Dive Brief:
- The trend of snacks as meal replacements continues to grow, but one brand intends to transform the movement into an entirely new category: meal snacks, Food Business News reported.
- The Farmer's Pantry brand is launching its Meal Snack line, which acts as a "hearty alternative to jerky or trail mix," according to Food Business News.
- Each double-pouched bag contains a protein, such as slow-cooked beef, chicken or turkey, and crunchy vegetables.
Dive Insight:
Farmer's Pantry brand co-founder Jeremy Cage confirmed that meat snacks, which have posted significant growth in recent years, were the catalyst of this product. But Meal Snacks also tap into other burgeoning consumer trends, such as authentic and identifiable ingredients.
The Meal Snack concept also takes meat snacks, which could technically be a meal replacement themselves, one step further by pairing them with vegetables in a snack-friendly way. By utilizing both the production and formulation traditionally used for snack products and classic elements of a traditional home-cooked meal, Farmer's Pantry has created a category that caters to consumer demand for entirely on-the-go meals.
However, depending on the production method, a finished Meal Snack product may lose significant nutrition value along the way. A consumer may eat the calories needed to feel satiated, as if he or she ate a full meal. But depending on the snack's per-serving nutritional contents, consumers may not be getting the adequate nutrition they need while on the path to feeling full.