Over the years, Oreo cookies have had a few makeovers. The basic premise has stayed the same—it’s a cream filling, sandwiched between two wafers—but that’s just about where the similarities end.
While some iterations of the cookie more or less make sense (orange filling for Halloween, for example), others seems downright outlandish. Limeade, watermelon and lemon twist all sought to bring a fruity flare to the typically chocolate treat, and didn’t meet with the best reception.
All told, Oreo has seen 40 different versions since it was first released in 1912. And that number is about to reach 41, with the introduction of the red velvet Oreo in February 2015.
But this kind of reinvention isn’t just for the sheer pleasure of tickling your taste buds. Mondelēz International, granddaddy of sugary treats and the maker of Oreos, is consistently trying to keep the cookie at the top of the snack food totem pole by reinventing, repackaging and rebranding “America’s favorite cookie”.
This consistent reinvention floods the market with new products. And Mondelēz is hardly the only vendor in the Global Cookies Market doing this. Cambell, Kellogg and Nestlé all take similar approaches, and the influx of new products is leading to growth in the market, at a 4.21 percent CAGR from 2014-2019.
New Products Both a Blessing and a Curse to the Cookie Market
Increased competition in the market is driving vendors to experiment with their products while maintaining taste and quality. Additionally, customer needs and preferences are changing, forcing vendors to adapt.
In recent years, the market has seen increased awareness about the health benefits provided by natural and organic food products. This focus on health and wellness has even extended to more indulgent products like snack food and—you guessed it—cookies.
There is a general belief among many consumers that natural and organic products provide way more nutritional benefits than non-organic ones. Whether or not this is actually true, it’s certainly having an impact on the market.
Overall, the change in consumer preference toward healthy and even eco-friendly food product consumption has led to an increase in the number of companies focusing on manufacturing natural and organic cookies which will, ultimately lead to growth in the global cookies market.
But while the number of products available is boosting market projections, the availability of such a huge range of products has also led to intense competition between vendors. The Global Cookies Market includes regional vendors as well as large multinational corporations with broad product portfolios.
However, many vendors (especially smaller ones) are finding it difficult to compete and survive in the market. Large vendors are engaging in price wars to try to give their products a competitive edge, but maintaining stable pricing can be tricky as the price of raw materials like sugar fluctuate constantly. Vendors in the market will be forced to come up with better quality products and more innovative marketing campaigns in order to stay ahead of the herd through the projected period.
