UK is one of the most dynamic markets in Western Europe referring to potato chips, according to a presentation held by Euromonitor’s senior food analyst, Pinar Hosafci, at Snackex 2017, in Vienna, Austria.

“With over USD7bn in sales, the UK emerges as the biggest and one of the most buoyant markets in Western Europe. This is down to the sheer size of salty snacks, which accounts for 65% of total savory snacks sales. Potato chips is by far the most popular salty snack type in the UK owing largely to tradition. The snack is not only consumed as a popular pub and party food but also builds an integral part of lunch. Salty snacks is the most popular savory snack category in all markets bar Italy and Turkey,” according to Euromonitor International’s analysts.

Hofsaci mentions in her presentation that, over the last couple of decades, our eating habits changed dramatically. The majority of consumers no longer stick to the 3-square-meal-a-day rule the way our grandparents did and we also no longer eat at set times and instead skip breakfast, snack, or think about what to snack on and needless to say drink several cups of coffee a day, according the analyst.

“This snacking habit is also reflected in data. Here I’ve plotted the year-on-year retail value growth of different meal and staple foods vs. savory snacks. Savory snacks have outperformed meals and staple foods throughout the whole period including the crisis year, on average growing at 3% in contrast to 1% growth in ready meals. Within snacks, we also see a switch / move away from sweet towards savory variants,” according to Euromonitor.

Along with North America and Australasia, Europe ranks at the top when it comes to per capita spend. An average European spends USD47 on savory snacks that is twice as much as the global spent (USD23), in terms of volume consumption, that amounts to 4kg per person which is again twice as the global average, the analyst says.

“With USD32.4bn sales, Europe accounts for a quarter of global sales (142.4) – it is the biggest snack consuming region after North America. 80% of sales come from Western Europe which is led by the UK’s long history of snacking on crisps, 6kg per capita per year – if assume an average bag of crisps is 25 g that makes 5 packs per week,” Hofsaci adds.

Snackex, two days of a 100% snacks focused show

Snackex, the only 100% focused savory snacks and snack nut event in Europe, with an important component of potato snacks, was held, June 21 -22, in Vienna, Austria.

Organized by the European Snacks Association (ESA), the event provided, during two days, opportunities for industry professionals to buy, sell and network with top management, qualified buyers and key decision-makers. Attendees have numerous opportunities to interact with like-minded individuals at the exhibition and during the social functions that are an integral part of the event.

Knowledge Centre

At Snackex 2017 conference delegates and visitors had the opportunity to attend a program of practical workshop sessions held right on the show floor in our new Knowledge Centre lecture theatre. Best practice, practical advice, new processes, and emerging technologies will be just a few of the important topics presented.

In the program, attendees can find topics as:

– Trends in savory snacks and nuts and their impact on the savory snacks sector (Marcia Mogelonsky, Director of Insight, Food and Drink, Mintel)

– Insights, opportunities and innovation in snacking (Ciara McCabe, Consumner Insights Manager, Kerry EAME)

– Regulatory legislation for process contaminants in savory snacks (Andrew Curtis, scientific & regulatory affairs, European Snacks Association)

– Design procedures and principles for savory snack fryers (Roland Haraldsson, R & D manager, Rosenqvists Food Technologies)

– Dynamics of private label (snacks) marketing in Europe (Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight, Kantar Worldpanel)

– Regulatory legislation for process contaminants in savory snacks (Andrew Curtis, scientific & regulatory affairs, European Snacks Association)

–  State of the (European) savory snacks industry 2017 (Pinar Hosafci, Senior bakery and snacks expert, Food Research Euromonitor International)

– Traditional vs new processing techniques for corn snack products (Bobby Kane, sales manager, UK and Middle East, Heat and Control)

– Biting into your reputation: How to deal with activist fear campaigns (Dr David Zaruk, Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles, OdiseeUniversityCollege)

– The impact of digital, online grocery on snack producers (Sebastiaan Schreijen, senior analyst consumer foods (FAR), Rabobank).

Range of products at Snackex: