Potato chips still Australia's favourite snack

It seems Australians’ tastes tend more towards savoury than sweet, with 41% of us snacking on potato chips, 37% crunching on nuts and 32% nibbling on savoury biscuits/crackers in an average seven-day period, according to research conducted by Roy Morgan Research.

Women tend to be more likely than men to opt for snacks that are perceived as healthy, such as nuts (39 vs 35%), savoury biscuits/crackers (35 vs 28%), natural/plain yoghurt (32 vs 20%) and health/muesli/fruit bars (18 vs 15%).

Nutritional value and/or calories appear to be of less concern for men, who are more likely than women to snack on potato chips (44 vs 38%) and corn chips (19 vs 15%) in an average seven days.

Ice-cream is the great leveller, enjoyed by similar proportions of women and men, whether it’s from a tub (27% of women vs 28% of men) or on a stick (19% of both).

Age is also a determining factor in Australians’ snacking habits. 60% of teenagers under 18 and 50% of 18- to 24-year-olds snack on potato chips in the average week, compared with 34% of 50- to 64-year-olds and 23% of those aged 65+.

Australians up to 49 years are more likely than the 50-plus brigade to tuck into everything from lollies to chocolate bars, corn chips and health/muesli/fruit bars.

The more mature demographic enjoys nuts and savoury biscuits/crackers, with 50- to 64-year-olds being the age group most likely to snack on nuts in an average seven days and those aged 65+ being the biggest fans of savoury biscuits/crackers.