Just desserts: Sales of sweet snacks are soaring

It's not just Netflix. Add sweets to the stay-at-home binge list. Sugary snack-food purchases increased 8% in 2020, according to data from research company Numerator's Sweet Treat Tracker. And as with so many other retail categories, much of the buying took place online, Numerator says. Baking chips and mixes was the best performing category, up 24% in 2020. The trend continued into 2021. Year-to-date 2021 sales saw 23% growth versus the same period in 2020. Purchases of ice cream (up 20%) and packaged cookies (up 11%) were the instant gratification leaders. So Delicious Dairy Free, for example, enjoyed more than 20% growth in 2020, according to IRI data on multi-outlet sales provided by the company. The marketer of plant-based, dairy-free frozen desserts and novelties credits a pandemic-spurred interest in wellbeing for the successful year, says Jessica Holland, senior brand manager. And so, So Delicious Dairy Free recently began selling directly to consumers on its website's Online Scoop Shop, giving brand fans the ability to have items delivered directly to their homes. Online sweet-snack buying got the biggest slice among retail channels, more than doubling with 104% growth. Online's share increase came at the expense of gas and convenience stores, and drug stores, both of which saw sales trimmed. Year-to-date 2021 online sweet-treat sales grew 119% versus the same period in 2020, obliterating any hope that traditional New Year's resolutions—perhaps to snack less—lasted beyond January 1. Overall, sweet treats sales in all channels are up 6% year-to-date. Meanwhile, measured media ad spending for treats dropped 16.2%, to $1.2 billion in 2020, according to Ad Age Datacenter analysis of data from Kantar. One bright spot was cookies, for which ad spending increased 45.1%, to $116 million. Mondelēz International’s Oreo, the world’s top-selling cookie, was also the most-advertised cookie brand, with nearly $49 million in 2020 media spending. But brands from Ferrero, including Keebler, showed the highest ad spending growth. Ferrero's spending backed brands from the company's recent acquisition of cookie brands from Kellogg. In the cookie category alone, Ferrero increased spending more than seven fold, to about $27 million. Consumers use snacks as a moment of comfort and indulgence, says a Mondelēz spokesperson. "Snacks are also tied to nostalgia, often evoking a childhood memory." "We’ve also seen a rise in at-home baking and many of our snack products can be used as ingredients in recipes," the spokesperson says. Sweet. Sweet treat categories by growth in consumer purchases Baking chips and mixes outpaced all other categories Percent change Category 2020 vs. 2019 YTD 2021 (01/01/21 - 02/07/21) vs. year ago Candy 3% 9% Baking chips and mixes 24 23 Bakery sweet goods 0 2 Packaged cookies 11 7 Snack cakes 10 6 Ice cream 20 10 Frozen desserts 10 19 Sales growth for sweet treats by retail channel Online sales more than doubled Percent change Retail channel 2020 vs. 2019 YTD 2021 (01/01/21 - 02/07/21) vs. year ago All channels 8% 6% Online 104 119 Food 12 8 Mass 7 13 Dollar 7 3 Club 2 11 Gas and convenience -7 -6 Drug -7 -8 Leading packaged cookie brands Ranked by sales Brand Parent Percent change 2020 vs. 2019 Oreo Mondelēz International (Nabisco) 12% private label private label 4 Chips Ahoy Mondelēz International (Nabisco) 14 Little Debbie Little Debbie 16 Belvita Mondelēz International (Nabisco) -2 Keebler Ferrero -2 Pepperidge Farm Campbell Soup Co. 15 Nutter Butter Mondelēz International (Nabisco) 17 Nabisco Mondelēz International (Nabisco) 8 Nilla Mondelēz International (Nabisco) 15 Leading packaged cookie brands By sales growth Brand Parent Percent change 2020 vs. 2019 Nutter Butter Mondelēz International (Nabisco) 17% Little Debbie McKee Foods Corp. 16 Pepperidge Farm Campbell Soup Co. 15 Nilla Mondelēz International (Nabisco) 15 Chips Ahoy Mondelēz International (Nabisco) 14 Oreo Mondelēz International (Nabisco) 12 Nabisco Mondelēz International (Nabisco) 8 private label private label 4 Keebler Ferrero -2 Belvita Mondelēz International (Nabisco) -2 Source: Numerator's Sweet Treat Tracker.

Just desserts: Sales of sweet snacks are soaring

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