FEATURE
STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
52 ASIAN TRADER 19 SEPTEMBER 2025
retailers to leverage this opportu
nity throughout the day.
Alongside this, our vegan sausages
and burgers, and our halal
sausages, ensure our partners are
able to cater to all students’
dietary requirements too,” says
Owen.
There’s also a Flame Grilled
Quarter Pounder Bacon Cheese
burger that students can pair with
crispy breaded Boneless Chicken
Wings, complete with a pot of
smoky Texas BBQ Dip, to help
retailers maximise sales through
out the day – not just the
lunchtime rush.
Managing the munchies
For fuel between meals students
typically welcome the
world of snacks, and it
behoves retailers to study
which are the ones they
prefer and revert to in
times of study stress.
“We know that
savoury snacking
remains hugely popular
among shoppers,” says
Ed Merrett, Wholesale
Controller at PepsiCo,
who talked to us about
the current snacks scene.
“In fact, 99 per cent of people in
Great Britain are consuming
them and 50 per cent are
purchasing savoury snacks from
convenience outlets, making
bagged savoury snacks the
number one fastest growing
impulse category.”
This means that savoury
snacks are more than ever a
crucial sales driver for the impulse
channel, worth a whopping £6bn
a year and growing at +3.3 per
cent, he adds.
The impulsive nature of
buying savoury snacks means
symbol and independent retailers
are ideally placed to capitalise on
the category, Merrett says:
“Retailers should be keeping a
finger on the pulse and catering
their snack offering towards
popular shopper missions that are
likely to prompt shoppers to
increase their impulse sales and
therefore overall basket spend.”
Merrett also believes that
properly understanding the
habits and preferences of Gen Z
student trends – meaning a focus
on both formats and flavours.
“To deliver on this,” he says,
“retailers should look to stock a
combination of flavours and
formats, so that there is always
something new to try and to keep
these consumers engaged.
In March this year, PepsiCo
relaunched US snack brand
Cheetos in the UK, adding a new
flavour, Fiery Jalapeño and
Cheese (more chillies – the taste
base that grows more popular
every year).
“Alongside this, we also
expanded our Twisted Sweet &
Spicy offering,” he says, “which is
growing +31.1 per cent, into the
convenience channel this April
with updated packaging. This
activity aims to bring a bold,
eye-catching design to the brand
that resonates with Gen Z. “
Gen Z, in case you
didn’t know, is that
cohort of the
population born
between 1997 and
2012: it’s the genera
tion after the dreaded
Millennials, and they
form the vast majority
of the student popula
tion presently, so it is
very much worthwhile
finding out what makes
them tick – and spend.
“Gen Z over-indexes with
loving spice,” confirms Merrett,
and retailers should leverage that
preference by using all the hot
flavours around at the moment, as
the market adapts to their
toleration for spiciness in snacks.
Merrett believes that careful
stocking– and making use of the
PepsiCo’s Max Your Snacks report
(see box-out), retailers can drive
an estimated 16 per cent uplift in
savoury snacks sales.
Something else Gen Z likes – or
expects – is novelty and variety. As
the first properly “digital native”
generation, which has grown up
with a fully functional and
increasingly integrated internet
and smart-phone environment,
they are used to new things and
combinations. To that end,
PepsiCo has launched “That’s
Nuts” which involves coating
peanuts with flavours borrowed
from their crisps catalogue – very
Web 3.0!
“The That’s Nuts line-up is
bursting with the iconic flavours
of known and loved crisp brands
including Walkers Salt & Vinegar
youthful tastes and understand
ing the way that today’s under
graduates are likely to allocate
their budgets as the work to
understand what it means to live
on their own and responsibly
organise all their affairs. The
need for economy will
determine certain staples
and ambient goods, from
baked potatoes and beans
to noodles and rice; but
also there will be beer
and snacks for socialis
ing, an energy drinks for
pulling a late-nighter to
meet an essay deadline.
There will also be the
daily grab and go of
filling up an empty
stomach coming and
going from campus to
home, and the treats at
weekends. It’s a great time of life,
carefree and with expanding
horizons – and it’s the perfect
opportunity to make your store a
part of their lives.
and Smoky Bacon, Doritos Chilli
Heatwave and Flamin’ Hot,
Wotsits Really Cheesy and
Walkers MAX Paprika,”
enthuses Merrett.
This segment has seen
strong growth in recent
years (as Gen X gained in
spending power) but he
thinks there is head
room to drive it further,
“as some shoppers
perceive existing nuts
products to be bland and
boring”.
That’s Nuts is available
at a base RRP of £2.75 per
160g and £1.75 for promo
tions, the 40g SKUs have an
RRP of £1.00. The launch is
set for a starring role in
PepsiCo’s 2025 festive
campaign later in the year.
A new year
Perhaps above all, making the
most of the student opportunity
in 2025 is getting in tune with
How to be uplifted with snacks
Earlier this year Pepsico launched
its Max Your Snacks report, which
offers actionable advice to help
retailers drive an estimated 16%
uplift in savoury snacks sales. Ed Merrett,
Wholesale Controller at PepsiCo, reveals some
of its key insights:
Locating your main snacking fixture close to other impulse
categories, near front of store is important for catching
shopper attention to boost basket spend.
However, retailers should remain mindful of HFSS legislation
and prioritise products that adhere to these rules by stocking
non-HFSS products in key locations.
Secondary sitings in store are vital to the category, particularly
as they prompt unplanned purchases, which account for 60%
of sales in convenience9.
Blocking your main fixture based on key missions makes it
easier for shoppers to find what they are looking for. Retailers
should block by key mission: for later (multipacks), for tonight
(sharing), singles and PMPs.
Retailers should make use of point-of-sale materials, as these
can drive excitement and signpost shoppers towards both
core and new innovations.
In the weeks leading up to key events, such as finals of
sporting events, remind your shoppers to pick up the
essentials with dedicated displays and point of sale material to
help grow sales.