Americans Eat 1,000-Plus Convenience Snack Foods Annually

CHICAGO -- Snack-oriented convenience foods are playing a big part in consumers' diets. According to The NPD Group, the typical American eats more than 1,000 fresh fruit and sweet and savory snacks throughout the year, with children and teenagers the prevalent consumers of this product assortment.

In addition, the research firm's "SnackTrack" found that on average, women eat 3.1 snack-oriented convenience foods daily. Men eat an average of 2.7 snacks a day.

Approximately eight of every 10 in-home snack food eatings are considered to be a snack-oriented convenience food vs. other foods, regardless of time of day, according to SnackTrack, which monitors the consumption of snack-oriented foods both in-home and out of home. During a typical year, there are more than 356 billion eatings of snack-oriented convenience foods.

The report also found that "like the taste," "was hungry," "had a craving," "favorite snack," and "was simple and easy to eat," ranked among the top 10 motivators for selecting a particular snack. While taste is the leading motivator across all age groups, women are more likely to select snack foods to satisfy specific expectations while kids' favorite snacks are simply fun to eat, NPD explained.

The top five snack foods are fresh fruit, chocolate, potato chips, cookies and yogurt, the Chicago-based firm added.

"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 snacking -- think taste, cravings and indulgence -- will help drive your product's selection."