Snacking trends for 2025
Snacking trends for 2025 continue to evolve. Long gone are the days when a snack’s main job was to satisfy hunger between meals. Depending on the consumer and the need, snacking is more than hunger satiating, it is an intentional sensory experience. Let’s explore my snacking trends for 2025.
Crave factors
Taste and texture continue to be the top crave factors. Mondelēz International’s State of Snacking found globally, 65 per cent of people surveyed are snacking more than they did a year ago. This jumps to 78 per cent among Millennials and Gen-Z. In fact, 71 per cent of Millennials and Gen Z say they’d rather snack all day than stick to a rigid meal schedule.
Of course, the pleasure of taste is a given when choosing a snack. What is highlighted more often than in the past, is texture – think the four “Cs” crunchy, crispy, chewy and crumbly. I featured Crunch: Texture of the Moment in My 2025 food trends forecast. It is one of Whole Foods Market’s Trends Council top 10 anticipated food trends for 2025. From crispy grains and granola to sprouted and fermented nuts to roasted chickpeas and mushroom chips — consumers are increasingly reaching for these items to enhance meals and snacks.
Health factors
Great tasting, healthy snacking is a theme I have been writing and speaking about for over a decade. Today, consumers are creating their own snacks at home, plus they want access to healthier, more diverse snack options at retail. They want familiar, nutrient-dense ingredients presented in convenient and portable formats.
Glanbia Nutritionals’ Healthy Snacking Trends for 2025 confirms while taste and texture remain central to the snacking experience, consumers increasingly gravitate toward better-for-you versions. They report a considerable proportion of US consumers are trying to consume more protein (56%), more fiber (53%), less sugar (58%) and fewer carbs (47%), a trend that’s carrying through to their snack choices. As a result, new use and increased consumption are on the rise for protein-fortified savoury snacks (like protein crackers, pretzels, chips, and popcorn), savoury bean snacks (like lentil and chickpea chips and puffs), low-carb/keto chips and protein cheese puffs and chips.
My book, The Need for Seeds was published in 2016. Nine years later, seeds are gaining more traction for their amazing nutritional properties and crunch factor! Sprinkle, garnish, roast, bake and cook with these must-have, crunchy nutritious seeds to boost the sensory, texture experience of any snack like a delicious avocado toast.
Indulgence and nostalgia factors
I first wrote about permissible indulgence in 2018 for my Bakers Journal Final Proof column. It is a theme that still stands strong today. People want the pleasure of eating their favourite higher calorie sweet or savoury “treat.” Along with permissible indulgent, mini and bite-sized snacks continue to grow as consumers seek portion-control and convenient options of their favourite snacks for a variety of occasions.
Indulgence and nostalgia tap into the emotional side of snacking. It can be relaxing at home on your own with a snack or sharing and socializing with friends and family. Plus, many people are keeping up with the latest social media snack trends focusing on nostalgia. Whatever the occasion, it is evoking or creating new memories during the snacking time. Mondelēz International’s State of Snacking found 79 per cent of consumers globally say food is the one universal love language and 71 per cent say sharing snacks is their love language, up 8 per cent from 2023.
On a personal nostalgic note, over the past two years, I have started a mini Pringles (original) ritual. My older brother and only sibling died unexpectedly in March 2023. As kids growing up, we shared a connection over Pringles (original) as a “special treat.” My brother was a homebody, and I am a traveler. Once I landed safely after every flight, I would text him to let him know I was on the ground. Because that is not possible anymore, each flight since March 2023, I have asked for or purchased a mini can of original Pringles and toasted that sibling connection high in the sky.
Final Thoughts for Snacking trends for 2025
Depending on the consumer and the need, snacking is more than hunger satiating, it is an intentional sensory experience. From crave factors and health to indulgence and nostalgia, the behaviour of intended, thought-out snacking continues to thrive in 2025.