There has been a slight reduction in the proportion of adults who claim to snack outside of their main meals once a day or more often, dropping from 59% in 2017 to 54% in 2018.
Recent research on behalf of Retail Intelligence by Empathy Research, amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults aged 18+, sought to understand what has led to this change in snacking behaviour and how the food being consumed for snacks changes over the course of a day.
Within the group who snack at least once a day, there is an even split (27%) between those who snack several times per day and those who claim to only snack once per day (27%).
Those who snack several times per day are significantly more likely to be aged 18-24, where some 56% claim to snack several times a day, with 37% of those aged 25-34 also claiming to snack several times per day.
There has been a slight reduction in the proportion of adults who claim to snack “around 11am or mid-morning”, with just under a quarter (24%) snacking at this time, down from 27% in 2017. Snacking at this time of the day is least likely to occur amongst those aged 18-24 (16%), with those aged 65+ most likely to snack at this time of the day (33%).
Last year we recorded some signs that the “11am snack” was becoming a healthier snack occasion, with those who snack at this time choosing healthier snacking options. However, this year there has been a year-on-year increase in the proportion who claim to consume biscuits (increasing from 25% to 30%) and chocolate (increasing from 9% to 19%) when snacking at 11am.
However, the proportion eating fruit is largely unchanged year-on-year (40% from 42%).
For further information and more in-depth analysis on consumer behaviour when it comes to mid-morning snacking and snacking throughout the day, please contact Robbie Clarke at Empathy Research.
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