The term “portable pantry” is driving the marketing efforts of successful food companies in Canada. Around the country, before consumers head out for the day, they go through the ritual of rummaging through their pantry and culling together portion-controlled snacks to eat later. It’s the leading snack-food consumption trend in Canada.
Frito-Lay has devised a clever way to capitalize on it with a marketing campaign that introduces some of its snack products in single-serve variety packs. The company is supporting the new packaging format with humorous television commercials making light of the difficulty of fitting fun into a small space.
NPD Group reports that this consumption ritual is part of what it describes as the “Pick’n’Pack” meal, in which time-stressed consumers simply pick from a variety of prepared, prepackaged foods in the pantry and place them into a receptacle they take with them. Or, they stash varieties of a snack food in their drawer at the office or in their backpack as a convenient alternative to taking time out of their day to visit the neighborhood convenience store.
Sebastian Brandt, Director of Marketing, Frito-Lay Canada, tells Food in Canada that Frito-Lay’s new single-serve variety packs create new usage occasions by addressing snacking occasions the company previously hadn’t considered in its marketing strategy.
