Popcorn progresses
While popped snacks are gaining considerable attention as one of the up-and-coming sectors of the bagged snacks market, there still appears to be some mileage in the traditional popcorn market, both in the US and Europe.
Gourmet lines, already established in the US, are starting to make their way across the Atlantic, bringing a whole raft of more complex flavors and moving the sector away from its traditional ‘cinema’ image and a simple sweet or salty flavour choice.
Global launches of popcorn recorded by Innova Market Insights rose over 8 per cent in the 12 months to the end of June 2014, equivalent to just five per cent of total snacks launches over that period. The US was the leading individual country in terms of launch numbers, reflecting the size and maturity of its market. It accounted for more than 20 per cent of total introductions, but this was behind Europe, where the large number of countries involved took its share to 36 per cent.
