Whether you’re a genuine sports lover or simply a lover of socially snacking, Super Bowl Sunday is a special occasion that creates comradery and feelings of high energy. It’s a time for celebration and community, for joining friends or family around the television while indulging in a wide spread of shareable snacks. Known to be the second highest food and beer consumption day in America (right behind Thanksgiving), a Super Bowl party’s stellar snack lineup is just as important as the football game itself.
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Hyped Up to Chow Down
Super Bowl Sunday offers a chance for brands to get creative with their product marketing by using themed or limited-time-offers to boost sales and brand visibility. LTOs focused around the Super Bowl are guaranteed to help secure your product’s spot on American consumers’ shopping lists for the big day.
Additionally, when it comes to marketing products around game day, brands need to consider the general vibe at a Super Bowl party. People gather to enjoy a casual yet spirited get-together, relish in an American sports tradition, and share in the good times – the food should match this type of environment as well.
Pass Me The Chips
There’s a lot of anticipation around the Super Bowl, as the event takes tailgates and parties to a new level. Party preparation hits maximum impact the week leading up to the game, with hosts finalizing menus featuring an array of finger foods like chicken wings, chips, dips, and other savory snacks. According to an IRI analysis commissioned by snack industry trade association, SNAC International (SNAC), snack food sales climbed 10.3% to $404 million the week leading up to 2019’s Super Bowl. Categories with the greatest sales spikes included tortilla chips, pretzels, potato chips, and dips - both refrigerated and dry mixes.
“The Super Bowl is an important event that is helping to generate sustained marketplace growth in the snacking sector by providing consumers with the products they love responsibly, sustainably and in sync with society’s shared values,” shared Elizabeth Avery, President and CEO of SNAC, in a recent press release.
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The Super Bowl has indeed been instrumental for growth within the snack industry, and other brands should utilize this event-driven demand to promote innovative, snackable products of their own.
Game Day Favorites: Tradition vs Innovation
While snack go-tos like chicken wings and chips will continue to win as game day favorites, marketers should pay attention to the increased use of healthier ingredients within such typically indulgent foods. Given the increasingly popular trend of plant-based proteins and versatile veggies like sweet potatoes and cauliflower, classic tailgate fare will more frequently swap out animal proteins and starch-heavy dishes in favor of items that are better for you, yet still taste and feel indulgent. Think sweet potato chips for nachos, vegetarian chili made with jackfruit, and plant-based buffalo chicken wings.
More Beer, Less Booze
According to an article published by Men’s Fitness, Americans drink 325 million gallons of beer on Super Bowl Sunday. While brands can obviously expect consumers to continue to stock their fridges with cold cans of brew, be mindful of the effect the growing health craze will have. There will still be plenty of beer – just a little less booze. As noted in our Healthy January Trends article, zero-proof beverages -- from boozeless beer and wine to CBD, botanic-infused sodas -- are scoring major points in the 2020 beverage arena. Lighter and lower calorie options like hard seltzers will also be popular on game day, so brands should consider the benefits of cutting down their alcohol content to keep the party going longer.
Super Bowl LIV - A Snackable Victory
Get ready to bring your a-game, as America’s biggest sporting event provides great opportunities for brands to create something new and exciting for their customers. A food or beverage LTO tied to the Super Bowl is the perfect way for your brand to boost consumer interest and sales, and feel victorious.
This series is backed by our Seasonality Initiative where we help our customers develop pipelines of new concepts and flavor ideas for the seasons and major occasions like the Super Bowl.
When most folks think of seasonality it’s normally in preparation of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall; but when consumers, more specifically foodies, think of seasonality it is usually in anticipation of pumpkin spice lattes or breast cancer pink cookies. At Symrise we are constantly looking for ways to innovate and that means going beyond the scope of normal. It also means not only looking for inspiration within, but outside of the box — our box being the food and beverage space.
If you have questions or would like to learn more about our initiative please contact us.
