Data: Decadent snacks corner “treat yourself” market

A new report is playing devil’s snack advocate. Just as many of your customers are digging into New Year’s resolutions and demanding healthier snacks (which of course you should provide!) a good number of those same folks will encounter a long work or school week (hello, finals week) and decide it’s high time to treat themselves. The report by Fona International, spurred on by data from Mintel, reveals that cravings are king—calories be damned—when a large number of consumers decide to indulge. 

When consumers do give in to the siren song of sinful snacks, those indulgences can be broken down into a few different categories, but the main category is “classic indulgence,” like ice cream, chocolate, cake, candy, beer or wine and especially alcoholic dessert beverages, the report found.

Photo: carotur/iStock/Thinkstock; Illustration: FM/Anna Kang