Nutrition Bars: An Increasing Trend

Americans are in a hurry, and drive-thrus, internet shopping, TV dinners and meal-delivery services are only a few examples of how fast and instant our society is. But often, the market for quick meals is littered with processed, high-calorie, high-fat foods. For those looking for healthy alternatives, the gap between quick and healthy is narrowing, with the rise of nutritional bars. The grab-and-go benefits of nutritional bars fits right into the consumer market, driven by the fast, quick and “now” way of life. Nutritional bars are swarming grocery stores aisles, adding convenience and nutrition to the shelves.

Bars are targeted toward consumers’ unique needs, such as women’s health, energy bars, protein bars, cholesterol management, sports nutrition and kids’ bars. Jay Robb, founder of Jay Robb Corp., feels sales of bars are on the rise because of accessibility and health. “Bars allow for a person to munch on something healthy, instead of reaching for a traditional candy bar or a caffeine-laced soda, coffee or energy drink.”

Veronica Bosgraaf, founder of PureBar, added, “We are a busy society, but we are also becoming more aware of making purposeful choices in our lives, like with the foods we eat, the cars we drive, how we spend our valuable time, etc.”

And Rob Hurlbut, CEO, Attune Foods, agreed: “Consumers are increasingly looking for convenient, great tasting ways of staying healthy. Bars are a good fit for busy lifestyles because they fit in a purse, backpack or suitcase.”

According to AIBOnline.org, the nutritional health bars total category sales in 2004 (52 weeks ending in December 2004) was more than $656 million. The Atkins bar lead, with more than $120 million in sales, and Clif Bar came in fourth, at almost $60 million in sales. Numbers were down in 2005 (52 weeks ending October 2005) with nutritional health bars total category sales at more than $529 million. Zone Perfect led the charts with almost $53 million in sales, and Clif LUNA followed at $34 million.

Kerry Ingredients & Flavours Inc. conducted an online consumer study in May 2008 of weight management and energy/performance bar users. A total of 441 responded to the survey, with 67 percent of respondents saying they’d eaten a weight management bar in the past 30 days, an average of 9.4 food bars over the 30-day period. Candy bars led as the most consumed food bar at 71 percent; granola bars at 64 percent; cereal breakfast bars at 63 percent; and energy and performance bars at 58 percent.