Back to school: Plant-based, organic and convenience trend

23 Aug 2018 --- The summer holidays are coming to an end, heralding in a new school year for millions of children across the globe. The right nutrition is key to learning and parents and students alike will be looking at how they can ensure a healthy, yet convenient, diet that will keep them mentally sharp during the hours they spend in the classroom. NutritionInsight looks at the NPD space of school snacks and packed lunches.

Parental peace of mind
As consumers, in general, become more mindful about their consumption, there is ample opportunity for “back to school” lunch and snacking opportunities that fit in with a healthy lifestyle. Innova Market Insights has noted a compound average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11 percent in food and beverage launches with a school claim from 2013 to 2017, which includes “at school,” “school lunches” and “after school.”

The key aspect here is the so-called “health halo”: natural, unprocessed products that give parents some peace of mind that they are sending their children to school with the right nutrition.

Innova Market Insights further notes that “No Additives/Preservatives” is a growing claim among food and beverage products with a school claim, seeing a CAGR of 36 percent in the period from 2013 to 2017.

Two areas worthy of further NPD in school snacks and lunches are protein and fiber content.

“I’m on the hunt for more snack and lunch options that will keep my three kids feeling fueled and satisfied. I’d love to see more options that feature fiber-filled whole grains and protein, so they aren’t just endlessly munching on processed junk,” Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC, tells NutritionInsight.

“One of the easiest moves parents can make when packing lunches is to look for color (and not Doritos and pink lemonade color) and make sure that there are at least two items – maybe a veggie and a fruit- that bring in some natural color and consequent vitamins and minerals,” Pamela Nisevich Bede, a nutrition expert with swimbikeruneat.com, tells NutritionInsight.

Convenience key?
To mark the start of the school year, Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain surveyed over 2,000 US parents about their morning routines and school year resolutions to find out what the back-to-school morning hustle is really like. According to the results, 84 percent of parents make resolutions for the academic year ahead, but 63 percent of parents break those resolutions, citing lack of energy to keep up.

The biggest challenge parents face in the morning? Getting kids out the door on time. On average, parents skip around two breakfasts a week because their children make them late, even though 8 in 10 parents think breakfast is the most important meal of the day, the survey showed.

These figures show the continued potential for school snack and lunch options that are convenient – both in terms of preparation and use. In this regard, Innova Market Insights data shows that the claim “convenience – packaging” and “convenience – consumption” have both seen moderate growth in terms of new product launches, with CAGRs of 10 percent and 6 percent (2013-2017), respectively.

Nutritionists are calling for more products that are not only convenient, such as lunch-box favorites like potato chips, but are also nutrient-dense and satiating.

“It is so easy to fill a child's lunchbox with processed, prepackaged foods. Carbs abound, [but] it takes clever planning and usually some ice packs in order to provide high-quality protein. I'd like to see the food industry provide ‘clean,’ convenient, affordable high protein snacks, sides, or pouches that are pint-sized,” Nisevich Bede notes.

“In addition to higher protein options, as a registered dietitian, I'd like to see the industry provide education for parents on how to meal prep, how to take advantage of bento boxes, ideas for outside the box healthy snacks that transport well, and other ways for parents to help their kids eat something besides PB&J on white bread with potato chips,” she adds.

Is home cooking best?
Meanwhile, UK dietitians are calling for a renewed focus on cooking skills and home baking to help families eat healthier and reduce health inequalities, following the publication of the second chapter of the Government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy.

Large parts of the government’s Strategy are based around popular packaged and out of home foods. These include companies reducing the amount of sugar that is eaten in cereals, yogurts, sweets, cakes, biscuits and puddings as well as reducing advertising for foods high in sugar and salt to kids and increasing the calorie labeling on out of home food.

With mixed results from the recent Sugar Reduction report from Public Health England, the British Dietetic Association (BDA) is keen to emphasize that one of the best ways for families to control sugar content, portion size and better understand how to balance ingredients within a healthy diet, is by preparing food from scratch at home.

By Lucy Gunn