How Snack Companies Are Cashing in on ‘Little Treat Culture’

These days, every moment is designed to be an indulgence.

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Members of Gen Z now range in age from 12 to 27, and the snack industry is keeping a close eye on how they spend their money.

Much as millennials stand accused of killing various industries thanks to their insatiable appetite for avocado toast, Gen Z is defined by its so-called “little treat culture,” or small purchases and sweet moments to fend off the general malaise of the current moment. Is it any wonder, then, that so many snack companies are releasing new products designed specifically to cater to said treat culture?

Tate’s Bake Shop, bakers of crispy chocolate chip cookies beloved nationwide, recently announced that its bite-sized Tiny Tate’s cookies (launched in 2015) are now available in larger-format 5.5-ounce resealable bags optimized for on-the-go snacking. While that’s an added convenience for just about anyone, a Tate’s representative noted to Food & Wine that the company aims to appeal to Gen Z’s snacking habits, which are shaped by social media trends around treat culture.

Related: Here Are the Most Popular Snacks in America, Per State

Hostess, too, is cashing in on the idea of a “little treat.” In March, the brand debuted Meltamors, snack cakes designed to be microwaved for a few seconds to render the chocolate or caramel center warm and gooey like a lava cake, bringing “carefree joy to everyday moments,” as marketing VP Chris Balach said in the press release. In early 2023, the Kansas-based brand also launched its new Kazbars in various sizes and formats, tailored to various snacking occasions.

Snack companies are even putting some serious market research into studying Gen Z’s unique relationship to snacks. Loacker, maker of Quadratini wafer snacks, conducted a survey of 1,700 U.S. adults last year and found that “Gen Z and Millennials place a higher priority on balancing great taste with high-quality ingredients that support their lifestyle choices” and that “73% of Gen Z respondents cited quality as a key influence in how they choose sweet snacks now, compared to 50% of adults over 60.” Perhaps as a response to those very findings, Loacker recently rolled out a new on-the-go pack for its dark chocolate wafers “designed to lightly sweeten every occasion.”

Related: How to Pair Wines With Party Snacks

“We believe in the power of intentional indulgence and celebrating the small moments that bring us joy,” Loacker USA president TJ Rooney said in the statement. “We are delighted to offer our popular dark chocolate wafers in a convenient format for anyone to enjoy at any time of day, no matter where they are.”

Meeting Gen Z consumers where they are is proving to be big business, and no snack company wants to be left in the dust, peddling only family-size packages while everyone else’s products can be tossed in a purse or backpack. As retail insights agency Acosta Group pointed out, one of the biggest areas for opportunity in the snack and confectionery categories right now is to “create promotional pricing strategies that encourage impulse buys, reassuring shoppers that it’s okay to treat themselves.”

Related: Americans Are Turning to Comfort Foods Like Cereal, Snacks, and Ice Cream, Sales Show

By offering popular items in “treat” formats, manufacturers can lure more types of buyers at once, while also playing into the idea of treat culture that doubles as a marketing strategy. And of course, as Yahoo’s In The Know points out, TikTok is instrumental to this phenomenon as well. An endless parade of snacks gives influencers something to sell, and the rise of shoppable content on this platform and others means that users can instantly indulge their curiosity about a product they see their favorite content creators taste-testing.

We all love a little treat now and then, but the snack industry, aided by social media, is making sure we never have a craving that isn’t instantaneously satisfied.

Now the question is: Is that a good thing?

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