This report looks at the following areas:
- Market size and forecast for major salty snack segments
- Market factors and new product trends for salty snacks
- Trends and changes in salty snack consumption patterns
- Consumer interests and preferences in salty snack segments
- Emotions linked to flavours and textures of salty snacks
Consumers' core demands are becoming increasingly clear in salty snack segments. Brands should unlock category strengths and leverage innovative flavours, emotional resonance and interactive elements to provide a more novel and engaging consumer experience.
Vera Zheng, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
This Report focuses on consumer behaviours and attitudes towards salty snacks.
Salty snacks include but are not limited to marinated snacks/meat jerkies (eg spicy strips/chicken feet/dried meat), nuts/seeds (eg almonds/green peas/sunflower seeds), puffed snacks (eg crisps/rice crackers/shrimp crackers), fish/seafood snacks (eg as shredded squid/dried small fish) and other salty snacks (eg savoury dairy products/savoury biscuits).
The calculation of the market size for packaged salty snacks in this Report is based on the following categories:
- Marinated snacks/meat jerkies
- Nuts/seeds
- Puffed snacks
Definitions of terms mentioned in the Report:
- Snack lovers/high-frequency snackers: consumers who consume both sweet and salty snacks once a day or more.
- High-frequency snackers: consumers who snack once a day or more.
- Mid-frequency snackers: consumers who snack several times a week.
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- Market factors
- New product trends
- Consumption trends and future opportunities
- What we think
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The market
- Market size
- Online short video platforms fuel the continuous growth of the nuts and seeds market
- The excellent performance of marinated snacks/meat jerky is due to the domestic brands’ released potential
- Puffed snacks are still stagnant in growth
- Market factors
- The Chinese government fully supports the development of the food industry towards enhanced nutrition
- Short videos spread the message of the nutritional value of snack ingredients
- Graph 1: short video mentions of ‘jerky’ and ‘nutrition’ (in thousands), 2023-25
- Graph 2: short video mentions of ‘nuts’ and ‘nutrition’ (in thousands), 2023-25
- Product innovations are increasingly concentrated in range extensions
- Graph 3: proportion of salty snack launches, by launch type, rolling years, 2020-25
- After snack wholesalers, WeChat Stores are here to bring new consumption momentum
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New product trends
- Nuts: new product claims shift from naturalness to nutritional value
- Graph 4: new nut product launches, by claims, 2020-24
- Macadamia nuts and walnuts see renewed enthusiasm in NPD, and new pine nut products are increasing year by year
- Pine nuts also performed brilliantly online
- Graph 5: online value sales share (Alibaba ecommerce platforms/Douyin) of nuts and seeds categories and YOY growth rate, 2024
- Meat: high protein and naturalness drive innovations in meat snacks
- Graph 6: new meat snack product launches, by claims, 2022-24
- Numbing and spicy flavour sees more innovation among spicy flavours, and master-stock-marinated flavour continues to show potential.
