Packaging Trend Tracker: Chip-and-dip combo packs

Combo packs that include chips along with a dip are slowly starting to emerge in the Indian snacks market.

Inox FMCG, the FMCG arm of multiplex chain Inox Group, has introduced packaged nachos and cheese sauce in different flavour variants. The cheese sauce comes in a sachet within the larger pack of nachos, which could then be used as a container for the chips and dip. This product is meant to be similar to the combos available at Inox theatres.

Inox FMCG Muchos Love Triangle Cheese and Jalapeño Flavoured Nachos with Cheesy Dip contains 50g nachos and 20g dip (Source: Mintel GNPD)

An IIT-grads start-up, Fizzy Foodlabs, which owns the Chef’s Basket brand, has launched a range of flavoured nachos along with a salsa dip in a dual-compartment tray. This just requires the top foil to be peeled off before consumption.

Fizzy Foodlabs’ Colonel & Co PeriPeri Nachos & Salsa is said to be inspired from Portugal and is microwaveable (Source: Mintel GNPD)

Such products offer benefits at multiple levels. The first is, of course, a quick and convenient snackfor consumers that requires no preparation. Across food service, consumers are used to having their chips with a dipping sauce, be it ketchup, mayonnaise, cheese sauce or a number of other options. The above products extend this to a packaged format by giving consumers a combination of flavour and texture to their snack.

Another advantage to this format is giving consumers exposure to sauces and dips from across the globe.

According to Mintel’s Global New Products Database, dip launches have doubled between 2015 and 2016, with products covering cuisines from across the globe, such as hummus, salsa, tzatziki and tartare, among others. The format provides the ideal sampling opportunity by allowing consumers to try out the dips without having to buy a full pack. Consumers may not be willing to buy a full pack of a dip they are unfamiliar with either to avoid wastage if the taste does not appeal or because they find it too expensive. Sample packs help get around these issues in terms of trial, exposure to new products and even price. The same chip-and-dip format can also be extended to other types of snacks, both sweet and savoury.

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