---
title: "7000-Word Analysis: How to Tell If a Snack Will 'Go Viral'?"
description: "Whether you make or sell snacks, how do you find a hit product? This article explores the product requirements for a snack to become a bestseller. Snacks are divided into two categories: those that fill the stomach and those that keep the mouth busy. The focus here is on the latter, such as braised products, vegetarian snacks, nuts, and candies."
author: "阳光头"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2021-06-16"
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---

# 7000-Word Analysis: How to Tell If a Snack Will 'Go Viral'?

> Whether you make or sell snacks, how do you find a hit product? This article explores the product requirements for a snack to become a bestseller. Snacks are divided into two categories: those that fill the stomach and those that keep the mouth busy. The focus here is on the latter, such as braised products, vegetarian snacks, nuts, and candies.

Whether you make or sell snacks, how do you find a hit product? In this article, we'll look at what a snack product itself needs to meet to become a bestseller.

_"Snacks are divided into two categories based on whether they fill you up: **those that fill the stomach and those that keep the mouth busy**. Here, we won't discuss stomach-filling snacks like pastries and puffed foods, but only mouth-busy snacks like braised products, casual vegetarian snacks, nuts, and candies."_

> **Core Guide:**
>
> **01 What texture sells well?**
>
> **02 What flavors sell well?**
>
> **03 Why do some not sell well while others sell like crazy?**
>
> **04 What price sells well?**
>
> **05 What new products sell well?**

**-01- What texture sells well?**

_"Texture refers to the direct sensation produced by touch and chewing in the mouth, an experience independent of taste."_

The top three meat snacks on Tmall are duck neck, chicken feet, and dried meat slices. Why do these three sell well? What characteristics do they have? Let's break them down one by one.

**1. Why does duck neck sell well?**

Logically, duck neck should be the least likely to become popular.

_1. Is it more appealing to eat? Among duck parts, most people disliked duck neck the most as children._
_2. Is it cheaper? Duck frame is cheaper; when Juewei first launched, a duck frame was only about 2 yuan._
_3. Does it taste better? Duck feet, wings, gizzards, heads... under the same preparation method, they don't necessarily taste worse than duck neck._

So what's the reason?

Apart from the above, the only remaining advantage compared to other duck parts is **it's tough to gnaw on**.

You need your teeth and tongue to separate the meat from the bone and eat it; not only that, if the bone has flavor, you can chew it again.

You can do an experiment. In a dorm, buy duck parts of the same price, distribute them to different people, and start eating together. The one who finishes last will definitely be the one with duck neck.

**2. Why do chicken feet sell well?**

The chicken feet category is interesting. There are many ways to cook chicken in China, with many time-honored brands like Daokou Braised Chicken, Goubangzi, Dezhou Braised Chicken... They also make chicken feet, but none sell well. In the past two years, besides pickled pepper chicken feet, lemon chicken feet have also sold well.

What is the prominent difference between these best-selling chicken feet and their predecessors?

**They are chewy.**

In the descriptions of these chicken feet, you'll find words like Q-弹 (springy), 劲道 (tough), and 爽脆 (crisp). If a foreigner who never eats chicken feet saw this, they'd think Chinese people only eat chewy chicken feet.

The chicken feet we ate as children were mostly soft and sticky. As a snack, they didn't last long. When there was no comparison, it was fine; but with Q-弹 pickled pepper and lemon chicken feet, people are unwilling to buy the old ones because they don't last long—not worth it.

**3. Why do dried meat slices sell well?**

Pure pork doesn't sell well, and pure beef doesn't sell well either. But why do dried meat slices sell well? Why do beef jerky also sell reasonably?

Because they are **chewy**. You tear a piece, chew slowly, and the more you chew, the more flavor you get. People with weak teeth might even get a sore jaw.

Unlike braised or sauce-braised dishes on the dinner table, which are gone in two bites because they're meant to fill the stomach, dried meat slices and jerky are hard to put on the table. One or two plates are fine, but if the whole table is full of them, it's like the host wants to drive the guests away—can you let me eat a proper meal?

Now some manufacturers are trying new products, making soft and sticky pork and beef. How to put it? They're okay for the table, but as snacks, the category won't grow big.

**4. What do they have in common?**

Duck neck, chicken feet, and dried meat slices all sell well. What do they have in common?

**1) They keep the mouth busy.** Each is a master at keeping the mouth busy. **Our original intention in eating snacks is that our mouths are craving, and we want something to keep them busy.** If you can swallow it in one bite and it's gone in a few chews? Such a snack is not worth it at all; no matter how tasty or cheap, few people will repurchase.

**2) They don't fill you up.** If you need to fill your stomach, these won't work. You eat for a long time but don't consume much meat—truly just keeping the mouth busy. This contradicts our existing view that we should eat something that fills us up.

**3) They are addictive.** Just like eating sunflower seeds, you want to eat more and can't stop. Snacks are for keeping the mouth busy, so the more you eat, the more flavorful they become, and they don't fill you up. If you get full after two or three bites, you can't get addicted because your stomach is full. Precisely because they don't fill you up, the more you eat, the more you want.

