“When you put free-from on pack, you see a 40% growth. Without that, you see a 10% growth.” That was Jennie Bell, managing director for snacks and beverages at NielsenIQ (NIQ), speaking to attendees at Groceryshop in Las Vegas.
Her point was that the Make America Healthy Again campaign, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, is already shifting what Americans buy at the snack shelf. NIQ data shows shoppers moving toward products with “free from” claims, and stores are responding by stocking more emerging brands that advertise better-for-you traits, according to FoodNavigator.
Demand from the shelf up
Bell said the term MAHA “can create some friction or some challenges” for food and beverage brands. But she described the Make America Healthy Again Commission as something other than a top-down mandate. In her telling, it is amplifying consumers who were already pushing for cleaner ingredients and added benefits.
The numbers she cited: 25% of snack buyers want products free of artificial ingredients. On artificial colors, 68% back Kennedy’s push for industry to phase out synthetic dyes, and 36% said they strongly recommend the change. A further 64% want to go past artificial colors and see more change, Bell said.
What stores are doing
That demand shows up in sales and in shelf placement. Retailers are adopting more emerging brands, Bell said, and the growth of those brands is “driving … a significant part of the total store strategy.”
Stores are also adding search tools that let shoppers filter by attribute. For suppliers, that raises the stakes on data entry: claims and ingredients have to be coded correctly in the retailer’s system or the product will not turn up in the filter.
Who is responding
FoodNavigator-USA’s special edition on healthy snacking looks at how companies are answering. Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, chief merchandising and marketing officer at Whole Foods Market, described an “always on” approach to evaluating and updating the retailer’s quality standards. Large packaged-food players Conagra, Mondelez and Bel US are also in the coverage, along with newer names Wild Fox Foods and Släcka. Wild Fox Foods sells protein bars, roasted nuts and trail mixes. Släcka offers a “snack in a can” in the crowded functional beverage market.
A survey commissioned by US Bel found that 91% of American adults snack daily, yet 68% overlook the occasion as a chance to meet dietary goals.
