Last year’s Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown resulted in drastic changes in the eating habits of most Indians. Having observed a pattern of eating three meals a day after the pandemic, people now snack more and prefer ‘clean snacks’ with many nutritional benefits over fast food. People are now asking for the ingredients of packaged food before they purchase it, avoiding any food that has preservatives, and artificial coloring, calling it “clean food”.
One study conducted by a market research company recently on 3,000 people over the age of 18 found that by the end of last year, the market for clean snacks had grown from nearly 10% to 20%. The majority of the participants accept the idea that three square meals have been replaced by eating multiple healthy snacks throughout the day. About 47% of respondents said that they snack two to three times per day, and 27% admitted that they eat snacks late at night.
85% of consumers said they pay special attention to the brand, packaging, and nutritional value of ready-to-eat snacks. Almost one in four people said that the stay-at-home Covid-19 routine had increased their snacking frequency. Rishikesh Aravkar, associate director (India and Thailand) of the global market research company, noted that snacking frequency has increased rapidly over the past year and has replaced regular meals for some people. In recent years, healthy snacks have become the norm, while products that use preservatives and other harmful ingredients have had a much harder time finding a market. A lot of catchphrases, like ‘Free from Gluten’, ‘Free from Artificial Colors’, and ‘No Preservatives’, are suddenly popular.
Clean snacks have grown tremendously in popularity in the past year, said Mayank Shah, category head of Parle Products. Choosing a snack is still largely based on taste, but consumers are more health-conscious now than a year ago. Preservatives and artificial colors have suddenly became taboo goods, and products using them find it hard to sell.
Sahil Gilani, sales director at GITS, one of the largest food companies, said, ‘We do not sell any product that cannot be enjoyed by the customer, so the taste is still our priority. But care is also taken that the product is natural, as the consumers have grown aware of the harmful effects of the simplest of chemical preservatives. All GITS products are preservative-free, which is specifically mentioned on the packaging.’
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The dietician, Uma Shanker Sharma, said that it is better to eat healthily and make food at home because ready-to-eat foods sold in the market always contain preservatives to prevent them from deteriorating over time. According to him, although snacking has developed rather quickly over the last year, most households still feel that two regular meals a day are necessary to maintain a healthy body.
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