When it comes to the nation’s most popular snacks, Australians’ tastes tend more towards savoury than sweet. In an average seven-day period, 41% of us snack on potato chips, 37% snack on nuts, and 32% snack on savoury biscuits/crackers.
But while these salty treats are the nation’s undisputed favourites, sweet snacks outnumber them when we consider the top 15 snacks enjoyed by Aussies 14+, according to the latest findings from Roy Morgan Research.
Women tend to be more likely than men to opt for snacks that are generally considered to be healthy, such as nuts (39% vs 35%), savoury biscuits/crackers (35% vs 28%), natural/plain yoghurt (32% vs 20%) and health/muesli/fruit bars (18% vs 15%).
Nutritional value and/or calories appear to be of less concern for men, who are more likely than women to snack on potato chips (44% vs 38%) and corn chips (19% vs 15%) in an average seven day period.
Age is also a determining factor in Australians’ snacking habits. For example, in any given seven-day period, 60% of teenagers under 18 and 50% of 18-24 year-olds snack on potato chips — compared with 34% of 50-64 year-olds and 23% of those aged 65+.
Younger Australians (and those up to 49 years) are more likely than the 50-plus brigade to tuck into everything from lollies to chocolate bars, corn chips and health/muesli/fruit bars.
Among the more mature demographics, nuts and savoury biscuits/crackers are more popular than potato chips, with 50-64 year-olds being the age group most likely to snack on nuts in an average seven days and Aussies aged 65+ being the biggest fans of savoury biscuits/crackers.
“With two of every five Australians 14+ saying they ‘tend to snack throughout the day’, the snack market in this country is huge. While potato chips remain the nation’s undisputed favourite snack, their popularity varies between men and women and different age groups,” said Angela Smith, group account director, Roy Morgan Research.