Middle-East and Africa Energy Bar Market

MEA Energy Bars Market Analysis

The Middle East & Africa Energy Bar Market is expected to register a CAGR of 6.9% during the forecast period.

• Consumers in the MENA region aspire to live better, thus, bridging the gap between nutrition and indulgence. Initially, energy bars were classified as a niche category, designed particularly for sports and athletes personnel. The growing demand for nutritional snacking and changing preference for energy bars as an on-the-go meal replacement is expected to fuel the market for energy bars in Middle East and African region, over the forecast period.
• Good for you' claims have dominated new product launches in the last four years. Availability with various options, from high protein to added fiber and allergen-free, these bars continue to offer consumers a convenient way to supplement their individual fitness, nutrition, and health.
• The e-commerce websites and chain stores have also adopted these health and wellness sections, in order to capture higher sales from the average consumers and daily exercisers.

MEA Energy Bars Market Trends

EVOLVING FITNESS TRENDS AND INCREASING DEMAND FOR INDULGENT ENERGY BARS

The demand for a healthier snack is growing in the region with more preference for high protein and nutrition intact snacks. Innovative flavors, packaging, and convenience attract consumers and drive impulse purchasing. Change in snack consumption patterns with consumers demanding healthier products is expected to continue and fuel the growth of the market. Rising obesity and the diabetic population in the region is another factor triggered the demand for healthy snacking. The annual snack bar sales (including energy bar) in the Middle East & Africa crossed 12.8 million Kg in 2016 and it continues to increase grow at a faster rate. Expanding supermarket/hypermarkets in the region is driving the impulse buying behavior of consumers by offering discounts and multiple varieties.

HYPERMARKET/SUPERMARKET EMERGES AS THE DOMINANT DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

The demand for clean label energy bars with easily recognizable ingredients is also stealing the consumer's attention across various retail formats including hypermarkets/supermarkets. Owing to a huge retail space catering to a wide variety of preferences, the supermarkets/ hypermarkets are dominant channels for the sales of energy bars in the Middle Eastern and North African countries. The positioning of functional snacks drives its sales growth in the mass merchandiser channels, as snack bars and other related products are often placed at the entrance, end of aisles display, in island bins, at the checkout, and/or in the designated snack food aisles that invariably attract consumers' attention.

MEA Energy Bars Industry Overview

Middle-East Energy Bar market is competitive with many foreign players occupying major share. Major players include- General Mills, Inc., Quest Nutrition LLC, Post Holdings, KIND LLC amongst others. New product development is the most adopted strategy, and it is in compliance with the consumer trend, i.e., the target segment helps in better positioning of the company. Athletes and fitness-freak consumers look forward to the content in the energy and protein bars rather than the different flavors in the various category. Companies with products in the energy bars market are benefitting and developing strategies to continue holding their position by introducing new variants in the category. Consumers prefer the innovation, an example of which is the addition of flavors and the inclusion of health-promoting ingredients.

MEA Energy Bars Market Leaders