Cereal Bars - UK - Consumer – Reasons for not Eating Cereal Bars
Key points
●
Nearly
two in five people (37%) who don’t eat snack bars point to lack of relevance as
the reason, one in four preferring other snacks.
●
Looks,
size and sweetness are all noted as off-putting by around one in six non-users,
highlighting these as key areas in product development and marketing.
●
Two in
five non-users note just one reason for not eating cereal bars, potentially
good news for the market.
“Not
for me” say two in five
To assess factors and motivations
putting non-users off cereal and granola bars, consumers were asked:
“For
which, if any, of the following reasons do you NOT eat cereal bars as a snack?”
●
Nearly two in five people (37%) who don’t
eat snack bars point to lack of relevance as the reason.
●
This is not entirely surprising, as much of
the marketing in the category has portrayed snack bars as a low-calorie diet
product for women or, in the cake of Rice Krispies Squares, as a children’s
snack.
●
While two in five adults say that they are
dieting most of the time, this positioning effectively rules out the other
three in five.
●
Meanwhile the association with diet
products is likely to exacerbate the poor value image, ‘light’ or ‘diet’
products often commanding a premium.
●
The few brands looking to pitch the snack
bars as a generic snack, such as Nutri-Grain or more recently Alpen, have tried
to promote the products simply as tasty, however, this appears to be an area
where prejudices die hard, and the snack bars are hard pressed by traditional
snack foods.
Unsubstantial
●
Preference for other snacks is noted by one
in four non-users, signalling potential to attract new users to the category as
brands from other areas expand into it.
●
Of the specific qualities of snack bars,
looks, size and sweetness are all noted as off-putting by around one in six
non-users, highlighting these as key areas to consider in both product
development and marketing.
“Never
buy these. Tried one once – far too sweet.”
-35-44-year-old ABC1 male
“Try
making them bigger for the same price and less sweet, even try making them
savoury.”
-45-54-year-old C2DE male
Snack
bars too sweet for women
●
Men are clearly more likely than women to
see cereal bars as not for them, or object to the looks. Women are more likely
to quote preferring a proper breakfast as a reason against snack bars, as well
as their being too sweet.
●
Over-45s are the most likely to quote any
of the reasons for not eating cereal bars, reflecting the fact that more than
half of them quoted two or more reasons, while two in five 16-34-year-olds and
half of 35-44-year-olds mentioned just one, signalling them as likely to be the
easier converts
●
ABs are the most likely group to be put off
by the looks and sweetness of cereal bars, while C1s are most likely to prefer
other snacks and DEs to look for more substantial alternatives. Nearly half of
DEs (46%) say that the bars just aren’t for them.
Two
in five put off by just one factor
●
Two in five non-users note just one reason
for not eating cereal bars, a potentially encouraging finding for the market.
●
35-44-year-olds,
C1s and the full-time employed are the most likely to name just one reason for
not eating cereal bars, suggesting these groups as potentially the easiest to
convert.
●
Over-45s, the retired and ABs are the most
likely to quote three or more reasons for not eating them, making these groups
potentially the most challenging to attract.
Key analysis: Of
those with just one reason, one in three quote lack of relevance and one in six
the preference for other snacks, just one in 12 listing the looks, taste or
size. While the latter may be easier to tackle, the former, for example through
targeted marketing, could bring about greater returns.
