New trends brought on by the pandemic and social media have forced the Snack and Beverage industries to pivot in order to meet the demands of their changing consumer base.

As information becomes more widespread and consumers are becoming more selective, snack and soda brands are evolving to stay relevant by changing product development, brand identity, and marketing.

TL;DR: Consumers are making healthier, more informed consumption choices and brands are trying to catch up without taking advantage of them.

Data is Leading Brand Decision Making 

Studies show that Americans are drinking less soda and making more conscious choices about their snacking habits. According to CookingLight, a 2015 study found that soda consumption dropped 25% since the early 90s, and the percentage has definitely increased since. Data doesn’t lie. With the steady decline of soda consumption, marketers are using data to influence product innovation.

A great example of this innovation is the booming seltzer industry. Soda giants like PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company capitalized on the growing interest in this space by introducing their own versions of sparkling water. PepsiCo introduced their line of unsweetened seltzers, bubly, that come in a variety of flavors. With a signature smile, and beloved celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris and Michael Bublé representing the brand, how could they not seem appealing? 

AHA flavored sparkling water launched shortly after their competitor in 2020 and was The Coca-Cola Company’s first new brand in over a decade. They soon rolled out their cheeky “Can I Get an Aha?” campaign to promote the drink. 

Now, thanks to data capturing the preferences of health conscious consumers, consumers get to enjoy their favorite brands with less sugar. 

Consumers are More Informed

The digital age leads to more informed consumers who want healthier options.

Social media is the go-to news outlet and search engine. According to CNBC, YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine (second to Google) and TikTok is close behind. To celebrate its contribution to learning, TikTok released an ad titled “#tiktoktaughtme,” which showcases what people learned from the platform that they would not have learned otherwise. 

The pandemic also slowed down the world to give people a chance to evaluate their health and wellness lifestyles. Trends on social media are influencing how people live. The “clean girl” lifestyle is a recent trend where the aesthetic of being a productive, early-riser who is organized and eats healthy is the goal. 

Cooking videos with healthier snacks have also become all the rage. Emily Mariko’s cooking and lifestyle content goes viral because of her “clean girl” aesthetic and inclusion of healthy snacks/delicious recipes like her Salmon Rice Bowl. As social media perpetuates this health-focused lifestyle with an increased exposure to alternative diet options and behind the scenes look into food production, brands have shifted to adjust in addition to optimizing partnerships with influencers. 

If Something Isn’t Working…Find an Alternative

Water isn’t for everyone, and neither are the traditional exercise drinks.

New adaptations that capitalize on the gap in the market for consumers looking for a “healthier” alternative to a traditional exercise drink or water have risen. 

Brands target young people who are regulars at the gym looking for energy enhancing supplements (like caffeine and B12) to help improve their performance. 

Not all of these exercise drinks are healthy, however. In an attempt to appear healthy, some marketing tactics from brands have shoppers fooled thinking that their products are healthy when they’re actually laced with harmful substances that have been linked to dependency and negative side effects. Despite some brands taking advantage of consumers, marketers can learn from the health wave that shifted people’s perspectives on consumption and use the consumer’s desire for actual health products for good. 

Even though brands are having to shift their products to cater to the new wave of consumer preferences, the consumer is making it easy by laying out their customer profile on social media. These “healthier” people are more inclined to pick up a bag of Hippeas (due to the importance of intentional protein consumption) than Hot Cheetos. Brands can lean into this information and use that to their advantage when brainstorming the next product innovation, marketing strategy, or marketing campaign.