More than a quarter Aussies considered ‘heavy’ snackers
Those who consume packaged snacks 4-6 times a week (medium snackers) account for 34.5% of the populace.
Light snackers (1-3 snacks in an average week) account for 26%.
“A total of 62.5% of the adult population are considered heavy or medium snackers, consuming at least four packaged snacks per week, and in many cases, the number would likely be far higher,” said Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan, Australia’s largest independent research company.
Nine in 10 Australian adults snack weekly
She added Australians continue to eat packaged snacks at high levels, despite the broader push to make healthier food choices and reduce packaging.
What is aligned to the global consumer trend is the growth of the healthy snacks category surging ahead with the biggest increase, eaten by 54.7% of Australians.
“The biggest increase has occurred in the healthy snack category, which includes items such as muesli bars, breakfast bars and rice crackers, although, as the consumer organisation Choice and nutrition experts have often noted, there is a wide variation as to how ‘healthy’ products in this category actually are,” said Levine.
The category comes second to savoury snacks, at 66%.
“Savoury snacks, such as potato chips, are the most popular choice of Australians, with two-thirds of adults eating them in an average week.”
Sweet spot
Not surprisingly, sweet biscuits, ice cream and chocolates have declined in the past decade, but that does not mean the country has lost its sweet tooth.
“It’s interesting to note that the data shows those who consume healthy snacks are just as likely as other Australians to eat different kinds of snacks, such as chocolate and ice-cream.”
Category | Eaten by % of Australians | Compared to 10 years ago |
Savoury Snacks | 66% | +1.6% |
Healthy Snacks | 54.7% | +3.2% |
Chocolates | 48.1% | -2.3% |
Yoghurt | 44.8% | +0.4% |
Sweet Biscuits | 41.2% | -8.2% |
Ice Cream | 39.0% | -4.2% |
Lollies and Gum | 30.2% | -7.2% |
Dips | 22.4% | +0.7% |
Frozen/Dairy Desserts | 11.5% | -0.1% |
According to Roy Morgan, the proportion of Australians who regularly consume packaged snacks has declined slightly – down from 90.8% to 88.5% - in the past decade. Only 11.5% of the country’s populace consider themselves snacking teetotallers.
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, July 2018-June 2019, n = 15,146. Base: Australians 14+.
