Kellogg's targets cereal bar potential with new UK launch

Made from seven different wholegrains - wheat, brown rice, oats, barley, triticale, rye and buckwheat - the Kashi bar range aims to target low fat, high fibre positions.

The Kellogg's roll-out is but another example of food makers bringing new, health-positioned products to the eager market.

Indeed, healthier snack products such as cereal bars are carving a significant position in the food market, and eroding sales for traditional snacks.

Recent research, for example, from market researchers Mintel finds the British (the largest European snack market) munched their way through 268 000 tonnes of crisps and snacks this year, a 12 per cent fall on 2002, when volume sales peaked at around 306 000 tonnes.

Consumers are also spending less on these products. In 2002 sales valued €3.5 million (£2.4 billion), but two years later they slipped by 6 per cent to €3.2 million.

Healthier eating trends, near market saturation and competition from alternative healthier snacking products such as cereal bars and dried fruit are all charged with digging into the market, threatening existing sales and future growth.

Contrary to crisps and savoury snacks that, in particular, suffer from a real image problem due to the perception that they have high fat, high salt levels, cereal bars are picking up.

And the market is far from saturated.

Western Europe's cereal bars market is 'massively under-exploited'​, according to a report last year from market research analysts Datamonitor.​

The product accounts for only 5 per cent of confectionery sales in some markets and yet confectionery overall is currently reaching saturation - in western Europe annual growth has slowed to around 2.5 per cent.

Kashi from Kellogg's is available in two variants, Original and Honey, with no added fat, salt or sugar - the honey variant is sweetened with honey and brown sugar.

The firm claims the product is already "market leading"​ in the US.

UK sweeteners firm Tate & Lyle recently launched​ a new 'rebalance system' for cereal bar makers looking to slash carbohydrate and sugar levels.

The London-based firm rolled out two liquid blends: the former combining low calorie bulking agents and low calorie sweeteners such as polydextrose; the latter with low calorie bulking agents and fructose.