Since the end of the COVID restrictions in Thailand, people have gradually been spending more and more time outside their homes – for work, and to socialise, exercise, and travel. That being the case, we would expect to see a corresponding growth in out-of-home (OOH) occasions. This, in turn, should drive sales growth as the market recovers from the post-pandemic slowdown.
The snacks category – covering both savoury and sweet segments – is highly relevant to OOH occasions. The fact that people are spending more time outside of home implies that there will be greater consumption of snacking foods out of home.
This is certainly true on a global scale. According to Kantar’s OOH Barometer data, the number of trips worldwide has been rising steadily month by month, driving a 9% boost in spend on snacks in Q2 of 2024 despite inflation slowing.
On the whole, consumers have returned to their pre-pandemic routines of consuming food and drink when they’re out and about. However, they have built new habits and preferences. This means that to fully capture and leverage the opportunities, it’s crucial to go beyond just tracking sales, and delve into consumer behaviour as well.
In a marketplace that’s flooded with options – different categories, brands, segments, variants, or pack sizes – we need to understand Thai shoppers’ evolving motivations and demands. This is especially important as they face an overwhelming number of choices; not just in terms of products offered, but also in where and how they can purchase them.
