• by Karlene Lukovitz , May 13, 2009

As snacks increasingly become meal replacements, options that manage to combine good nutrition, taste and portability are best positioned for success, confirms a new "Snack Foods Culinary Trend Mapping Report" from Packaged Facts and the Center for Culinary Development (CCD).

Snacks now account for 21% of all meals consumed, and about one-quarter come from restaurants, according to The NPD Group.

As a result, reports PF/CCD, demand for restaurant quality in snacks is on the rise. At-home snack products are being influenced by high-end restaurant trends such as "gastropubs" (pub settings emphasizing bold, upscale nibbles and small portions), cicchetti (Venetian-inspired little snacks, including mini-sandwiches and olives) and izakaya dishes (Japanese sake bar-inspired chicken wings, salted soybeans and grilled short ribs).

One just-emerging trend that has been identified is "swanky" or artisanal pork rinds. These are showing up in upscale, metro restaurants and bars and in packaged form at the local level. The bagged varieties are expensive and often made from natural or heritage-bred pork, reflecting the "real meat" movement.

Other new developments identified in the report:

* "Gastro" popcorn: High-end varieties with "vivid" flavors (like curry, black truffles and sharp Parmesan cheese) that appeal primarily to grown-ups. These are being served in trendy restaurants as complements for wines and cocktails or as stand-ins for bread. They are also starting to be offered by a few specialty and fancy-foods retailers.

* Seaweed snacks: The latest-generation of low-calorie, high-nutrition seaweed chips and crackers are inspired by traditional Korean and Japanese diets. These are particularly popular among members of Gen Y, which has grown up on sushi and nori.

Healthful snacks somewhat further along the trend adoption curve include:

* Alternative chips: These chips seek to deliver the taste and crunchiness of traditional chips in more nutritious form, with ingredients such as tubers, corns and parsnips and potato varieties such as sweet, Yukon Gold and Red Bliss.

* Crispy vegetables and legumes: Baked or fried snacks (some dehydrated) that stress nutrition and can help consumers get their daily veggie servings. Typical ingredients include green beans, tomatoes, soybeans and chickpeas.

* Whole-nutrition sweets: Snacks that feed the sweet tooth but also deliver protein and fiber via ingredients such as brown rice, soybeans and lentils.

* Nuts with exotic flavors: Gens X and Y snackers are keen on nut products that emphasize bold flavors such as wasabi, soy sauce, lime and chiles. Baby boomers favor new nut products offering mellower, herb-dominant flavors.