Kids, Teens Top Consumers of Snack Foods, Women No. 2

CHICAGOKids and teens turn to snack-oriented convenience foods most, with the typical American eating more than 1,000 snack foods a year and women eating on average 3.1 snack-oriented foods a day compared to men who eat an average of 2.7 snacks a day, according to snacking research by the NPD Group.

The NPD's SnackTrack®, which continually monitors the consumption of snack-oriented foods both in-home and away, found about eight of every 10 in-home snack food eatings are considered to be a snack food versus other foods, regardless of time of day. Further, more than 356 billion snack-oriented convenience foods are eaten during a typical year.

It was also revealed that among the top 10 motivators for choosing a particular snack were, "like the taste," "was hungry," "had a craving," "favorite snack" and "was simple and easy to eat." While taste is the leading motivator across all age groups, women are more likely to select snack foods to satisfy expectations like sweet, chocolate, crunchy or healthy. However, kids' favorite snacks are just fun to eat. The top five snack foods consumed annually include fresh fruit, chocolate, potato chips, cookies and yogurt, respectively.

"An individual's mood and situation has a strong effect on what will be snacked on," said Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst. "Connecting your marketing messages to the emotional nature of snackingthink taste, cravings and indulgencewill help drive your product's selection."