PLANT-BASED
BARS GO
MAINSTREAM
The snack bar category is one of the most dynamic and versatile categories in food and beverage. Today’s consumers are snacking more purposefully, with taste, texture, form, and function providing endless options from morning to night. Furthermore, increased consumer awareness about healthy weight management motivates manufacturers to incorporate great tasting flavors on top of nutrient dense functionality which can help consumers regulate their satiety, hunger, and caloric intake. Using IFF PANOPTIC, our proprietary Trend & Foresight tool for innovation, we explored the depth and breadth of our market and consumer insights to create the next generation of snack bars.

Our expertise on consumers and on bar formulation and manufacturing, combined with our extensive portfolio of taste and functional ingredients, can help your brand succeed in this space.
The primary roles of bars underscore their key function: to nourish and satisfy. Many use bars between meals and more than a quarter use them to replace meals altogether.
Snack
Satisfy Hunger
Replace Junk Food
Treat
Satisfy Sweet Tooth
Boost Energy
Source of Nutrients
Improve Health
Save Time
Meal Replacement
Improve Performance
46%
Source: Lightspeed/Mintel 1,137 internet users aged 18+ who’ve bought bars for themselves in the past 3 months
“The vast majority of eaters either maintained (52%) or increased (34%) bar consumption in 2020.”
Source: Lightspeed/Mintel 1,137 internet users aged 18+ who’ve bought bars for themselves in the past 3 months

Weight Management is the second most important benefit sought by consumers (30%) in NAM just after energy needs (37%).
(IFIC, 2022)

Two-thirds of American consumers (61%) have explored using plant-based or food-based alternatives as a complement or replacement for Ozempic.
(Suzy: Wellness Watchers Report, 2024)

Health is the top issue that consumers want new product development to address over affordability and taste.
(Innova Global Trends, 2023)

78% of consumers show interest in products with functional benefits and are willing to experiment with flavors and textures.
(IFF PX I&P Online survey US & CAN, Nov 02, 2023; N=1000 consumers per country)

Snacks and sweets (44%) are the most popular food & beverage products to be purchased directly from manufacturers or brands in the US.
(Suzy: Wellness Watchers Report, 2024)

54% of consumers have expressed health and wellness as a concern while 77% of consumers view it as important.
(GLOBALDATA, 2022)

Weight management is a top health objective that guides food and beverage purchase for 48% of American consumers.
Suzy: Wellness Watchers Report, 2024)

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