These 12 chip alternatives check the better-for-you box – slideshow

The snackification trend — where people are eating snacks instead of meals or increasing their daily snack intake — is continuing to grow. The stats don’t lie.

As consumers snack more, they are specifically seeking better-for-you options. In fact, almost one-third (32%) of North American consumers have eaten healthy snacks at least once a day over the past year to feel better, maintain a balanced diet and prevent health issues, per Innova Market Insights’ Now & Next in Consumer Attitudes Toward Snacking in the US & Canada report. And one-quarter of U.S. snackers say they are satisfied when their snacks have healthy ingredients, according to Mintel’s 2024 U.S. Trending Flavors and Ingredients in Salty Snacks Report.

“Reaching nutritional targets or needs is not a trend I see disappearing any time soon,” Kristen Sparkman, food scientist, product developer and culinologist at culiNEX, explained. “There are a lot of new ingredients coming out that can really help to disrupt this space.”

Mondelēz International, which studies snacking trends for global consumers, recently partnered with The Food Institute to analyze the rising trend of snacking over the last decade. The companies looked at data from 2013 and 2021, surveying almost 26 countries globally, to release an all-encompassing report in February 2023. The report found that the percentage of people snacking increased from 78% in 2013 to 86% in 2021, proving that snacking isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

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“On a per capita basis, consumers are snacking at a facer pace today than eight or nine years ago,” Brian Choi, managing partner and CEO at The Food Institute, explained in the “Snacking Smarter: Consumer Trends and Product Solutions” webinar on Sept. 26. “The average consumer snacks 3.1 times daily. That has gone up to 3.3 [times daily]. It’s a small percentage point, but when you project that on billions of people, that’s a lot of snacking.”

The webinar also highlighted Glanbia Nutritionals 2023 Health & Wellness U.S. Altitude & Usage Study, which explored the better-for-you snacking world. “What we found is that consumers have a wide range of health and wellness priorities,” Bill Waltzek, senior customer marketing manager at Glanbia Nutritionals, said. “However, consumers stated that their most important needs are both emotional and physical [well-being]. Because of these priorities, consumers are looking for better-for-you options, and snacking plays a big part in their wellness journey.”

Waltzek explained how Glanbia Nutritionals’ study discovered that consumers perceive better-for-you snacks as healthier, allowing them to feel less guilty and enjoy these types of snacks more often.

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“Consumers are still wanting to ‘have it all’ — taste that appeals to their cravings without feeling guilty like they are eating junk food,” Jill Houk, R&D chef at Culinary Culture, said.

When identifying better-for-you snacks, there are several functional food categories that fit the bill, according to Julie Murphy, insights director at market research firm Brightfield Group, which conducts quarterly surveys of more than 5,000 U.S. adult consumers of varying demographics to observe snacking behaviors and trends.

The Brightfield Group Quarterly Wellness Survey for Q3 of 2024 found that 6 in 10 Americans are interested in or have purchased a functional food or beverage in the last three months. As such, there is growing popularity of functional foods and beverages, with several categories that have experienced exponential growth over the last two years, Murphy explained.

The category that saw the highest growth, however, was chip alternatives, with a whopping 225% increase. “This has been a growing space as people look to fill protein or fiber through snacking,” Sparkman added.

As a result, brands are placing a large focus on their snack offerings — particularly better-for-you options like alternative chips and crackers.

Here are a dozen new products that fit the better-for-you bill.