What are the hottest snacking trends – and companies - to watch in 2015?

With the percentage of energy derived from snacks in the American diet doubling since the late 1970s, the pressure is on to make those snacking calories count. But what is a healthy snack, and are the boundaries between snacks and meals blurring as consumers graze throughout the day?

To find out, we have put together a panel of some of the best and brightest players in the healthy snacks market to talk about what they’re doing differently, what trends they think have staying power, and where they see the growth opportunities in the next 3-5 years.

In the first 45 minutes of the live, free-to-attend, online 60-minute FoodNavigator-USA Snacking Trends Forum we’ll address the following agenda points.

1 - What is a snack?

2 - And does it have to be healthy? What do consumers want?

3 - What are the hottest trends in snacking?

3 - How difficult is it to launch a new snack product?

5 - What are the biggest challenges you face in your business? 

The remaining 15 minutes will be devoted to Q&A where you can put your questions to our expert panel of snacking entrepreneurs:

SHANE EMMETT - Co-founder & CEO, Health Warrior

Shane-Emmett.jpg

The explosive success of Health Warrior’s 100-calorie chia bars - which were launched in December 2011, went national with Whole Foods in 2012 and are now in 7,000+ stores from Target to Safeway - has in no small part contributed to chia’s stunning rise from niche to mainstream in food culture. But while the last few years have been so action-packed they've felt like “dog years” Emmett says he is still just scratching the surface when it comes to unlocking chia’s potential (click HERE).

NIK INGERSOLL - Co-founder & CMO, Barnana

nik-ingersoll.jpg

You’d be surprised with what you can achieve with a limited budget, a giant inflatable banana, a gorilla suit, and a product that no one else is selling, says the 20-something co-founder of a recent - and very colorful - entrant to the healthy snacking category: Barnana “When you don’t have a big marketing budget, you’ve got to try and do crazy things that will get you a ton of attention, so guerrilla marketing is at the core of what we do,” says Nik Ingersoll. “The banana is America’s #1 selling fruit, but no one’s really branded it.

(Read more about Barnana HERE.)

DAVID CZINN & JOSH KAHN - Co-founders, Fruigees

david-and-josh.jpg

Cousins David Czinn and Josh Kahn first knew they were onto something when they tested their fruit-based snacks in squeeze packs on shoppers at a farmer’s market in LA in 2013. But the big break came in March 2014 when they exhibited at Natural Products Expo West trade show and attracted the attention of Meijer and Kroger (QFC). Today they are in 250 stores but their goal is to be in 2,000 stores by the end of 2015 (click HERE).

JON SEBASTIANI - Founder & CEO, KRAVE Pure Foods

Jon-Sebastiani.jpg

Looking for a healthy snack that is low in fat and calories, high in protein and a bit more tantalizing for the taste buds than your average nutrition bar? Try jerky, says the entrepreneur behind one of the most successful recent entrants to the US food and beverage market - who has just sold his business to Hershey - but will continue to run it from Sonoma, CA.  KRAVE - which is marketed more like Godiva chocolate than Slim Jim - comes in gourmet flavors from ‘basil citrus turkey’ to ‘black cherry barbecue pork’.

SEAN KELLY - CEO, H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Markets

Sean_Kelly.jpg

The entrepreneur who proved vending machines can dispense more than candy and soda and still make a decent return has taken the H.U.M.A.N. Healthy Vending concept to the next level with the launch of a new breed of self-service ‘micro markets’.  Kelly Co-Founded HUMAN in 2008 - an INC 500-listed national network of self-checkout healthy markets and healthy vending machines ranked #1 in its category in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 (Click HERE).

snacks-strip.jpg

REGISTER HERE for the FREE event, which is sponsored by the Almond Board of CaliforniaDairiConceptsMoisturLok from Advanced Ingredients, and Sigma Aldrich.

ST15_Registration_Box.jpg