Healthy doesn't always mean low-fat, says biscuit maker

Consumer insight research conducted by Northern Foods has revealed a revolution in the characteristics consumers associate with health food.

Before developing its Naturally Fox's biscuit range, the company asked consumers what they were looking for in a healthy biscuit. Fox's brand manager Francesca Davies says that two or three years ago most consumers would have said low-fat was the key requirement, but the latest research shows that people see clean-label as the new healthy.

"Low-fat was way down the list of priorities," she says. "Now consumers want simple products with a wholesome taste, where you don't need a science degree to understand the ingredients list." The new biscuit's ingredients list is minimal. "There's nothing for consumers to shy away from," she says.

The company doesn't believe that it is misleading to give the new product a health positioning, even though it is made with butter and has a high sugar content. "Consumers are more switched on these days. Health conscious shoppers will look at the label to know the exact nutrient profile," Davies explains.

Previously, the company didn't spend as much time on consumer insight research, which often led to the firm getting too involved with the product and forgetting about the end consumer, she says. "We used to cut corners, but you need to involve the customer the whole way through."

The largest section in the £1.8bn biscuit category is chocolate biscuit bars, but this sector is in decline and the healthy biscuit sector, which is in second place, is stealing from its market share, claims Davies.

"At the moment 80% of brands in the health sector are diet brands, but in the future we'll see this replaced by more wholesome products," she says. She also claims that in a taste test, consumers strongly preferred Naturally Fox's to rival, McVities Go Ahead. "Eventually, we see ourselves as knocking them out," says Davies.