Indulgent and Healthy Are Top Product Trends

CHICAGO—Indulgence and how consumers define “healthy” are two trends that stand out in the newest and most successful food and beverage products for 2018, reports Food Business News.

The top five items that led the industry in sales last year include the Ferrero Group’s Kinder Joy, Mars’ M&M’s Caramel, General Mills’ Oui by Yoplait, Gatorade Flow from PepsiCo and the Kellogg Co.’s RXBAR.

“The majority of 2018 [new products] addressed at least one of the overriding themes we’ve observed over the past few years,” said Joan Driggs, vice president of content and thought leadership at I.R.I., the market research company that identified the products. “They’re upping the consumer experience, delivering against expectations and addressing simplicity, either with ingredients, convenience or sustainability.”

Food and beverage products rounding out the list include Lamb Weston’s Grown in Idaho, PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew Ice, Lay’s Poppables from PepsiCo, Ritz Crisp & Thins from Mondelez International and Duncan Hines Perfect Size for 1 from Conagra Brands.

At first glance, many of the leading products appear to eschew health for indulgence, but Driggs said the results show how consumers are owning their own health and wellness. “At the end of the day they want a treat,” she said. “Statistics show that consumers are balancing the products they choose against their overall health and wellness.”

A separate annual consumer survey conducted by I.R.I. showed that when asked “Which of the following best describes your attitude toward eating?,” 38% of respondents chose “I eat healthy about half the time, and eat whatever I want the other half of the time,” up 2% from 2018. Consumers who said they eat healthy about 80% of the time and allow for indulgence 20% of the time accounted for 35%, a one percentage point decline from 2018.

Driggs emphasized health and wellness attributes also are embedded in some of the top products. “If you look at Lay’s Poppables, that’s a familiar chip brand in a healthier format,” she said. “The same with Ritz Crisp & Thins. The product has a healthier profile than its traditional counterparts.”

The success of Oui by Yoplait and Kellogg’s RXBAR also shows that consumers remain interested in products they perceive as clean and simple. Another trend is the decline in average product sales. Food and beverage products included in 2012’s research averaged in excess of $40 million in sales. In 2018, the average has fallen to less than $25 million. Total sales dollars (for all product introductions tracked) declined between 2012 and 2018 by $3.4 billion, according to I.R.I., which indicates that manufacturers are not trying to be all things to all people.

For the first time in the 23 years that I.R.I. has published the annual report, 51% of the products tracked are from companies with less than $1 billion in sales. Big companies, those with sales of more than $5 billion, accounted for 22% of new product launches.