The COVID 19 pandemic has changed things drastically affecting the entire world. From businesses to manufacturing, every sector faced disturbing changes internally and externally. However, one of the main reasons for the changes that occurred in the food industry was the behavior of the customers.
The food industry, particularly the salty snacks industry, saw growth in the purchase of snacks by the relevant customer segment. On average, about 42% of citizens were consuming at least 2.6 snacks per day. This can be considered in any part of the day. However, the ratio was determined before the pandemic took over, and it increased during the COVID 19 pandemic.
The reason was the mass panic that was generated when the government announced lockdown. As soon as the lockdown was announced, people panicked overstocking of food items since they thought the items would go out of stock due to manufacturing being stopped as well.
On the other hand, COVID 19 did had an adverse effect on the manufacturing industry as well. With the pandemic, the supply chains were highly disturbed. The need for manufacturing items was increasing since people were stocking on goods more than usual. This can be observed with the increase of up to 64% of people that consumed snacks instead of proper meals during the pandemic.
As a result, some of the manufacturing decided to close due to a lack of manufacturing ingredients and items. However, some decided to go on naturally produced ingredients, enabling them to continue their manufacturing somehow. The trading environment was widely disturbed as international flights were blocked, increasing the complexities of the supply chain.
Moreover, businesses came face to face with their vulnerabilities that they tend to ignore over the years. From social securities to high-end protective measures, different manufacturing companies had to implement numerous changes in their production.
However, the snacks market was booming than before. As highlighted, people were consuming more snacks than before. The reason was the immense lockdown effect that took over. From staying at home for months and consuming meals all the time, people had trouble adjusting to the routines. Salty snacks have become a part of the local diet, and people became dependent on it during such times.
IRI estimated an increase in a 4.7% increase in the sales per item for salty snacks. This led to about a $19.2 billion increase in the overall sales, combining the sales report from different industries. However, one issue that the salty snacks industry faced was the manufacturing process.
From the implementation of different safety parameters to change in consumer behavior, several factors impacted the process. People also became susceptible to the quality and hygiene of the goods that they were consuming, leading to increased consciousness for the goods consumed.
For the salty snacks industry, it was the time to reevaluate the core factors that would contribute to increased sales at such times. The first was the most important, the price of the goods. As of now, the prices of goods from almost every industry have increased. Some may have doubled as well. However, this also impacted the way customers shop. About 72% of customers reported to look at the price of the goods they want before purchasing. This figure was before the COVID 19 pandemic took over and has increased as well.
The reason behind this increase is the loss of income sources. With businesses unable to continue and the trend of laying off employees began to rise, people became more conscious about how they were spending their income.
The second factor was the broad appeal with the price. As always, manufacturing industries particularly the snacks industry has considered a new way of designing their products in a way that would excite the customers to buy it. About 81% of shoppers reported that they consider the appeal of the product alongside the price before making a purchase. This correlated to the idea of how consumers feel about the affordability of the good based on the appeal and the price given.
The snacks industry did well in producing the appeal for the products. With marketing now being continued from homes, companies focused on promoting safe and hygienic production ways implemented by their brand. This ensured the appeal for the customers, which even had more impact than the pricing factor.
The last element is the taste of the goods. There are numerous goods that are present in the market for a single niche. For example, you can find different brands for crisps. From Lays to Pringles and Doritos, you can find numerous products. However, it is the taste of the products that make them enticing to the customers.
For the food and the snacks industry, the taste of the item is important. Both the price and the appeal of the goods depend upon the taste since customers are more likely to return based on it. That is why, during COVID 19 pandemic, customers tend to purchase more snacks than the usual meals because of the rich taste that made them remember their lives before the pandemic. Apart from that, snacks producers needed to maintain the taste because of the high competition within the niche.
Since automation already took over a major part of the production phase, it made it easier for the production phase. However, the issue was the ingredients needed for the production. Keeping in mind the extended lockdown phase, several manufacturing firms switched to natural processing, producing ingredients at their plants to help cope with the high demand for production.
As Sally Lyons of IRI stated that the COVID 19 pandemic has made the trends that were already redefining snacking even more important. Manufacturing companies from different domains focused on implementing strategies that they were planning for a long time. Due to the high demand for the snacks stock in the market from the customers, it can be said that the sector did saw considerable growth overall. What’s left to see is how well does the trend move in the market, now that the COVID 19 pandemic seems to be losing control somewhat.
