What We're Grazing On

We’re always snacking, and we raised it to the next level to take advantage of National Snack Food Month in February. We made it a point to share our favorites and introduce new munchies to the team. And we learned some interesting things in the process.

Our Favorite Snacks:

·      Many shared family favorites rather than personal. Clearly, selections were influenced by the audience.
·      Favorites have been enjoyed for years, i.e. loved since childhood, helped survive college.

We do not buy if:

·      We are prone to binge in one sitting.
·      It contains ingredients we try to avoid, i.e. MSG, sugar.

Many of us avoid the temptation entirely by making our own snacks with real ingredients -cheese being the favorite. That being said, we throw caution to the wind when it comes to road trip snacks, though we should seek out healthy snacks that are perfect for road trips.

In searching out new snacks to graze on, specific attributes emerged:

·      Unique flavors
·      Crunchy texture
·      Satiating
·      Sustainable energy
·      Keto
·      Salty & Sweet
·      Spinoffs of favorites: Reese’s, Cheetos, Fritos, Oreo, Nutella
·      Shareable, but I would never buy for myself
·      Healthy options

 
Our favorites:

·      Moon Cheese
·      Bare Apple Chips
·      Smashmallow
·      Dang Coconut Chips

Innova Market Insights, shared the company’s Top Ten Food Trends for 2020 and recently turned its attention to how these trends are impacting on the highly innovative sweets and snacks categories. The top 5 trends include:

1.     Storytelling: Winning with Words

2.     The Plant-Based Revolution

3.     The Sustain Domain

4.     The Right Bite

5.     Tapping into Texture

The trends of storytelling and plant-based build on previous years’ trends. Clean label, free from, and other previous trends are still here. They’re woven into the new trends and gain more depth every year as trends continue to develop.

In the end, the go-to munchie to satiate our team and take center stage: Dang Coconut Chips – even the strongest critics against coconut agreed! This hearty snack also delivers on several of Innova’s trends. While a few of us already enjoy Dang, it’s nice to see more colleagues embracing this brand. Dang coconuts are sourced from family farms in Thailand. As a Certified B Corp, Dang meets rigorous standards of environmental performance and public transparency, and all farms follow ethical business practices. Per their website: We’re on a mission to share our culture for a healthier and more flavorful world. Whether it be through sharing snacks, working with local farmers, or supporting organizations that aid refugees and people affected by natural disaster, we truly give a Dang.

 
Get grazing!