Collapse All
-
Executive Summary
- Opportunities for the cereal/snack bar and breakfast biscuit market
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Graph 1: leading brands’ value sales in the cereal/snack bars market, 2021/22-2023/24
- What consumers want and why
- Graph 2: frequency of eating breakfast biscuits and cereal/snack bars, 2023
- Graph 3: where breakfast biscuits and cereal/snack bars are eaten, 2023
- Graph 4: when cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits are eaten, 2023
- Graph 5: concepts of interest in cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, among users and non-users, 2023
- Graph 6: concepts of interest in cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, among users and non-users, 2023
- Graph 7: attributes associated with cereal/snack bars, breakfast biscuits and protein bars, 2023
- Graph 8: behaviours related to eating and buying cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, 2023
- Innovation and marketing
- Graph 9: cereal/snack bars’ share of all snack product launches, 2018-23
- Graph 10: new product launches in the cereal/snack market, by top flavour components, 2018-23
-
Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Graph 11: retail value sales of cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, 2018-23
- Graph 12: retail volume sales of cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, 2018-23
- Market forecast
- Graph 13: retail value sales of cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, 2010-15
- Market share
- Graph 14: leading brands’ value sales in the cereal/snack bars market, 2021/22-23/24
- Graph 15: leading brands’ volume sales in the cereal/snack bars market, 2021/22-23/24
- Macro-economic factors
- Graph 16: GDP, 2021-23
- Graph 17: CPI inflation rate, 2021-23
- Graph 18: “Have you been affected by any of these issues over the last two months? Please select all that apply.”, 2023
- Graph 19: the financial wellbeing index, 2016-23
- Graph 20: the financial confidence index, 2016-23
- Social, environmental and legal factors
- Graph 21: frequency of snacking, 2020-23
- Graph 22: selected behaviours related to eating and buying cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, 2023
- Graph 23: how often people try to eat healthily, 2018-22
- Graph 24: trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2018-28
-
What Consumers Want and Why
- Frequency of eating cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits
- Graph 25: frequency of eating breakfast biscuits and cereal/snack bars, 2023
- Graph 26: overall usage and frequency of eating cereal/snack bars, by age, 2023
- Graph 27: overall usage and frequency of eating breakfast biscuits, by age, 2023
- Graph 28: overall usage and usage at least once a week of cereal/snack bars, by selected demographics, 2023
- Where and when cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits are eaten
- Graph 29: where breakfast biscuits and cereal/snack bars are eaten, 2023
- Graph 30: when cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits are eaten, 2023
- Concepts of interest in cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits
- Graph 31: concepts of interest in cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, 2023
- Attributes associated with cereal/snack bars, breakfast biscuits, and protein bars
- Graph 32: attributes associated with cereal/snack bars, breakfast biscuits, and protein bars, 2023
- Behaviours relating to eating and buying cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits
- Graph 33: behaviours related to eating and buying cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, 2023
-
Innovation And Marketing Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
- Graph 34: cereal/snack bars’ share of all snack product launches, 2018-23
- Graph 35: new product launches in the cereal/snack market, by launch type, 2018-23
- Graph 36: share of new launches in snack/cereal/energy bars, by selected health claims, 2018-23
- Graph 37: new product launches in the cereal/snack market, by top flavour components, 2018-23
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Graph 38: above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, 2020-23
- Graph 39: above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, by advertisers, 2020-23
-
Appendix
- Supplementary data: market share
- Supplementary data: market drivers
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Report scope and definitions
- Methodology
The cost of living crisis has put pressure on the UK snack bar market. Price rises in the category and the role of these snacks as discretionary will have made them likely candidates for cutbacks amid the income squeeze. The limited scope for trading down given the sparse own-brand offering has added to this.
UK Snack Bar and Breakfast Biscuit Market Trends
Competition from other snacking categories has put pressure on the cereal/snack and breakfast biscuit market and will continue to do so. For example, the strong growth of the protein bar market shows little sign of easing. Further HFSS restrictions loom and stand to have mixed effects on the market. While they will lend an edge to compliant products, they will also fuel ongoing NPD in the wider BFY snack space, adding to the competitive pressures.
