Snack Foods, a new market updat from market intelligence provider Key Note, reports that the UK snack foods market grew by 29.7% between 2010 and 2014. Within the report, the market is divided into three primary sectors: potato crisps, snack nuts and other savoury snacks.

While potato crisps is the biggest single category within the market, it is the other savoury snack foods sector that accounts for the largest proportion of the market, at 48% in 2014 – although this is unsurprising, given the vast range of snack products included within the sector, as well as the significant new product developments that have taken place.

Within the other savoury snack foods sector, the category for popcorn has performed well in recent years, with the average Briton munching their way through 5kg of popcorn a year, according to Butterkist. Popcorns reputation as a more nutritional alternative to potato crisps has led this growth, with the snack being a good source of fibre and antioxidants, as well as containing less fat than traditional crisps. The popcorn category has undergone a period of premiumisation, which has influenced sales growth, with consumers willing to pay that little extra for luxury, flavour packed products, such as cocktail flavoured popcorns including mojito and cosmopolitan variants.

Although the snack foods market has faced some negative criticism in recent years – due to such foods often being associated with high salt and saturated fat content – snack food manufacturers have been quick to respond to these criticisms by introducing healthier alternatives, including root vegetable crisps, snacks cooked in sunflower and rapeseed oils, and lentil based snacks. The markets ability to respond to changing consumer trends, such as the growing demand for healthier snacks, has enabled it to maintain growth.

Over the next five years, Key Note predicts that the snack foods market will continue to see year on year increases in value. An emphasis on health and the industrys focus on introducing exciting new flavours and textures are expected to lead this future growth, with Key Note forecasting the market to expand by 18.4% between 2015 and 2019.