As bite-sized snacks are popping up all across fresh perimeter departments, it is clear that miniature is the movement.

For the consumer, snack sizes provide on-the-go ease, less meal prepping, portion control and overall convenience. While some snack packaging is aimed particularly at kids and school lunches, many snack products are designed for busy adults who do not have the time or the energy to sit down for a full meal.

Mini meals and more

Many suppliers have taken the idea of cross-merchandising and used it within their own snack packs.

At the International Fresh Produce Association’s (IFPA) inaugural Global Produce & Floral Show in Orlando Oct. 27–29, a lot of produce companies were showcasing snack packs that were packed with a lot more than produce.

Packaging sizes varied, but what remained consistent was that each product had a well-rounded assortment of foods containing carbohydrates, protein and fat to comprise a filling, nutritious snack.

Some of the snack packs on the larger side could even be classified as a fully balanced meal, such as Salinas, Calif.-based Taylor Farms’ Mini Meal boxes. They come in the following varieties:

  • Protein Plus Mini Meal: mild cheddar cheese cubes, fresh apples and grapes, a hardboiled egg and flax seed corn chips
  • Sweet & Salty Mini Meal: fresh grapes and apples, Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, a Colby-Jack cheese stick, Ritz Crackers and a mini dark chocolate Ghirardelli square
  • Picnic in the Park Mini Meal: fresh red grapes and apple slices, mild cheddar cheese cubes, a Ghirardelli dark chocolate square, a blend of almonds and dried cranberries and Carr’s Table Water Crackers
  • Butcher Board Mini Meal: fresh red grapes and apple slices, cheese bites, slices of all-natural beef salami and Club crackers
taylor-farms refrigerated displaySource: Sosland Publishing Co.

In addition to the Mini Meal boxes, Taylor Farms has a line of smaller snack packs with 13 different varieties.

Rochester, Minn.-based Reichel Foods also showcased meal-sized snack boxes at the IFPA show under its PRO2snax brand. The larger boxes are called PRO2snax to the Max and come in four different assortments:

  • Baby carrots, turkey sausage bites, mild cheddar cheese and almonds
  • Sweet gala apples, hard boiled egg, white cheddar cheese, dried cranberries and almonds
  • Sliced apples, turkey sausage bites, white cheddar cheese and dried cranberries
  • Sliced apples, hard boiled egg, mild cheddar cheese, dried cranberries and cashews

On the smaller side, Reichel Foods also offers the single-serve PRO2snax packs in the following flavors:

  • Sweet Gala Apples with Almonds
  • Sliced Apples with Mild Cheddar Cheese
  • Carrots with White Cheddar Cheese & Almonds
  • Apples & Cheddar with Cranberries & Cashews
  • Sweet Gala Apples with Cheddar Cheese & Pretzels

For an even smaller snack that is suited for kids, Reichel Foods has the brand Dippin’ Stix, which pairs one serving of apples or carrots with one dipping sauce. There is also a Dippin’ Stix dessert variety that pairs apple slices with chocolate covered caramel bites.

Another brand that showcased snack packs for kids at the IFPA show was Cashmere, Wash.-based Crunch Pak. For a full kid’s meal, Crunch Pak offers Lunch Kitz, and for a smaller but high-protein snack, it has Lunch Bites. Both of these lines have bright, fun packaging with pictures of cartoon characters kids know and love. There is even a Lunch Kitz featuring celebrity JoJo Siwa.

chiquita snack packs in refrigerated displaySource: Sosland Publishing Co.

For snack packs that are a great fit for both kids and adults, Orlando, Fla.-based Fresh Express offers Chiquita Bites. These snack packs are available in five different savory options:

  • Apple wedges, cheddar cheese and pretzels
  • Apple wedges, cheddar cheese and crackers
  • Apple wedges, Monterey Jack, cranberries and cashews
  • Apples wedges, Monterey Jack, cranberries and raisins
  • Apple wedges, cheddar cheese and grapes

The Chiquita Bites line also has smaller snack packs that have just apples, apples and grapes, or apples and caramel.