snacks

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Fruit & veg snacks popular in Europe and Asia-Pacific

Even though fruit is a significant snack globally, and even vegetables are popular in the Asia-Pacific region (57%), cheese is the most eaten snack in Europe (58%), bread/sandwiches in the Middle East (47%), ice cream in Latin America (63%) and potato/tortilla crisps in the US (63%).

Fresh fruit is the world’s most eaten snack (chocolate ranks second), but food preferences between cultures and countries vary in terms of healthy versus indulgent aspects.
Even though fruit is a significant snack globally, and even vegetables are popular in the Asia-Pacific region (57%), cheese is the most eaten snack in Europe (58%), bread/sandwiches in the Middle East (47%), ice cream in Latin America (63%) and potato/tortilla crisps in the US (63%).
Global snacking sales reached $374 billion in 2014 and are growing, says Mark Gillespie, the Global Service Client Director at Nielsen.
At the Fi Europe fair in Paris last December, he shared insights from a survey of 30,000 online consumers from 60 countries. Among them were that people eat snacks at home (79%) with family and friends (68%) and “they stick to the basics – all natural, no artificial colours, GMO-free with natural flavours.
Natural ingredients are rated as very important by 45% of global respondents due to environmental awareness, too,” Gillespie said. Also very important are being sustainable (35%) and organic (34%).

Snacking favourites by region:

• Asia-Pacific: chocolate, fresh fruit, vegetables and cookies/biscuits.

• Europe: fresh fruit, cheese, yoghurt and vegetables.

• Middle East/Africa: fresh fruit, chocolate, bread/sandwich & potato crisps/ tortilla crisps

• Latin America: yoghurt, cheese, ice cream.

• North America: potato crisps/tortilla crisps, chocolate, cheese and cookies/biscuits.

The good news is that snacks are still considered ‘in-between meals’ rather than meal replacements. Long life to fresh food!

CVA

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New fresh cut products at Tesco

Two new snack offerings in the fresh fruit and vegetable range at Tesco.

New from UK supermarket chain Tesco in the ready-to-eat fruit category is this cut and peeled mix of kiwi fruit, strawberry and melon.

With a ‘1 of 5 a day’ reminder on the lid, the 130g serve of melon (40%), kiwi fruit (33%) and strawberry (27%) is priced at £1.20 (£9.24/kg) at Tesco.com.

Also labelled new, is Tesco’s Ploughman’s Snack Pack.

This 330g serve of fruit and vegetables with cheddar cheese, silverskin onions and a pot of pickle is priced at £2.00 (£6.07/kg).

 

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GKE N.V. presents Migo®, its new pear

GKE N.V. proudly presents its new pear, Migo®, which is positioned as ‘the Friendly Pear’ – the ideal snack anytime, anywhere. The taste remains unchanged – sweet, fresh and juicy as ever. Yet Migo® distinguishes itself through its great storage and shelf life, smooth peel, beautiful shape and size, and good firmness level. Migo® is exclusively cultivated by partners licensed by GKE.

GKE N.V. proudly presents its new pear, Migo®, which is positioned as ‘the Friendly Pear’ – the ideal snack anytime, anywhere. The taste remains unchanged – sweet, fresh and juicy as ever, the company says, yet Migo® distinguishes itself through its great storage and shelf life, smooth peel, beautiful shape and size, and good firmness level. Migo® is exclusively cultivated by partners licensed by GKE.

“Following the launch of the Kanzi® concept apple over ten years ago, we felt it was time for a new pear”, said Urs Luder of GKE N.V. “So we once again joined forces to develop a new concept pear to be launched on the market. We asked real pear lovers to share their wishes and even listened to pear haters’ comments. Why do they dislike pears? Their reaction was loud and clear, ‘We would gladly eat pears, but they should be less messy and of good quality, have a longer shelf life and last but not least, they need to be juicy! We’re looking for pears we can eat as a snack on the go.’ Migo® ticks all the boxes! This new, tasty and juicy pear that makes for the ideal snack will be harvested for the first time this month,” Luder said.

The first pear trees were planted last year and the first harvest will be a relatively limited one, but this variety has presented a stable yield and the trees need little pruning. “We are striving for a controlled expansion of the agricultural land to meet the market demand for Migo®”, Luder said. “We are confident that this new pear and the Migo® concept will offer added value to growers, retailers and consumers alike.”

GKE N.V. (a subsidiary of EFC cvba) has been the variety manager of the Kanzi® and Greenstar® concept apples since 2005, and has now added the Migo® concept pear to its portfolio. It holds worldwide exclusive licence rights for these brands. Its aim is for the production and marketing of these concept varieties to provide added value to all stakeholders, from growers to consumers.

Find out more about Migo® at www.migopear.com.

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USDA estimates cost of fruit and veg snacks

Potential fruit replacements for junk food snacks include The potential fruit replacements were apples, bananas, cantaloupe, tinned fruit cocktail, grapes, oranges, canned peaches, canned pineapple, plums, raisins, strawberries, tangerine and watermelon.

What impact would it have if once a day a child’s energy-dense snack was instead replaced by a serving of fruit or vegetables?

Amid rising numbers of overweight and even obese children in the US, the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) has updated its assessments of just such an impact on both household food spending and children’s caloric intakes.

The ERS findings include that in most cases replacing a snack with a fruit or vegetable reduces calories consumed, and in some cases it is also cheaper. For example:

  • Replacing a 2.6-ounce fruit Danish with 5.2-ounce portion of apples would reduce intake by 194 calories. It would also save a household 11 cents.
  • Replacing a one-ounce portion of a chocolate-chip cookie for a 5.2-ounce portion of apples would reduce caloric intake by 46 calories, though it would cost the household an additional 20 cents.

Which fruit and vegetables are particularly good for kids’ snacks

The ERS estimated the average costs for 156 fresh and processed fruits and vegetables as well as the price per portion for 20 snack items commonly consumed by children ages 6-13, including salty snacks, baked and sweet goods, and frozen treats. It also identified and priced 20 fruits and vegetables seen as potential replacements for these snack foods.

The potential fruit replacements were apples, bananas, cantaloupe, tinned fruit cocktail, grapes, oranges, canned peaches, canned pineapple, plums, raisins, strawberries, tangerine and watermelon.

The vegetable ones were broccoli, carrots, celery, red peppers, sweet potatoes (cooked) and tomatoes (grape or cherry).

See the ERS data here.