Snack sector offers opportunities for healthy brand extensions
makers to develop profitable extensions of established brands with
healthy credentials, according to market analysts Datamonitor.
But the brands need to have a healthy image, the company warns. A cereal bar launched by Nestle under its confectionery unit last year was pulled from the market after barely one year but the Swiss firm may have a better chance with a new launch this month, it says.
Nestle's new cereal bar, available in two flavours, will be sold under the low-fat yoghurt brand Ski. The company has also recently launched a yoghurt drink under the same brand, called Ski Stopgap, to be marketed as a healthy breakfast alternative and on-the-go snack.
"Both extensions are aimed at developing the Ski brand's snacking credentials, however, it is this latest move that is the most significant. Nestle is now developing the brand beyond the dairy sector into an area where Nestle has already been unsuccessful. It was only in April 2003 that Nestle withdrew the Rowntree Fruitsome cereal bar, less than a year after its launch," according to the Datamonitor report.
"Launched by the company's confectionery division, the Fruitsome bar suffered because it did not create the perception of being a healthier alternative to confectionery."
But Nestle can hope for better things from the Ski cereal bars, according to Datamonitor.
"Our research shows that of all mealtime occasions that consumers skip, breakfast is the most common. And a bar is the perfect alternative," Daniel Bone, Datamonitor analyst, told NutraIngredients.com.
"When consumers skip meals they tend to experience feelings of guilt, and look for something healthy."
Strong growth in the UK's cereal bar category -estimated at around 20 per cent year on year- has been driven by the presence of some established, trusted names.
"Kellogg's pioneered the market with its NutriGrain bar, which benefited from the well-known, widely trusted brand," said Bone.
He added however that while cereals generally have a more positive image than many other foods, bars have suffered as consumers became aware that many are, in fact, high in salt, sugar and fat.
Nevertheless, the products do meet the two 'mega-trends' influencing today's consumer purchasing patterns, added Bone.
"Using established brands with already well-known health credentials could well be the ace card for manufacturers and retailers seeking to capitalize upon the booming and increasingly health-focused UK snack market in the next five years," according to Datamonitor.
"Opportunities appear to be particularly strong for trusted dairy and cereal brands," it adds.
