Loyalty Has a New Flavour
Once upon a time, snack loyalty meant picking up the same chip brand every grocery run. But in 2025, the snack aisle is global, curated by social media, and shaped by mood, novelty, and aesthetics. For customers of international snack shops like InOutSnackz, loyalty is no longer about brand recognition alone — it’s about surprise, discovery, and emotional connection.
This evolution is reshaping how global snack brands build their presence — and how retailers must keep up.
What Modern Snack Loyalty Looks Like
Instead of being loyal to a single product, many snackers today are loyal to a feeling: indulgence, nostalgia, humour, or even rarity. This shift is especially visible among Gen Z and millennial shoppers, who are:
- Following trends on TikTok and Instagram
- Prioritizing unique packaging and limited-time drops
- Shopping from stores that curate for novelty and exclusivity, like InOutSnackz
In fact, customer feedback shows that repeat purchases aren’t always driven by a favourite item — they're often triggered by the chance to try something new from a favourite region or brand category.
The Rise of Regional Snack Loyalty
As Canadian customers gain access to a wider range of international products, we're seeing micro-loyalties form across regions. Some examples include:
- Japanese snack loyalists gravitate toward items like UHA Mikakuto Puccho Cola Chews or Bourbon Petit Chocolate Cookies, known for precision flavor and adorable packaging.
- Filipino snack fans are faithful to ChocNut, Regent sponge cakes, and other nostalgic childhood candies they now seek abroad.
- Korean snack followers often return for Jelly Bongs, Orion Turtle Chips, and Samyang Buldak—yes, even the candy spinoffs.
The loyalty here isn’t always to a single brand—it’s often to a cultural flavour profile, aesthetic, or even a language on the label.
What Keeps Customers Coming Back to an Import Snack Store
For a store like InOutSnackz, fostering snack loyalty isn’t about pushing one best-seller. It’s about creating an ecosystem where returning customers always find:
- Rotating inventory of hard-to-find treats
- Mystery boxes and bundles to satisfy curiosity
- Regional themes (like “Kawaii Japanese Day” or “Spicy Korean Week”) that keep the experience fresh
- Emotional triggers like nostalgia, novelty, and limited drops
These strategies help retailers overcome the challenge of not always having the same product in stock — a common issue when dealing with rotating import inventory.
When Snack Loyalty Breaks (and Why That’s Okay)
In the snack world, disloyalty is often just curiosity in disguise.
Yes, a customer might fall in love with Hello Panda one month and abandon it the next for a bag of Thai Sweet Chili Lays. But that’s not a failure — it’s a feature. Snack loyalty today is cyclical. People return to what they loved, but also chase new favourites with equal enthusiasm.
Retailers who embrace this by offering:
- Curated surprises
- Themed shopping experiences
- Tasting content via social media
…are the ones who build long-term brand loyalty, even if product-level loyalty comes and goes.
Final Bite: Building Brand Loyalty Through Variety
The global snack scene has never been more dynamic, and neither has customer behaviour. Shoppers want to explore, experiment, and engage — and if you give them room to do that, they’ll come back not for the same snack, but for the same store.
At InOutSnackz, the loyalty isn’t just to what you sell — it’s to how you bring joy with every new bite.
