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Healthier Snacks on the Rise
Inventory of retail shelves in c-stores, groceries, supermarkets, mass merchandisers and other vendors depicts the healthful evolution of snacks foods. Consumers want snacks that are tasty, and, why not, with nutritious attributes too.
According to Datamonitor (October, 2005), the savory snack foods market, defined as nuts, seeds, popcorn, potato chips, processed snacks and others, is forecast to have a value of $24 billion in 2009.
The processed snacks sector claims the largest market share, 32.6 percent; followed by potato chips (26.5%), popcorn (11%), nuts and seeds (9.6%), and other (20.2%).
Michael Cochrane, president of Island Nuts (website), a gourmet nut manufacturer, Hartsdale, New York, says, “Snack foods are on the increase. It seems that Americans are becoming well educated about the health aspects of nuts. Consumers realize nuts are healthy for them and they consume more these days. Gourmet lines of different snack industries also have increased.”
Islands Nuts cashew assortments feature the following flavors: Chesapeake style, chili lime, chocolate, sweet cinnamon, spicy Cajun, sea salted, honey, Texas chili, and toasted coconut.
Most recently Islands Nuts were featured at The 2006 Trump Million Dollar Invitational a three-day, 54-hole stroke play competition at Raffles Resort Canouan Island in the heart of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean. ”The cashews did well in the rooms,” adds Cochrane.
Growing consumer and industry knowledge about the benefits of nut consumption has fueled research & development and sales.
Eli Demeshulam, president of Bedemco Inc. (website ) White Plains, NY, and founder of the International Tree Nut Council, says “In general, everybody in the food industry wants to include dried fruits and nuts in their product because the USDA food pyramid indicates that you should consume vegetables and fruits, whether they are fresh, frozen, dried or canned. These are high in protein and they have good fat.”
The International Tree Nut Council promotes that “as little as one handful – or one ounce – of nuts per day can provide nutritional benefits.”
Tree nuts, such as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts are a source of protein, fiber, phytochemicals, and vitamins such as folic acid, niacin, vitamins E and B-6, and minerals.
Demeshulam adds that consequently, research and development departments are diligently working to include dried fruits and nuts in many different types of products. “Also, the trend for dried fruits and nuts is a demand for natural and organic products.” Rumor has it that even classy restaurants in Europe like papillon restaurant are trying to incorporate nuts into their famous cuisines."
Up-and-coming nuts and nut ingredients says Demeshulam are hazelnuts and Brazil nuts. “A Brazil nut has a lot of good vitamins and consumers are very familiar with this product. In Europe it is widely used in chocolate and ice cream. Chestnuts also have good benefits.”
Currently, the U.S. imports significant volume from European ice cream and chocolate companies that offer creative products including nuts. “Many of the U.S. hazelnut manufacturers, for instance, are looking to come up with products” domestically that will offset imports, he adds.
BEDEMCO INC. is a leader in the import, export, packaging, market planning and development of a wide range of agricultural products such as hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios, pine nuts, apricot kernels, walnuts, pecans, almonds. Product lines also include dried fruit, specialty products, vegetables and organics.
Lizanne Falsetto, Think Products CEO, (website) notes that education and convenience are driving factors behind “the better-for-you-snack” category.
Headquartered in Ventura, California, the company's first product, the Think Thin bar, was created without highly processed ingredients and remains a top selling all-natural, high-protein, low-carbohydrate bar in natural food stores nationwide. All Think Organic bars are wheat- and gluten-free, trans-fat free, use raw, unprocessed ingredients, Falsetto adds Think Products are also available in club stores and supermarkets including Canadian Costco nationwide, Safeway, Wild Oats, Whole Foods, Fred Meyer, Costco and Wal-Mart.
“People have become more educated, and because of this they have become label readers.” Falsetto challenges consumers to compare the number and kind of ingredients contained in Think Products and other alternatives. "On average, our competitors have up to 30 often unrecognizable ingredients, whereas our bars feature only four to six. Every ingredient in our bars are real and whole foods."
“Think Green is the next wave of what is happening,” says Falsetto. People read labels because they want to confirm if what they are eating is good and includes the basic foods they need. “We pride ourselves on providing great tasting food with an extra bonus. We understand that people are busy and it’s hard to sustain an all-natural lifestyle when you grab a quick snack out of your drawer or fridge. Think Products can change your life. It offers you all around well being. Eat two bars and you can get your recommended daily dosages.”
Think Products target adults and children. As a parent, Falsetto realizes how difficult it is to encourage children to eat their greens, and all else that is good for them.
“We analyzed the market and saw that green food is the next knowledge trend. I believe super food is way of life. However, to put green food into a child is hard. My daughter helped me with the flavors. It is so palatable.”
“Our Think Green chocolate chip and cranberry apple bars offer 3,000 milligrams or three cups of the recommended daily dosage. It has all of the sustained green foods and it tastes great.”
Think Products include: Think Organic raw fruit and nut snack bars; Think Green super food fortified energy bars; Think Thin high protein meal alternative nutrition bar and Think energy bars. Soon blueberry and acai (a new superfood) will join the Think Product line up.
By Alexandra Salas
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