2026
9
UK Snack Bars and Breakfast Biscuits Market Report 2026
2026-03-24T16:02:27+00:00
REP1FA01324_08DE_43FD_A013_2408DE03FD71
2995
192187
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Report
en_GB
World cuisine flavours hold strong untapped potential in snack bars/breakfast biscuits. They appeal to 62% of users, but few brands currently explore these. These flavours' momentum in other…
UK
Snacks
Breakfast Foods
simple

UK Snack Bars and Breakfast Biscuits Market Report 2026

"Inflation-driven value growth defined 2025. Functional benefits and novelty will be essential to justify higher prices and drive standout."

Sam Fryers, Research Analyst

Sam Fryers, Research Analyst

World cuisine flavours hold strong untapped potential in snack bars/breakfast biscuits. They appeal to 62% of users, but few brands currently explore these. These flavours’ momentum in other snacks like crisps and chocolate offers a precedent and inspiration.

Price inflation fuelled value sales growth of 4.6% in the UK snack bars and breakfast biscuits market in 2025, while seeing volume fall by 3.3%, as pressures on household finances kept grocery budgets under close scrutiny. Ongoing ingredient cost pressure is expected to be the main driver of 12% value growth over 2025-30.

Faced with rising costs and promotion-led shopping behaviour, breakfast biscuit and snack bar brands are under intense pressure to justify their prices. Health benefits offer a route for doing so, given high interest in more bars offering these. High interest in fibre and users seeking energy boosts from these snacks point to related benefits as key areas to consider.

This Report Looks at the Following Areas:

  • Performance of the market, with volumes ebbing in 2025
  • Key trends in recent launch activity and product development opportunities
  • Usage of cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits and core users
  • Importance of protein and fibre callouts in cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits
  • Consumer behaviours relating to cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, including interest in seeing more products offering specific health benefits
  • Consumer attitudes towards cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, including interest in fibre and the appeal of pairing these with high-protein dairy products

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  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • Outlook for snack bars and breakfast biscuits
    • Opportunities
    • Look beyond widespread high-fibre and -protein claims
    • Meet snackers’ demand for newness
    • Health benefits and reformulation hold potential among cost pressures
  2. THE MARKET

    • Snapshot – market size and forecast
    • Weak consumer confidence brings mixed prospects for cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits
    • Graph 1: financial wellbeing and confidence indices, 2019-26
    • Daily snacking by seven in ten supports snack bar/breakfast biscuit use
    • Graph 2: frequency of snacking, 2021, 2023 and 2025
    • Healthy eating efforts bring opportunities and threats to snack bars
    • Restrictions on HFSS food & drink limit visibility
    • Market size and forecast
    • Inflation to drive continued value growth while volume sales fall
    • Graph 3: retail market forecast for cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, 2019-30
    • Nature Valley retains top position, leading brands struggle to make strong gains
    • Graph 4: leading brands’ retail value sales in cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, 2023/24-2025/26
    • Price rises drive own label growth, natural positioning proves appealing
  3. THE CONSUMER

    • Usage
    • Two thirds eat snack bars and breakfast biscuits
    • Two in three eat cereal/snack bars or breakfast biscuits
    • Graph 5: frequency of eating breakfast biscuits and cereal/snack bars, 2025
    • Protein and fibre hold untapped potential
    • High protein and fibre are top choice factors
    • Look beyond widespread high-fibre and -protein claims
    • Strengthen standout of fibre claims with tangible callouts
    • Link fibre to functional benefits
    • Drive impulse at point-of-sale
    • Ensure new products are clearly signposted
    • World‑cuisine flavours are timely for cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits
    • Spotlight new products
    • Tap impulse buys beyond the snack bar aisle
    • Health benefits and reformulation hold potential amid inflation
    • Functional benefits can help counter higher prices
    • Spotlight benefits to justify higher prices
    • Explore low-cost ingredients
    • Pulses and seeds lend themselves to snack bars
    • Leverage targeted loyalty schemes to protect margins
  4. PRODUCT INNOVATION

    • Chocolate flavours lead as major brands double down on treat flavours
    • Protein attracts more launches from big brands and new entrants
    • Two category-firsts with Nomadic’s chilled yogurt bar and Tribe x Wildfarmed’s regenerative flapjack
    • Licensing and film links open routes to engagement
    • Cadbury Brunch Bar and Trek revamp packaging, Kellogg’s launches Oaties
  5. APPENDIX

    • Report scope/market definition
    • The market
    • Forecast methodology
    • Forecast methodology – fan chart
    • Market size and forecast of cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits (volume fanchart)
    • Graph 6: retail volume sales of cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, 2019-30
    • Market size and forecast of cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits (value)
    • Market size and forecast of cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits (volume)
    • Market forecast and prediction intervals (value)
    • Market forecast and prediction intervals (volume)
    • Market share – cereal/snack bar and breakfast biscuit brands (value)
    • Market share – cereal/snack bar and breakfast biscuit brands (volume)
    • Market share – cereal/snack bar and breakfast biscuit manufacturers (value)
    • Market share – cereal/snack bar and breakfast biscuit manufacturers (volume)
    • Trends in the population age structure
    • The consumer
    • Consumer research questions
    • Consumer research methodology – EMEA
    • UK generation groups
    • Ambient products in chilled and frozen aisles
    • Other data source methodologies
    • Mintel Spark
    • Abbreviations

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