Basically, their commonalities represent the commonalities of snacks. For example, best-selling candies, nuts, and casual snacks all have these attributes.

If we want to make a snack, we can't waver between filling the stomach and keeping the mouth busy. **Snacks that fill the stomach generally can't keep the mouth busy; snacks that keep the mouth busy are definitely not good for filling the stomach.**

**-02- What flavors sell well?**

Flavor is what we usually call taste.

Basically, for anything we eat, the key to whether it's delicious is flavor. But with so many flavors, which one do consumers like?

**1. Taste: exceptionally delicious**

For stomach-filling foods, as long as they're not unpalatable, you can still eat them because the need is to fill the stomach. Like airline meals, although everyone complains they're not tasty, few people don't eat at all.

But for mouth-busy snacks, if the taste isn't good, it won't work because consumers can simply not eat them. **Consumers eat snacks because they crave, they think of that flavor, and they want to use it to keep their mouths busy.** At this point, you need a delicious taste to stimulate the taste buds; otherwise, you can't eat it.

Delicious? Some might say, isn't that obvious? Every manufacturer says their product is delicious. The key is how to judge.

**You want to eat it again after eating.** If after finishing, you want to eat it again, it's delicious; if you never want to eat it again, it's not.

Suzuki Toshifumi, the founder of 7-Eleven, had strict requirements for this:

> _"Especially for food R&D projects, 7-Eleven's requirements for taste are almost harsh, with an uncompromising evaluation standard.
> For a new product to be released, it must not only get the approval of the product development manager but also be tasted by all senior directors including myself. Only when everyone is satisfied with the taste can it be officially released. Conversely, if someone thinks the taste is mediocre, we will pull the new product back for rework.
> Even if we produce tens of thousands of products daily, I will never compromise on this point. Since we want customers to spend money, manufacturers must pursue the ultimate in food taste. If they just go through the motions, they are likely to lose repeat customers."_

How to make it delicious? Suzuki Toshifumi shared his method:

> _"If we find our product is not as delicious as a highly acclaimed specialty store, we must thoroughly investigate the differences.
> Although some manufacturers might excuse that taste is subjective and everyone's preferences differ, if we quantify elements like unique food materials, ingredients, and seasoning intensity, and analyze them one by one, then 'deliciousness' can be concretized.
> If, after using all methods and repeated research, we still can't make the food tasty, it's wiser to halt the launch plan for the company's reputation. The product development philosophy best reflects the company's business attitude, so we must be strict and strive for perfection."_

So, as a snack, which flavor should we look for?

You can make a flavor accepted by a large group, but you shouldn't make a flavor that's too niche.

How to understand? If you make braised snacks, you can abandon spicy flavors that some regions don't like but suit most young people; but you'd better not touch numbing flavors that only Sichuan and Chongqing people like.

**2. Taste: memorable**

If you like drinking cola, think back. Before deciding to buy cola, did you think of cola's unique taste? Otherwise, since they're all sodas, why not buy 7Up, Sprite, Fanta, or Mirinda, but specifically cola?

**Any snack's repurchase is because we want to recreate the same taste.** And these tastes come with memories.

What does latiao (spicy strips) taste like? Sweet and spicy. Zhou Hei Ya? Sweet and spicy. Pickled pepper chicken feet? Pickled pepper spicy.

When you finish a snack but can't recall its taste, that snack basically won't sell.

**3. Taste: must prevent eating in one bite**

The taste must also prevent you from finishing the snack in one bite.

When you take out a tangerine peel candy and eat it, although it's sour, there's also sweetness, and the sweet-and-sour taste is delicious. But when you chew it up, it feels overly sour.

This might contradict many people's psychology. They think food should be eaten in big bites; why make something that can't be eaten in big bites? That's awkward. Actually, it's not awkward at all. **You only see people eating meals in big bites, but no one eats snacks in big bites.**

Latiao, small fish, duck neck, tangerine peel candy... Why are best-selling snacks all like this, not allowing big bites? Actually, it's not that best-selling snacks are like this by choice, but because of consumer choices.

When a consumer can't finish a pack in one bite and has to eat slowly, they feel that whether it's 0.5 yuan or 1 yuan, the snack is worth it—a 1-yuan item can last this long! If it takes a short time to eat? The consumer will feel it's not worth buying—it's gone after two bites, whether it's 0.5 yuan or 1 yuan.

**-03- Why do some not sell well while others sell like crazy?**

**1. Why do shelled sunflower seeds not sell well, but unshelled ones sell like crazy?**

There's a strange phenomenon. You actually eat the kernel, but shelled kernels don't sell well; instead, unshelled seeds sell well. Why?

Because we need to shell them ourselves, which naturally increases eating time; plus, shelling is a **positive feedback** loop—the more you eat, the more you want to eat.

