Interview
Julian Mellentin: “Sugar fears are
causing more people to look at
savory snacks rather than sweet”
The massive fragmentation of consumers’ beliefs about health is contributing to the break-up
of traditional food and beverage markets. This is opening the doors for start-ups and small
brands, says Julian Mellentin, director of New Nutrition Business.
By Ioana Oancea
BISCUIT WORLD: What are the most
important trends that will drive
changes in biscuit production
in 2016?
Julian Mellentin: Just looking at
2016 will not give us much insight
into the category - it will not be very
different a year from now. However,
if you look beyond that, in terms of
health and nutrition, we can expect
10
the continuing demonization of sugar to slowly - very slowly - wear
away at the sweet biscuit category.
Another slow driver of change will
be demographics - younger people
have less of a sweet biscuit habit
than the over 60 generation. People
are also growing up with a proliferation of other snack choices - from
bars to fruit snacks, nuts and chips of
all types - and the “share of mouth”
will gradually be taken up by more
of these. Sugar fears are causing
more people to look at savory snacks
rather than sweet. More savory
snack businesses are responding to
this and experiencing growth - from
seaweed to chickpeas - and this will
also contribute to the long-term
decline in the sweet biscuit category.
Spring 2016
• BISCUIT WORLD