LONDON – Global growth in the meat snack market is alive and well, according to a new report from Technavio that indicates the segment will grow in value by as much as 9 percent annual growth between 2017 and 2021. In its report, “Global Meat Snacks Market 2017-2021,” the research and analysis firm forecasts $3.2 billion incremental growth between the current value of the market for meat snacks ($6.27 billion in 2016) and the value of the segment in 2021 ($9.47 billion).

Technavio attributes the growth to consumers’ “rising awareness of healthy, low calorie, and high protein foods, and a healthy lifestyle.” Among meat snack varieties, jerkies are preferred among US consumers and represent about 50 percent of the global meat. In the jerky category, beef-based products account for 80 percent of that market.

According to the report, convenience store sales of meat snacks represented approximately 53 percent of revenues in 2016. Technavio also identifies the top vendors in the meat snack space, including: Conagra Brands, Hormel Foods, Jack Link’s, Kings Elite Snacks, Marfood USA, The Meatsnacks Group and Tyson Foods. A growing variety of meat snacks offered by these companies and newcomers are expected to fuel the growth in the future.

“The vendors in the market are developing marketing and advertising strategies to increase the use of ready meals among households,” said Sharan Jaganathan, a lead food research analyst with Technavio. “This has increased the demand for meat snacks. The availability of wider varieties will drive the demand in this market during the forecast period.”