Tastes are changing fast in Japan, where younger consumers are adopting more Western foods, traditional dishes are fusing with Spanish ingredients and snacking is on the rise.
Snacks are increasingly being seen by Chinese consumers as a healthy pitstop between meals, and losing their reputation as indulgent alternatives to traditional meal times.
Universal Robina Corporation (URC) has snapped up New Zealand snack giant Griffin’s Foods for NZ$700m ($606.6m) in a move it says should bolster its presence in the Asian snack sector.
Hershey Netherlands B.V. has signed an agreement to acquire an 80% stake in Chinese confectionery and snack firm Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Company (SGM) - and the remaining 20% in 2015.
Volatile commodity prices, changing consumer trends and a saturated market are some of the key factors that have restricted Australia's snack food manufacturers, says a new report.
