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Check out the market trends and consumer preferences shaping the healthy snacks market for 2025 and the opportunities ahead.
The healthy snacks market is evolving rapidly as brands find new ways to balance indulgence with health. Consumers are seeking snacks that satisfy cravings and offer benefits like natural ingredients, protein, fiber, and functional benefits.
Form, function, and flavor drive innovation, with trends pointing toward lower sugar becoming mainstream and more brands incorporating key functional ingredients to stand out in a competitive landscape.
Consumers are reaching for a wide range of healthy snacks, including bars, dairy snacks, nuts and seeds, and meat snacks, while traditional snack foods like salty snacks and sweet bakery products continue to get healthier.
In the past four years, the most prevalent health claims in snack launches globally have pertained to no additives/preservatives (39%), protein (23%), and fiber (23%).1 These recent launches also point to three fast-growing healthy snack niches: immune health (+9.4% CAGR), sugar-free (+9.3%), and low sugar (+8.4%).2
Two in five consumers globally have increased their consumption of healthy snacks over the past year, with healthy snacks now more frequently consumed than indulgent options. 3 56% of consumers have a healthy snack at least once a day compared to 49% for indulgent snack consumption.4
| Natural | 32% |
| Low/less/no sugar | 28% |
| High protein | 27% |
| High fiber | 27% |
| No artificial ingredients | 23% |
While naturalness remains a key element of the perception of a snack as healthy, it’s clear that consumers are also seeking snacks with more of the good (like protein and fiber) and less of the bad (like sugar).
Snack formats are evolving and diversifying in exciting ways, with recent launches showcasing a variety of innovative options. Examples include crispy chocolate protein balls, superfood snack bites, cheddar snack bars, protein shortbread cookies, fruit-flavored protein candy chews, and protein chocolate candy bars.
Overall, bars remain the most health-focused snack category, with four in five new products having some type of health positioning.5 This points to opportunities for healthy innovation not just in format but also in traditional snack segments such as salty snacks, sweet bakery products, and confections.
Functional benefits are another major driver in the healthy snacks market, as consumers are drawn to snacks that offer them something more. Nearly three in four consumers worldwide consider health-promoting ingredients at least some of the time when buying snacks.6
| Protein | 57% |
| Probiotics | 23% |
| Omega-3s | 23% |
| Collagen | 16% |
| Caffeine | 15% |
| Prebiotics | 13% |
| Peptides and amino acids | 8% |
Protein is sought out the most and across generations,7 with the highest rates among Gen X and Millennials.8 In the US and Canada, nearly one in four consumers look for probiotics and omega-3s in their snacks, while about one in six seek collagen and caffeine.9
Flavor plays a crucial role, even for healthy snacks, as three out of five consumers think flavor is the most essential part of a snack.10 While familiar flavors have their place, 42% of US and Canadian consumers like experimental flavors when they seek out snack products.11
Bold, exotic, and fusion flavors all address consumers’ desire for a rich, rewarding, and unique taste experience. Nearly half (49%) of Millennials agree that unique flavors would make a snack seem indulgent, while 52% of consumers overall associate sweet and savory flavor combinations with indulgence.12
Millennials have the highest rate of snacking in the US and have high expectations. Beyond great flavor, snacks that are energy-boosting (49%), contain superfoods (33%), and have a complex texture (26%) would make a snack satisfying to this demographic.13 34% believe no artificial ingredients makes a snack healthy, with this number even higher for Gen X (41%) and Boomers (48%).14
Some consumers also associate healthy snacks with non-GMO (23%), organic (23%), and locally produced ingredients (15%),15 highlighting the value of transparency in sourcing. Transparent labeling aligns with the growing demand for clean-label healthy snacks and builds consumer trust.
Looking ahead, expect to see more creative snack formats and ongoing innovation in indulgent flavors and textures. Efforts toward better-for-you sweet bakery products, confections, and salty snacks, especially through reduced sugar, boosted protein, and added functional ingredients, will be well-rewarded by consumers. At the same time, clean-label attributes will continue to signal a healthier snack.
The strong and growing healthy snacks market presents exciting opportunities for brands to innovate and renovate in format, functional ingredients, and flavor. Aligning product development with consumer insights will position brands for success going forward while providing real value to their consumers.
Contact Glanbia Nutritionals to learn more about our solutions for healthy snacks.
Protein-fortified bars, bites, cookies, and brownies are all good protein snacks. Protein snacking is growing more and more popular, appealing to people on many fronts. Protein snacks are a healthy way to tide you over until mealtime; they provide satiety to help with weight management, and they support muscle recovery after a workout. The sweeter protein snacks like protein cookies and brownies also offer permissible indulgence.
Healthy snacks to eat at night are foods that are convenient, nutritious, and keep you full through the night. Snacks that contain protein or fiber are especially effective at providing satiety. Examples of healthy nighttime snacks are protein bars and bites, yogurts, and snacking cereals with added fiber or protein.
Healthy snacking cheese is cheese in a convenient, portable format, available in a small serving size, that delivers nutritional or even functional benefits. Healthy snacking cheeses range from traditional string cheese that comes individually wrapped to next-gen cheese snacks like baked or dried 100% cheese bars, puffs, and crisps.
While all cheese is known for the nutritional benefits of protein and calcium, some newer snacking cheeses in the market (“plus” cheeses) also offer extra nutrients like vitamins A and B12 or functional ingredients like probiotics. In addition, some healthy snacking cheeses come in exciting sweet or savory flavors, while others are paired with nuts, dried fruits, meats, and crackers in combo packs.