- Puffed foods: no-trans-fat rises to mainstream, dietary fibre leads health innovation
- Puffed foods: no-transfat rises to mainstream, dietary fibre leads health innovation
- Graph 7: new puffed product launches, by claims, 2022-24
- Corn-based puff snack innovation pops
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The consumer
- Nutrition drives high-frequency consumption, with flavoured nuts stimulating new consumption momentum
- Nuts and seeds remain top in market penetration and consumption frequency
- Graph 8: consumption frequency, by sub-category, 2025
- Graph 9: consumption frequency – nuts and seeds, 2023 vs 2025
- Nuts and seeds: females aged 30-39 more likely to be high-frequency consumers
- Graph 10: high-frequency consumers of nuts and seeds, by gender, 2025
- Graph 11: difference between share of high-frequency consumers of nuts and seeds and overall consumers, by age, 2025
- High-frequency consumers particularly value nutrition and show high demand for snacks rich in vitamins/minerals
- Graph 12: better-for-you attributes – nuts and seeds, by consumer group, 2025
- Graph 13: consumer interest – nuts and seeds, by consumer group, 2025
- Nut and seed snackers are more willing to pay a premium for health benefits
- Graph 14: attitudes towards snacking, by consumer group, 2025
- Thrill-seeking high-frequency consumers have a particularly intense demand for spicy flavours
- Graph 15: emotion x flavour – high-frequency consumers of nuts and seeds, 2025
- Graph 16: seek excitement x flavour, by consumer group, 2025
- Nutritious + delicious: crispy jerky can heal the soul
- The nutritional potential of jerky has yet to be fully harnessed
- Graph 17: consumption frequency, by sub-category, 2025
- Graph 18: consumer interest, by category, 2025
- Multi-child households are highly interested in snacks with nutritional potential
- Graph 19: consumer interest – meat jerkies, by family structure, 2025
- Graph 20: consumer interest – nuts and seeds, by family structure, 2025
- Enhance the brand influence of meat jerkies to gain consumer trust
- High-frequency consumers of meat jerkies are concentrated in Tier 1 cities
- Graph 21: consumption patterns, by city tier, 2025
- High-frequency meat jerky consumers have stronger perceptions of the healthfulness of dietary fibre and grains
- Graph 22: healthy ingredients, by consumer group, 2025
- Graph 23: better-for-you attributes, by consumer group, 2025
- Crispy jerky offers a sense of comfort
- Graph 24: provide comfort/healing texture, by consumer group, 2025
- Packaging matters: occasion-linked designs enhance value
- Salty puffed snack penetration has significantly declined
- Graph 25: consumption frequency – salty puffed snacks, 2023 vs 2025
- Consumers care about the taste and calorie content of salty puffed snacks
- Graph 26: consumer interest, by category, 2025
- Salty puffed snacks should focus on the portability of packaging
- Graph 27: choice factors, by percentage point difference between consumer groups, 2025
- Salty puffed snacks: men aged 18-29 are more likely to be high-frequency consumers
- Graph 28: high-frequency consumers of salty puffed snacks, by gender, 2025
- Graph 29: percentage point difference between high-frequency consumers of salty puffed snacks and overall consumers, by age, 2025
- High-frequency consumers prefer to snack at night; mid-frequency consumers snack in a diverse range of scenarios
- Graph 30: consumption occasions, by percentage point difference between consumer groups, 2025
- Lean into the home drinking scene and position salty puffed snacks as a social aid for young people
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Issues and insights
- Consumption trends and future opportunities
- Beyond nutrition: tickle the taste buds to boost consumer interest
- UK: flavoured nuts are driving the growth in nut consumption
- Graph 31: types of nuts eaten in the last three months, 2020-24
- China: flavoured nuts also hold potential for market growth
- Nuts flavour watch: spicy flavours heat up, and floral and fruity flavours emerge
- Beyond taste: ways to provide consumers with a healing experience
- Crispy meat snacks crack category boundaries, sparking consumer interest
- Graph 32: change in proportion of new meat snack launches, by texture in the rolling year, March 2025
- Graph 33: online sale performance (Alibaba ecommerce platforms/Douyin) of products containing the keyword ‘crispy’ (脆), by category, 2024
- Innovative texture brings emotional potential to jerky
- Graph 34: texture innovations of interest, 2024
- Graph 35: social media mentions of ‘healing+snacks’ (治愈+零食), in thousands, 2023-24
- Enhance the healing attribute with late-night scenarios or natural elements
- Graph 36: consumption occasions and demands related to emotions, 2025
- Have fun with occasion-based innovations: make the perfect snack for young people to pair with alcohol
- Potential lies in the at-home drinking scene
- Graph 37: ‘at-home + alcohol’, 000 units, 2023-24
- Puffed snacks are favoured by 18-29s for pairing with alcohol
- From flavour to packaging, salty puffed snacks are a fun pairing for alcohol
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Appendix – market size and forecast, research methodology and abbreviations
- Market size and forecast – nuts/seeds
- Market size and forecast – marinated snacks/meat jerkies
- Market size and forecast – puffed snacks
- Methodology
- Mintel’s Flavourscape AI methodology
- Abbreviations
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