Exclusive: FMCG Gurus set to offer key trends insights for World Confectionery Conference 2024
pic: shutterstock
Our 2024 edition of the World Confectionery Conference is fast taking shape, with Ben Nice, senior business development manager at FMCG Gurus insights group the latest to be confirmed.
Neill Barston quizzes him on key sector trends.
With our plans swiftly coming together for our Brussels edition of the World Confectionery Conference, navigating latest industry trends is set to be of central importance to the event.
This year, our keynote speakers will include the likes of Caobisco European confectionery trade association, Ferrero, Cargill, Tony’s Chocolonely, and now FMCG Gurus and Mintel, which will once again be shining a light on some underlying consumer trends that are shaping 2024.
Ben Nice, pictured below, business development manager at FMCG Gurus offers some key insights into life in the industry, and trends that are shaping 2024. While the sector will no doubt evolve over the coming months before we arrive at our event on 12 September at the Brussels NHow Hotel, the first quarter of this year is already posing some notable tests and opportunities.
Q: Welcome to the World Confectionery Conference 2024 edition, how do you feel about coming on board as a speaker this year?
A: I am really looking forward to this event, my colleagues Will and Mike have spoken at previous events and told me that the event is incredibly informative, with great speakers who are passionate about their subjects, and that there is a collective effort to determine how is the best way for the industry to continue to move forward in terms of meeting consumer needs in the most ethical, efficient, and resourceful way, whilst maintaining value added in an era of price inflation.
The global confectionery and snacks markets are together worth hundreds of billions around the world, what makes these segments special in your view?
The phrase snacking is so subjective. It covers so many consumption occasions, categories, and need states. This means it cannot be treated as one homogeneous market, especially as the concept of what constitutes a meal, and a snack becomes more blurred. This means that the basic need states of value, indulgence, convenience, nutrition, and sustainability, can manifest in product categories in different ways. The implications of this are that it brings such a wide range of people into the market, with different backgrounds and priorities, who can provide great insight that offers category and cross-category innovation.
What new ingredients or flavour trends have caught your attention in the past year, and is there enough innovation happening in the wider sector?
Retro, comfort, and simplicity are key trends that we are seeing in product categories such as chocolate, confectionery, and potato chips. Comfort snacking is common now for escapism purposes and stress alleviation, and this drives consumers towards products that they know and trust, offer feelings of nostalgia, and offer those “home comforts” that they associate with stress-free and simpler times. This aligns with the wider trend of mood enhancement, with consumers seeking out products that make them feel good as they place greater emphasis on the basic principle of happiness, seeking out products to help facilitate this.
The industry is facing a number of challenges in pricing, supply chains and consumer demands – what do you believe are the biggest market tests?
Obviously there are a lot of macro-economic challenges facing the market, from rising prices, to supply shortages, to ethnocentric attitudes based on foreign and national policy, that can shape the industry, and something brands obviously must consider. However, from a consumer perspective, I think the biggest challenge is one that is simpler to address, and that is, the notion of guilt that can emerge from snacking, both from a cost and health perspective. Self-care and self-worth are important to consumers, and they don’t want to feel bad for enjoying a moment of indulgence, especially given all the stress they are subject to, I think these areas of stress alleviation, guilt-free consumption, and permissible indulgence, are the areas that brands have to focus on and help address and meet.
One of the key findings from an FMCG Gurus study recently concerned the fact 53% of people are actively looking to reduce their spending. How is this anticipated to impact the confectionery industry in your view?
When evaluating spending habits, attitude/behaviour gaps must be taken into consideration. It must be remembered that consumers do not like feelings of compromise, and the psychology of budgeting means that consumers will often say they are reducing spend on items deemed less healthy, so that they can use this as an opportunity to improve their well-being – making them feel that they are taking control of the situation and doing it by choice, as opposed to reduced spending being a financial necessity. However, whether consumers do reduce spending on snacking items, especially those that they turn to for comfort purposes, in the long-term, is something else.
Sustainability has informed a lot of our writing at Confectionery Production – how much of this is now being driven by consumer demands?
Sustainability is a key issue within the snacking market no doubt, especially those products synonymous with extended supply chains or with ingredients that are sourced from the least developed economies. Consumers are concerned about the state of the planet and want brands they feel are seen to act responsibly. What is important, however, is to remember that consumers attribute damage to the environment to corporate greed, and this is a mindset that tends to intensify in an era of reduced financial well-being. However, while sustainability claims are important, it is crucial not to overestimate how influential they are. Consumers feel that protecting the planet is more the responsibility of government and big business than the individual. This means that if sustainability claims are going to be truly influential, especially if the product costs a premium, they must be linked to consumer- centric benefits linked to health and quality.
A lot of the FMCG Gurus analysis is based around consumer preference statistics – what is the most surprising data that you have encountered to date?
Something that I found interesting over the last twelve months, when asked what the most appealing health and wellness claim on products, consumers were most likely to say mood enhancement. This was a more popular claim than those related to the gut, despite all the information that we see about digestive health and continued innovation around the microbiome. I think what that said to me was that whilst consumers are focused on long-term health, and like the idea of customised products, it is important to remember that a back-to-basic mentality is governing consumer behaviour and that from a health perspective, more emphasis is being placed on traits such as happiness and the ability to be relaxed. It shows that innovation around health and wellness in the snacking market doesn’t need to be radically innovative and forward-thinking, and there is scope to focus on those basic health needs that help consumers get through the day.
You have been with the company now for nearly five years, what do you enjoy most about your role and how would you describe an average day?
The most enjoyable element of my job, without a doubt, is finding solutions for our clients. We work with multinationals who have a global scale, to small operators with a single country focus, all with different obligations, and different budgets. What is great is working with clients to decipher what their key goals are, and how we can help them with strategic advice and solutions to deal with their myriad needs. One of the greatest parts of this is developing long-term relationships and trust which means we can work with clients on various projects.
What has been your biggest personal challenge with work so far?
One of the biggest challenges over the last five years has been the fast-paced change in the industry due to what has proceeded over the last five years. Having joined the company in 2019, I was not anticipating five years of a pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis, and the risk of global conflicts. All of these have fundamentally changed the way that consumers think and behave, and obviously, the strategies and priorities of businesses. This constant evolution means that we need to be as responsive and understanding as possible to these continuing changing needs, ensuring that our offering is deemed relevant and essential.
Based on your research, is there one product area that you are anticipating will particularly take off in 2024 and beyond?
Mood enhancement will be a key topic over the next couple of years, covering stress anxiety, mood, energy levels, and sleep hygiene. One of the fascinating areas now is the evolution of the energy market. Consumers are feeling fatigued regularly and want to feel fresh and revitalised. This means that they are adopting a broader concept of what constitutes feeling “energetic”, placing as much emphasis on cognitive and brain health as they do on physical well-being. Moreover, continued evolution in terms of new product development, means consumers accept that products are no longer a “necessary evil” moving from a model of an immediate high followed by crash and burn to products that offer a safe and sustained energy boost. The continued evolution of the market combined with the manifestation of energy-boosting claims across various categories will be fascinating to observe.
- This year’s World Confectionery Conference is on 12 September at the Brussels NHow Hotel in Belgium, placing sustainability and innovation in the spotlight along with our annual awards. For more details on commercial opportunities for the event, contact Chris Meer, advertising manager at [email protected]
or editorial input to editor Neill Barston at [email protected] To register for this year’s event, visit our dedicated site, confectioneryconference.com
