the lookout for snacks or confectionery which have elements which can be higher for them as they attempt to keep match”, he added.
The fourth development, in line with Rao, is Ayurveda – a significant affect within the nation, driving many manufacturers that aren’t essentially within the snacking house however are targeted on selling pure and conventional elements.
Do it the best way Gen Z does it
Gen Z and Gen Alpha are rising because the dominant shopper teams worldwide, shaping the worldwide meals and snacking panorama with their distinctive preferences and necessities.
With a median age of 28 and about 65% beneath 35, India’s 1.4 billion inhabitants contains over 910 million millennials and Gen Z with a big chunk of this quantity being the latter.
These Gen Zers are more and more shaping model advertising methods, being digital natives with restricted consideration spans. Analysis carried out by Microsoft discovered that the common consideration span of Gen Z was solely about eight seconds, 4 seconds lower than that of millennials.
Rao observes an growing prevalence of short-format movies throughout social media platforms and promoting channels, to cater to this section. By way of advertising, there are 5 issues that Gen Z customers in India search for and types try to attune to shared Rao.
“The very first thing is authenticity, preferring manufacturers with sincere, sturdy personalities and a transparent goal, equivalent to our model Galaxy, which advocates for empowering ladies. In addition they worth range and anticipate manufacturers to take a stance on vital points,” famous Rao.
The third development revolves round this shopper base being exceptionally digital first.
“The GenZ have a powerful choice for personalised content material. Roughly 81% point out a want for manufacturers to ascertain private connections and use addressable media to focus on them based mostly on their particular wants. They’re closely engaged in gaming and use platforms like Snapchat,” Rao stated.
Sustainability can also be a key concern for Gen Z, as they’re environmentally acutely aware and anticipate manufacturers to be as effectively, in line with Rao.
This era can also be a extremely interconnected and globally acutely aware viewers. They actively search out communities of like-minded people, usually forming international networks via social media and blogs.
“This era creates and participates in curiosity teams, and so they carefully comply with influencers. Manufacturers can successfully interact with Gen Z by recognising and leveraging these community-driven behaviors,” shared Rao.
Trendy customers globally prioritise experiences over possessions, turning meals and snacks into reasonably priced, experiential adventures in style and taste.
Rao stated for Gen Z in India, “Entrepreneurs ought to notice that this era in India additionally values experiences extra over materials possessions and this must be taken into the advertising strategy”.
Advertising to the millennials and the older era
Regardless of shopper issues about inflation and rising dwelling prices, curiosity in premium meals merchandise is steadily growing worldwide. This development is pushed by numerous demographic and societal components. India can also be seeing a heightened style for luxurious and premium merchandise.
Rao shed some gentle on this house as he stated, “Indian millennials on the peak of their incomes stage are aspiring for premium and luxurious life-style manufacturers, showcasing a excessive diploma of premiumisation within the Indian market in comparison with Southeast Asia and different rising markets.”
He added, “They’ve extra of an consideration span than Gen Z and are sometimes focused by entrepreneurs with round fifteen-second common business period, specializing in their excessive household revenue and affinity for life-style branding.”
Fascinating developments in advertising will also be noticed in India for the era that’s 5 to 10 years away from retirement and is presumably targeted on prudent spending.
Rao shared how this era isn’t totally engaged in ecommerce just like the millennials and is commonly seen in supermarkets.
“Manufacturers that evoke belief and safety carry out effectively with this group, and testimonials are efficient. Loyalty applications and reductions are additionally profitable with this viewers”, he famous.
Social media versus conventional media and the Indian strategy
In a rustic as huge and numerous as India, there is no such thing as a denying that social media advertising provides immense alternatives for manufacturers to develop, but conventional media additionally carries an enormous significance. For Rao transferring from a Southeast Asia (SEA) function at Mondelez to affix Mars Wrigley in India, this was completely different.
“Not like SEA, I believe in India, lots of the advertising remains to be led by tv. Tv drives about 70 to 80% of our attain which is OTT channels that present compelling content material and type a spine of our media technique adopted by social media,” he shared.
TV long-form storytelling and 30-second TV ads are nonetheless very prevalent in India added Rao, not like among the different SEA international locations.
The expansion of ecommerce
The speedy development of expertise is reworking the retail panorama, enabling instantaneous purchases from wherever at any time. This shift is reshaping shopper habits and elevating expectations for better comfort and a extra constructive procuring expertise.
Digital commerce is a quick rising facet of the Indian market that entrepreneurs mustn’t ignore. It’s quickly altering the best way India retailers and it’s usually stated that fast commerce (supply in a single hour or much less) is competing with offline shops on comfort.
For Rao, digital commerce presents alternatives for entrepreneurs to construct manufacturers and implement efficiency advertising. Efficiency advertising, together with techniques like paid search, may be vital for manufacturers to get observed and to advertise particular merchandise or choices.
“Whereas mass media stays a big a part of Mars Wrigley’s price range, they’re additionally specializing in model advertising via on-line platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and Swiggy. “This contains utilizing banners and different types of digital promoting to advertise their model and choices and for elevated visibility on the platforms”, famous Rao.
The function of GenAI
GenAI can improve numerous levels of the advertising marketing campaign funnel. This contains leveraging the expertise for market analysis, automating processes like format era and content material creation, and optimizing marketing campaign efficiency. Rao sees GenAI for entrepreneurs in India nonetheless being at pilot stage.
“We’re carefully monitoring the insurance policies and guidelines concerning AI utilization, for now as we wish to keep away from any shopper points brought on by Gen AI taking liberties and sharing inappropriate content material,” shared Rao.
“Whereas we have now carried out some pilots, we’ve not totally carried out AI in a big method but,” he added.
