evoking nostalgia and a return to timeless flavours and textures.
When it comes to social media, Ameel Candy World says that while this can have an influence on product preferences, it comes with a degree of unpredictability. “Products gaining traction on platforms like TikTok, Facebook or Instagram can experience rapid but short-lived success. Sour products and innovative offerings like freeze-dried candies are capturing the attention of younger demographics on these platforms,” says Justien Rosseel, Marketing Manager at Ameel Candy World. “We have recently partnered with a team of eight ambassadors who align with our company ethos. Through their social media posts, we have witnessed incredible statistics of our views, likes and saves. Our social media strategy aims to inspire our audience to inquire about our products at their local stores and encourage retailers to reach out to us. We’re experimenting with this approach and recognise the importance of staying abreast with this trend.” However, despite highlighting some emerging trends certain dynamics persist within the Belgian confectionery landscape,
It appears that Belgian consumers are still prioritising indulgence and authenticity
over health considerations”
according to Ameel Candy World. Most interestingly, it has identified only a limited demand for healthier confectionery alternatives, with the majority of consumers in its channels showing only minimal interest in sugar-free or sugar-less products. It appears that Belgian consumers are still prioritising indulgence and authenticity over health considerations. Additionally, Ameel Candy World has identified little emphasis on the avoidance of ultra-processed foods within its market segment. Despite Ameel Candy Worlds view that Belgian’s are not too worried about healthy confectionery, it is certainly listed as dominant trend in most of the confectionery related reports that have been published in recent years and is a trend that can no longer be ignored by brands wanting to compete today and into the future.
Key consumer trends
Andy Fleming, Chief Commercial Officer at food ingredients company, IRCA Group, lists some of the key consumer trends that are manifesting throughout the food industry. While many of these trends are creating challenges, at the same time they also represent opportunity for renovation, innovation and cross category inspiration.
Multi sensory, multi-texture experiences: As consumers place ever higher expectations on brands and products, we are seeing increasing interest in adjusting product propositions by changing its texture and sensory experience. Across the bakery, biscuit and confectionery sectors, producers are expanding their proposition to offer a broader texture experience to consumers. There are several ways this can be achieved, for example by adding fruits, biscuit, cereal, natural particulates or grains to a product. Adjusting the texture with natural ingredients also meets consumer demand for natural labels. Easter eggs, for example, are increasingly now being offered with with inclusions. Cleaner label, more natural, low-processed food: It’s no surprise that the trend for cleaner labels continues as consumers become more aware and have access to more information. With many countries legislating in this space, there is a transition within the industry to clean and clear labelling. As a result, packaging and processing is also evolving to ensure that more natural ingredients and less processed products are being
created. This can often have an impact on the shelf life but on the plus side, the benefit of a more natural claim to appeal to consumers can, potentially, lead to higher repeat purchases. Sustainability, traceability and supply security: Consumers are increasingly becoming more environmentally conscious. This applies to their attitude towards food and beverage consumption and also to ensuring that what they purchase does not do any harm to the planet or wider society. Additionally, there is a desire to go beyond simple sustainability achieved by certification. An increasing number of producers choose to go ‘beyond the label’ and articulate their activities and standards throughout the supply chain, informing consumers of what they do, where they do it and how they do it. Today we are living in a volatile, post-Covid world where many global supply chains have been broken and retailers and consumers have realised how their food was being globalised. Consequently, a natural side effect of increasing sustainability and traceability is reducing the supply chain and taking advantage of local producers and suppliers where possible.
The concept of what a healthy diet is has certainly changed significantly over the years. Traditionally it was accepted that confectionery would only offer empty calories, but was a popular treat nonetheless. Today, however, confectionery is being viewed differently. Confectionery brands are now successfully incorporating functional ingredients such as prebiotics, probiotics or food ingredients rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidant such as nuts, seeds and berries into their product offerings to win consumer approval while still delighting them with a sweet treat. Health-related claims are also becoming a more common sight in retail confectionery aisles, with ‘gluten-free’, ‘a source of fibre’, ‘no added sugar’ and ‘plant-based’ now regularly appearing on labels to grab the attention of today’s health-conscious consumers.
KennedysConfection.com
Kennedy’s Confection April 2024
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