• 🥨 Inside The Love Language of Snacking
  
• 📲 How One Startup Navigates TikTok Shop
  
• 🗺️ Taste Radio: Black Founders Club, Ep. 2
  
• 🆕 This Week’s Hot New Products
  
• 🕵️ Undercover Snacks Unveils Ingredient Processing Facility 
• 📚 What We’re Reading
  

Is snacking a love language? Mondelēz would have us thinking so: a majority of surveyed consumers found that 64% of people use snacking to connect with others in the company’s 2024 State of Snacking report. That’s up from 56% who said the same in 2023. 

In 2024, snack consumption reached parity with “main meals,” as 91% of respondents reported eating at least one snack per day, and 62% said they look forward to the snacks in their day more than meals. 

But beyond love and connection, what are the key drivers of today’s snack trends? Let’s take a look at some of the report’s findings:

Intention in Savoring Each Bite: Mindful consumption has shifted from restriction to moderation, and consumers are paying more attention to ingredients they believe are beneficial for their health (38%) rather than ingredients they are trying to avoid (25%). 

• Just this week, meal delivery service Daily Harvest introduced a reimagined Bites snack line made with superfoods like dates, almonds and avocado designed to “taste like a decadent dessert.” 

Snack Curation & Commitment: As economic challenges continue, shoppers are getting savvy with their snack curation. Last year, 60% of consumers purchased snacks from a specific store due to sale prices, while 47% bought off-brand versions of their normal snacks due to price differences. 

• We saw an influx of private label launches in 2024, including Walmart’s bettergoods, CVS’ Well Market and Amazon Saver. Store brands have historically been centered around low prices and generic offerings but are now leveling up with attention-grabbing packaging and better-for-you attributes. 

Moderated Indulgence is an Essential Ingredient: Consumers are increasingly reaching for better-for-you foods, but 87% still agree that “life is more fun with a bit of indulgence.” Enjoyment, satisfaction, and relaxation are the major drivers for a snacking reward system, per the report. And, when reaching for something sweet, a majority of respondents (83%) said they aren’t willing to sacrifice on flavor. 

• Consumers ranked chocolate bars as the number one indulgent snack (ahead of cookies, ice cream sandwiches, crackers and caramel popcorn). 
• 73% of respondents say they can’t imagine a world without chocolate, but the commodity’s future is unclear, with surging commodity prices and poor harvests. 

CPG brands knew TikTok Shop was something worth paying attention to when it hit the scene two years ago. New sales channels don’t emerge often, however, and as the platform has evolved, growing pains are beginning to show.

😐 Snack brand Caulipuffs has been selling on the Shop for about four months, and while co-founder and CEO Joey Rosa claims “it exceeded our expectations,” he also said “the platform itself has disappointed us in many ways.”

🎢 From a customer-first issue resolution policy, to extremely tight fulfillment windows, Rosa’s family-owned and operated startup has experienced the highs and lows of what TikTok Shop has to offer.

💸 Despite losing hundreds of dollars in inventory per day, he said the ROI is worth it.

Want to learn everything you need to know before your brand goes viral? Check out the full story on Nosh.

This special episode of the podcast is the second installment of our limited series, Black Founders Club. Developed in collaboration with Equitea founder and CEO Quentin Vennie, the series explores the challenges and opportunities Black founders face in the CPG space.

🍝 Ian Tecklin, former investor at Maximalist Ventures, has unveiled his first CPG brand: Ripi. The new stuffed frozen pasta line includes Chicken Parmesan Ravioli, Sweet Potato Ravioli and Beef Short Rib Ravioli.

🍨 Quick-service franchise OAKBERRY has made its supermarket debut with a new line of Sorbet. Offered in three flavors at launch – Açai Sorbet, Açai Sorbet with Peanut Butter Chunks and Açai Sorbet with Banana and Strawberry Chunks – the sweet treat is available at Sprouts.

🍪 Daily Harvest has introduced a new, reimagined Bites line crafted with superfoods and no added sugar to “taste like a decadent dessert.”

Check out the full gallery on Nosh.

Better-for-you snack brand Undercover Snacks has launched“Undercover Ingredients,” a new ingredient processing facility located at its East Hanover, N.J., headquarters. 

👀 The launch will expand Undercover’s in-house production of crisped quinoa and other nutrient-dense ingredients with proprietary technology, per the announcement. 

💭 With Undercover Ingredients, the company is “vertically integrating to secure a profitable, high-quality supply chain that fuels our rapid growth and unlocks new opportunities for innovation,” said Diana Levy, co-owner and CEO, in a statement. 

When we’re not writing about the food and beverage industry, you can bet we’re reading up on it. Here’s some of the articles from around the web that caught our attention this week.

🏈 This year’s Super Bowl has come and gone, but Modern Retail’s look at the rise of retail media networks created by the likes of Amazon, Walmart and Kroger is a great primer to understanding the changing dynamics of Big Game marketing.

🧊 Frozen is hot right now! The Atlantic went deep on the trend this week, looking at the wider array of products available in the frozen set and the improved quality of microwavable meals that are grabbing consumers’ attention and stomachs.

🍳 In the midst of an egg supply crisis, the Wall Street Journal profiled the “Wall Street of Eggs” with a look at how The Egg Clearinghouse is growing as avian flu strains the industry.