• India's snack market is shifting towards healthier options, with one in five snacks now linked to health.
• South Korean cultural influence is driving food innovations, with 34% of urban consumers prioritising new product availability.
• The 2024 Breakthrough Innovation Awards recognised brands disrupting the market with exceptional new product launches.
• The rise of healthier snacks is driven by increased nutritional awareness and the growth of e-commerce, presenting a strategic opportunity for brands.

India's snack market is undergoing a significant transformation, with a shift towards healthier, low-calorie, and low-fat options. This change is being driven by the increasing use of millets, a nutrient-rich grain, in snack production. According to a report by NielsenIQ, a leading consumer intelligence company, one in five snacks is now linked to health, indicating a growing consumer preference for mindful snacking.

The report also reveals a cultural influence from South Korea, with personal care and food innovations inspired by Korean flavours and textures gaining traction in India. This trend is part of a broader shift towards high-quality, innovative products that simplify life, driven by urbanisation and a growing demand for sustainably sourced Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and energy-efficient consumer tech tailored to local needs.

The NIQ Consumer Survey reveals that 34% of urban consumers prioritise new product availability, and 40% - especially Gen-Z and women - actively seek innovation, claiming to shop for new products before others. Vidya Sen, Executive Director, Customer Success - BASES, NielsenIQ, emphasises the strategic opportunity this presents for brands to capture consumer interest and drive sustained growth through meaningful and timely innovations.

Recognising Innovation in the Snack Market

The report also highlights the winners of the 2024 Breakthrough Innovation Awards, honouring brands that have disrupted the market and captivated consumers with exceptional new product launches. These award-winning products, launched between 2022 and 2023, have successfully navigated an ever-evolving consumer landscape. Since 2012, more than 900 FMCG brands globally have been recognised with this prestigious honour, including about 140 innovations in India across categories like food and beverages (48%) and personal and home care (52%).

The shift towards healthier snacking options is not limited to India. Globally, consumers are increasingly seeking beverages that offer specific functional benefits, such as detox smoothies designed to improve digestive health, boost immunity, enhance mental clarity, and support detoxification. Functional beverages often contain added vitamins, minerals, probiotics, adaptogens, and other health-boosting ingredients.

In addition to the shift towards healthier snacks, the Indian snack market is also witnessing a rise in the popularity of matcha, a type of powdered green tea. The global trend of matcha started with Hollywood actor Gwyneth Paltrow, who posted on social media about trying a matcha latte at a local coffee shop in 2015. Since then, matcha has become one of the most preferred options in India, with many restaurants offering matcha drinks or desserts.

The Role of E-commerce and Awareness in Shaping the Snack Market

The rise of healthier snacks is also being driven by an increased awareness of the nutritional content of food. Recent research has shown that warning labels can reduce the selection of unhealthy items by 26 to 36%. Evidence from Chile, the first nation to impose mandatory front-of-pack warnings, revealed that these labels assisted parents and kids in identifying harmful food and beverages and discouraging their consumption.

The Indian snack market's shift towards healthier options is also being driven by the rise of e-commerce. The ability of Generative AI to work with Large Language Models applying in-context learning to learn from analogy and generate responses based on enhanced understanding of context, improved reasoning, inference skills, and tailored problem-solving capabilities has come out as a potent force for businesses.