Disrupting the shopper journey is crucial for cereal/snack bar and breakfast biscuit brands. While most users and buyers usually visit the cereal/snack bar and breakfast biscuit aisle when doing their main grocery shop, over half pay little attention to the rest of the products on the shelf when buying their favourite brand. This points to the need for brands to ensure they stand out in the aisle, to make the most of the passing traffic.
Key Issues Covered in this Report
- Performance of the market and the impact of the rising cost of living
- Where and when cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits are eaten
- Key attributes associated with cereal/snack bars, breakfast biscuits, and protein bars
- Key trends in recent launch activity and future product development opportunities such as consumer interest in naturalness and flavour variety
- Behaviours related to the eating and buying of cereal/snack bars and breakfast biscuits, and related opportunities including disrupting shopper behaviour and how to support health-conscious shoppers
Purchase Mintel’s full report for a complete analysis of the UK snack bar market, including consumer insights and innovation and marketing activity. Readers of this report may also be interested in The Future of Snack Bars.
Meet The Expert
This report is written by Claire Finnegan, a Food & Drink Analyst at Mintel. Claire joined Mintel in 2022, writing and producing reports covering a variety of topics in the food and drinks market. Prior to joining Mintel, Claire obtained a BSc in Nutrition, Food and Business Management from the University of Galway. Alongside her studies, she also gained food industry experience while working for a food producer in Ireland.
High inflation has fuelled value growth in the market, amid falling volumes. Interest in freshness and variety multipacks point to opportunities for NPD.
Claire Finnegan
Food & Drink Analyst
£ 2,195 (Excl.Tax)
- Pay via credit card or invoice
-
PDF, PPT and Excel download delivered instantly
Instant delivery when paying by credit card, invoice orders may take longer
-
Save up to 20% when you purchase multiple reports
Save 10% when you purchase two reports together.
Save 15% when you purchase three reports together.
Save 20% when your purchase four or more together.
Discount automatically applied at checkout
Need help before you buy?
Our research specialists can answer your questions and recommend the reports that best match your business needs.
Contact usTrusted by global industry leaders
Mintel helps us when we want to know something quickly – it provides fast answers to our questions. If we need to get a view of what’s going on in a particular market it’s very useful.
When carrying out background research, I find Mintel an excellent starting point.
The fact that it covers so many markets is a big plus for me– instead of having to buy specialist products in each area we are interested in, especially when we only require a brief view on a particular market, we can go to Mintel for help as a one-stop shop. I find Mintel a useful and valuable resource.
Ben Zeidler, Director - Research and Analytics, Tenth Wave
There is no question that Mintel is the go-to resource for the best quality market research, but I did not think it was an affordable option for Abacus Marketing to consider. As a small marketing agency, we only work with a few new clients each year.
However, we have a very high-end consultative approach to our work, so we really do need a partner like Mintel to provide the big agency experience we are always aiming to deliver. Our clients come from an incredibly diverse range of industry sectors, so we obviously need access to market research reports from a very wide spectrum of marketplaces – and that is precisely what we got.
Stephen Taylor-Brown, Managing Director, Abacus
One of the biggest challenges we face is the need to get smart on a business or category real quick.
We are talking to clients who live and breathe their category every day and the expectation is that we will be able to get caught up very quickly, and bring the thinking that can help them.
We need to do that often in a matter of days, so it’s not a small ask. Mintel gives us a very articulate view of category conditions and does so at the speed we need it.
Jeff White, Business Development Director, Deutsch
We’ve found it so useful working more closely with Mintel. They helped support our recent flagship event for our top suppliers by providing a really unique viewpoint on the future of online retailing.
Nick Carroll from their Retail Team was also an excellent panelist, sharing useful and actionable consumer insights. We definitely look forward to working with Mintel again on future projects.
Zac Steele, E-Commerce Trading Development Manager, Waitrose & Partners
We have such a great working relationship with Mintel on lots of different levels. As an insight partner, they have helped us to develop our business planning in specific categories as well as supporting our creative process but they’ve also been super helpful with facilitating our events in their inspirational offices near St Paul’s.
They’re an innovative company, with a client-focused team that always delivers.
Abby Carvosso, Group Managing Director, Bauer Media Group
Need help before you buy?
Our research specialists can answer your questions and recommend the reports that best match your business needs.
Contact us
