Ryvita is squaring up to Snack-a-Jacks in the growing low fat rice snack sector. Intense competition from Quaker’s strong market leader and uncertainty concerning consumers’ overall willingness to sacrifice taste for health will prove difficult obstacles to overcome. Success will ultimately revolve around the brand’s well-established reputation in health-orientated food.
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Next week will herald the launch of Ryvita’s latest offering – Tondo’s. The low fat rice snack will come in four variants and is the first Ryvita product positioned to be eaten alone rather than used as a base for toppings. All four varieties contain less than 3% fat and come in 35g and 100g foil bags. A national TV campaign is scheduled for later in the year along with product sampling.
The first objective for Tondo’s will surely be to establish a place as a credible alternative to Snack-a-Jacks. But Snack-a-Jacks is the clear market leader and has already forced one competitor out of the market this year. The Snack-a-Jacks brand is widely regarded to have revolutionised healthy snacking, not least through an interesting and innovative product range that combines both savoury and sweet flavours.
Masterfoods admitted defeat last March when it scrapped its low fat snack brand Rispinos. Like Ryvita, Masterfoods had hoped to capitalise on a growing interest in low fat snacks that results from consumers’ desire to continue to eat a balanced diet while on the move. In spite of this trend, Rispinos was well beaten in the battle for category leadership and Masterfoods’ eventual exit, after two years of marketing investment, suggests there may well only be room for one major player.
Furthermore, the jury is still out on whether consumers are willing to forego a tasty snack in favour of a healthier one. Consumers still feel the need to indulge, and current evidence suggests health remains secondary.
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By GlobalDataHowever, Ryvita must avoid positioning Tondo’s as a snack that caters for both health and indulgence since that is likely to transmit conflicting messages to consumers. Instead, given Ryvita’s strong brand reputation for health-orientated food, the company should seek to position Tondo’s as positive part of daily nutrition.
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