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Category Analysis – Protein Bar / Nutrition Bar / Snack Bars
by Foodbevy
September 16, 2022
The protein/ nutrition/snack bar category has gone on a wild ride the last few years with COVID shifting consumer behavior. Let’s break down how the category is looking now and where there’s opportunity.
Sneha Jain with StartupCPG did a great analysis on this category as part of her weekly reports, and here are a few highlights I want to mention.
1) Retail velocity can vary greatly. For legacy brands like Nature Valley, velocity can be 45.5 units/store/week, while Clif Bar sees 3.8 units /store/week.
2) Sales have rebounded from the 2020 dip, and many brands are growing again.
3) Multi-packs are selling better than singles as people are buying in bulk for their favorites.
4) Kids bars are seeing +36% growth, which is still a nascent category
CPG Pulse Data
One of my favorite data sources is looking at CPG Pulse, which is the data arm of Snackmagic, an online marketplace.
This dataset is limited to sales on their marketplace, but they see a pretty significant volume and the data is free.
Some notable datapoints:
- Overall volume of bar sales declined throughout the year by a significant amount.
- Top Brand searches in 2022 included RBar, Shanti Balance, and Munk Pack
- The bars receiving the most orders include Byte Bars, RBar, and Kize
- The average cost of bars has increased. Protein Bars +22%, Functional Bars +24%, Snack Bars +18%
Wrap Up
The bar market saw a rebound in sales from 2020 to Pre-COVID numbers, but is still facing a number of headwinds.
To succeed, focus on product Macros, ie, Protein, Fat, Carbs, Sugar, Calories. Then, choose an area to differentiate: flavor, Macro-balance, texture.
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