From The Summer 2005 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer

Kids’ snacks get healthy but stay young at heart

Anna Soref

From lunch boxes to after-school fuel, parents are buying snack items for their kids in record numbers. Consumers fill their carts with $40 billion worth of snack items each year, according to Mintel market research firm.

But many parents are no longer buying snacks with reckless abandon. As health problems such as childhood obesity and diabetes pervade the news, parents are paying more attention to what they feed their kids.

“Many [of today’s snacks] are low-fiber and have trans fats and corn syrup,” says Shawn Talbott, Ph.D., director of the nutrition center at the University of Utah and editor of Supplement Watch. “The increase in diabetes and obesity are directly traceable to these three things in the diet.”

It’s little wonder, then, that many naturals manufacturers are wooing mainstream shoppers with snack products that achieve the delicate balance between healthfulness, taste and kid-appeal.

Enter any child-centered locale, and at least one kid will most likely be noshing on cheese-flavored crackers of some shape or another. But as harmless as they may seem, some conventional brands of this ubiquitous snack contain trans fats, a substance more and more consumers are wary of.

Wakefield, Mass.-based Annie’s Homegrown decided to bring to market a healthier version of this popular snack with its Cheddar Bunnies. “With a heightened consciousness for nutritional red flags such as trans fat, consumers have responded well to Annie’s fun, healthy alternative to traditional snack crackers,” says Sarah Bird, vice president of marketing.

While the healthy ingredients attract parents, Annie’s has not forgotten the product’s ultimate judge. The packaging features illustrations of the Annie’s mascot, Bernie the Bunny, and a portion of the Annie’s Web site is designed for children. “Annie’s Web site has pages dedicated to reading, complete with stories from PBS’ Arthur and his friends, and a book club for children to join and become book critics for the books they have read,” Bird says.

The growing presence of natural products in supermarkets is helping the Cheddar Bunnies gain momentum in mainstream grocery stores. “With the increased availability of natural and organic foods in conventional supermarkets, we anticipate great potential for the Cheddar Bunnies to be equally successful in the [mass] market as well,” Bird says.

This summer the company is launching bunny-shaped graham crackers that are 70 percent organic, free of trans and saturated fats and lower in sugar than other comparable cookies, Bird says.

935.6% growth for Annie’s Homegrown crackers to $1.15 million in the 52 weeks that ended Feb. 20 Source: Information Resources Inc.

Traditional kids’ snacks made without additives are popular among children and their parents, as can be seen in the sales of fruit leather, which has been a natural snack staple for years. “As the natural food trend spreads to mainstream supermarkets, our product is starting to show up more and more frequently in the natural set or in the cereals section next to the sugary version of fruit snacks. And the volumes that we are seeing are a sign that consumers are more aware of the values of ingredients and nutritional facts,” says Huguette Marsciano-Woltjer, marketing manager for Stretch Island Fruit in Allyn, Wash. Stretch Island Fruit Leather now tops the list in mainstream supermarkets for the individual snack category, according to NaturalTrack Spins data for 2004, says Marsciano-Woltjer.

“Healthy snacks seem to be a wise choice, as the typical American consumer snacks several times a day. Our typical consumers are health-conscious individuals and families. The moms are particularly happy to find a delicious snack that is also healthy for their children and provides an excellent source of fiber,” Marsciano-Woltjer says.

The company also helps spread the word about healthy foods by sponsoring health events and donating its product to athletic events. The company is trying to educate consumers that all fruit snacks are not created equal and that many conventional fruit snacks contain a lot of sugar, says Marsciano-Woltjer.

Many naturals manufacturers realize that consumers want healthy options but still want the convenience that many conventional snack food companies offer. Healthy Handfuls, a newcomer to the market, offers organic snacks in single-serving, reusable containers with reclosable lids. “We’re focusing on conventional snack products, but ours are healthy with added convenience,” says Dwight Sinclair, managing partner of the Grass Valley, Calif.-based company.

The company has found that its certified organic products sell best when they are integrated into the conventional snack product line as opposed to being in the baby food section, Sinclair says. Although the company’s MSRP is 10 percent to 20 percent higher than conventional snack foods, Sinclair expects this to change. “Organic supplies are more expensive, so there’s an inherent added cost. But as we continue to see more [organic] volume, we’ll see less of a price difference,” he says.

Anna Soref is a Lafayette, Colo.-based freelance writer and editor. Reach her at asoref@gmail.com.