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While the COVID-19 tailwind that boosted sales for many food brands has long since dissipated, Mars’ Nature’s Bakery bars have weathered this widespread downturn.
“Nature’s Bakery’s momentum continued even as the category slowed.,” Vilma Livas, the brand’s chief marketing officer, said in an interview. “female“We’re on this significant growth trajectory, and I think a big part of it is that we’re helping solve a real problem for parents whose children are looking for healthier snacks.”
Livas said the bar category as a whole is seeing low single-digit volume growth, while Nature’s Bakery’s was closer to 30% last year. It’s also attracting new consumers into the space. Each of Nature’s Bakery’s three categories (oatmeal crumbles, fig bars and brownies) is seeing double-digit growth.
Nature’s Bakery continues to lead the category, attracting bar shoppers at a faster rate than its competitors.
“We are absolutely expanding our market share,” Livas said, noting that the brand has nearly tripled since launching in 2017. “(Consumers) are seeking benefits they can’t find in other brands.”
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Courtesy of Nature’s Bakery.
Nature’s Bakery launched in 2011 with a long list of attributes that are particularly popular with consumers. These bars are dairy-free, nut-free, certified vegan, free from high-fructose corn syrup, and Non-GMO Project Verified.
Mars acquires Nature’s Bakery. In 2020, the maker of Snickers and M&Ms expanded its portfolio of better food brands. Today, Nature’s Bakery is the fourth largest snack bar brand and is available in approximately 100,000 stores, including Target, Walmart and Costco.
The signature fig bar, which comes in seven flavors including raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, peach and apricot, accounts for the lion’s share of the brand’s sales. in 2019Nature’s Bakery launched the Oatmeal Crumble Bar to target millennials who have trouble eating breakfast at home and want a quick meal on the go.
met further strengthened its presence in the desserts and snacks category four years later with the introduction of its first double chocolate brownie bar. Brownie exceeded our initial expectations, Rivas said. This company is introducing salted caramel items this year.
Nature’s Bakery now has a more comprehensive portfolio with products that consumers can purchase throughout the day, including oatmeal crumbles in the morning, figs during the day and brownies at night.
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Courtesy of Nature’s Bakery.
Double chocolate and salted caramel In brownies It has proven popular with young consumers. Nature’s Bakery already has a dominant presence among families with children, so the ability to attract consumers who will soon have children to its brownies is “a great way to recruit long-term for the brand,” Livas said.
Popular bars are looking for a space they have to fill in their category or that other products aren’t sufficiently penetrating. Livas said Nature’s Bakery wants to bring new products to market that energize busy consumers on the go.
“This is one of the spaces that we thought about ourselves. What is Nature’s Bakery’s answer to those needs?” she said
To prepare for further growth, Nature’s Bakery announced in January that it would invest $237 million in a baking facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, capable of producing nearly 1 billion packs per year.
Livas said the snack brand is focused on innovation, although he hasn’t ruled out eventually expanding into other categories.
“Our agenda is pretty full so we don’t feel left out at the bar,” she said. “We can see a future in which we will be present in other parts of the store, but it will require significant resources, so we want to think very carefully about this and make sure we do that when we do. That way, information is provided according to the consumer’s clear needs.”
