Mumbai: ‘Snackification’ is a trend catching up in India, says a report presented by Euromonitor International, a global strategic market research firm as people in urban centres have longer commute to their workplace.
Market intelligence, innovation, self-disruption, localisation were the other major trends in India’s food retail sector, according to food retail industry leaders assembled at India Food Forum 2020.
The Indian food consumption market — including food retail and foodservice sectors — is valued at $900 billion.
Talking about the ‘snackification’ of food, Pradeep Srinivasan, senior analyst, Euromonitor said, “The fact that time-pressed lifestyles and on-demand economy have led to people looking increasingly at convenience. More and more people are opting for foods with less preparation time and more convenience, thereby increasing the opportunity for pre-prepared foods.”
Indians have a lot of snacks in between meals as against people in Western countries having three meals — breakfast, lunch and dinner. “Fluid eating habits is another opportunity for snack manufacturers. While snacking has increased, there is a visible difference in treating and snacking. This has led to the demand for healthier snacks. The pack size of pre-packed snack is also reducing,” Srinivasan said.
“The presence of smaller disruptive players are making sure that success is beyond few food majors. Also the brands which focus on regions or clusters will achieve success and scale. Also companies are now trying to be present in multiple product categories. Also gourmet and health are new niches that will see higher growth,” said Saloni Nangia, president, Technopak.
“Interest from investors like private equity(PE) and venture funds and government would provide the growth impetus, given the fact that more than '10,000 crore rupees have already been invested in packed food and food& grocery e-commerce since 2015,” Nangia said. Kishore Kumar, head- Brand Intelligence, Big Basket, an online food and grocery store said, “The key trends in food retailing included concept of “Grandma is Right”, like desi cow ghee, honey, jaggery and ayurvedic products as consumers were going more towards what wasbetter for them and not just a value add.
“More and more consumers are demanding both taste and health in their food item,” Kumar said.
