Dive Brief:
- A new report by the Boston Consulting Group and IRI found sales from many of the top U.S. consumer packaged goods companies in 2016 offered convenient nutrition or were indulgences such as confections and alcohol, according to Progressive Grocer.
- Among the companies that market convenient foods and functional, plant-based beverages that promote nutrition were Blue Diamond, BodyArmor, Califia Farms, Bragg and The Wonderful Co.
- Mars, Hershey, PepsiCo, Hostess, and beer and spirits company Constellation Brands also were on the list of highest sales, representing the rise in sales of indulgences.
Dive Insight:
A recent NPD Group study said consumers are shying away from cookie-cutter diets and gravitating toward more personalized health and wellness plans, but are doing little else to be healthy. Numerous studies affirm this trend, including a Mayo Clinic Proceedings study that revealed fewer than 3% of Americans practice a healthy lifestyle. Consumer belief in the "food as medicine" movement also is at an all-time high, fueling purchases of premium health products such as probiotic-based beverages and low FODMAP meals and snacks.
The NPD Group also found that snacking is more popular with millennials and members of Generation Z. Often items such as fresh fruit and yogurt are popular indulgences over things like ice cream and cookies.
Fruit-based snacks are on the rise, too. Innova Market Insights found the sub-category of fruit-based snacks accounts for 18% of all global launches — more than twice what it was five years ago.
Still, demand for junk food is not going away. Food analysts predict that despite claims of people wanting to eat healthier, most are inclined to indulge in their favorite sweets.