10 snacks a day keep 3 meals away

 It’s chai-biscuit for breakfast and bhujia over lunch for Indians, who seem eager to nibble on their favourite treats rather than having regular meals.

Nearly three-quarters of Indian adults snacked more than they did a year ago, compared with a global average of 49%, according to a study by Mondelez International and The Harris Poll, which covered 6,000 people across 12 countries.

Further, over 75% of the Indian respondents said snacking is the future of food, against 53% globally. Indians are habitual snackers, with 77% snacking around the same time each day — starting right before breakfast and peaking at mid-day.

“Indians prefer to eat many small meals throughout the day, and are grazing a lot more now. Also, something that is unique to India is a ritual to have early morning snacks before breakfast,” said Siddhartha Mukherjee, senior director (strategy, insights and analytics) at Mondelez India. Snacking is defined as consumption of any food outside regular meals.

It’s no wonder then that packaged salty snacks and biscuits are an over- ?60,000-crore market, and two of the largest categories within India’s fast moving consumer goods basket.

Companies said the line between snacks and meals seems to be blurring. “Increased spending capacity and paucity of time has ensured people look to snacks as a food option over basic meals, since it works out to be convenient and can be consumed on-the-go,” said Chandu Virani, founder, Balaji Wafers.

With seven in 10 Indians claiming they connect with their culture through snacks, marketers have been serving region-specific fare for some time now — from jhal mudi in West Bengal and boondi in South India to aloo bhujia in North.

“Indian snacks are culturally ingrained, in that a bulk of our products are regional. In fact, we see many consumers mixing snacks with regular meals due to taste and habit,” said B Krishna Rao, senior category head at Parle Products. “We estimate that a third of Parle G consumption happens in the morning, either before or as breakfast.”

However, as Indians prioritise snacks over meals — satiating their craving for chocolates, chips or cookies — nutrition could take a back seat, caution experts.

Sensing the change in habits, some companies are offering healthier options. “Indian consumers are increasingly preferring healthier and tastier snacking options, which often replace meals on a busy day,” said Hemant Malik, divisional chief executive, foods division, ITC Ltd, which offers atta noodles with vegetables, oat biscuits and protein power biscuits made of sattu. So far, consumers haven’t taken the bait — 77% Indians said health is less important during indulgence, and 80% feel the time and place for health and guilt are different.

Source:- https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entertainment/food-services/10-snacks-a-day-keep-3-meals-away/72377067