_"What is positive feedback? When you do something and immediately get a reward, you'll keep doing it. Games are like this: when you cut down a small monster, you either see experience points increase or get equipment drops, which drives you to keep fighting."_

Shelling sunflower seeds is the same. You shell one, eat the kernel as a reward, and then continue shelling. If you don't believe it, try an experiment: just shell seeds and watch others eat. See how long you can last...

It's worth noting that we need to keep the mouth busy, not torture people.

Small snails, small screws. Pure snail meat on the table is rare; they're mostly served with shells. People who like small snails mostly enjoy sucking one out in one go. If you can't suck it out after a while and need a toothpick, they don't like it as much—too much effort.

Similarly, some people like watermelon seeds. Flat ones are fine; you crack the shell and get the kernel in one bite. But if they're curved, people don't like them because you crack for a long time without getting the kernel. Again, too much effort.

If you remove the mouth-busy characteristic, it's hard for the product to sell well. For example, some manufacturers make snacks from pure snail meat; you can imagine the outcome.

**2. Why do both peanuts and shelled peanuts sell well?**

Shelled peanuts are similar to sunflower seeds, as mentioned above.

But why do shelled peanuts still sell well?

Peanuts sell well because they can keep the mouth busy for a long time. Shelled sunflower seeds: one kernel can't fill your mouth; you need several at once to get some chewing sensation and slightly keep the mouth busy. But peanuts? Even one in your mouth requires chewing for a while.

Moreover, **the peanuts we eat are mostly hard and crispy**.

Are there soft peanuts? Of course, there are salted peanuts, but you need to shell them. Some manufacturers make soft peanuts, and they don't sell well.

**3. Why do best-selling pickled pepper chicken feet come in small sections?**

From our childhood memories, we ate whole chicken feet. Manufacturers and distributors call these single feet "single claws." But pickled pepper chicken feet were the first to be cut into small sections. Of course, single claws with pickled pepper flavor also sell, but their volume can't match the cut sections.

Isn't that strange? We've always eaten whole ones, and single pickled pepper chicken feet sell well, so why do consumers prefer them cut into sections?

The inventor probably didn't expect it either. They cut them into sections for better flavor absorption, and also for broken claws and cost issues. But these don't matter; they're just the manufacturer's one-sided approach because they have nothing to do with consumers. The key is: why do consumers prefer them?

**It increases mouth-busy time.** When you get a whole chicken foot, how do you eat it? Don't you have to gnaw it all in one go? If it's in small sections, you can finish one section and take a breather. This invisibly increases the mouth-busy time.

The same applies to latiao. If you really want to, you can stuff a whole pack in one bite. But each strip is made very thin.

**-04- What price sells well?**

**1. How to set the unit price**

_"On the shelf, there's a new brand you've never seen, with two specifications priced at 2 yuan and 5 yuan. Which would you choose?"_

From a loss aversion perspective, a 2-yuan snack feels like a low trial cost; even if it's not tasty, you only waste 2 yuan, so you might try it. A 5-yuan price raises the trial cost; if it's not tasty, you lose 5 yuan, so consumers are likely not even willing to try.

Therefore, **the unit price of snacks should be as low as possible**. Low unit price doesn't mean your value per kilogram is low, but that each pack's price shouldn't be high.

From price levels, you can also see that **consumers prefer products that sound cheap, not those that sound expensive, regardless of your product's value.**

If you often buy groceries, you'll see that high-value seasonings are priced per 50 grams.

More obvious are deli stores. The original model was price per 500 grams, but now they've changed to mostly pricing per 250 grams. Some braised foods are even sold by box, making the price look lower.

**2. Try not to set high unit prices**

**Many manufacturers have the same product in multiple specifications. Why can the expensive ones still sell?**

The premise for this specification to sell is that **you've previously bought its smaller specification**. Take common cola: initially, people drink small bottles or glass bottles, and only later, when they think large bottles are more cost-effective, do they buy large ones. Even so, small bottles still have the highest sales.

Another obvious example is the rise of bulk packaging (called "hand-grab packs" in some places). Even for unknown brands, the price per 500 grams is high, but consumers are more willing to try because if you pick one or two packs, the unit price per pack isn't high; but if you choose its fixed packaging (with specifications), the unit price looks higher. In fact, per kilogram, bulk products are more expensive than fixed packaging.

Some products come out with high prices, yet they still sell. Why?

_1) Either it's a brand;_ _2) Or they spend money to dominate the market with ads, displays, and shelf space;_ _3) Or the entire category is high-priced; for example, beef jerky._

Even if the whole category is high-priced, lower-priced products still sell better than higher-priced ones.

**3. Which value products to choose**

_"Among snacks, why do pure chicken and duck meat not sell well? Offcuts like chicken feet, duck neck, duck feet, and duck frame sell much better?"_

Besides longer eating time, these are cheaper.

Chicken feet, duck neck, and offal have historically been eaten less by Chinese people because of their strong smell. But food shortages forced the poor to eat these offcuts as a treat. Over time, many cooking methods were developed to remove the smell and make them edible as meat, gradually forming a unique Chinese eating habit—these are basically not eaten abroad.

**Not just snacks; Chinese dining tables follow the same pattern.**

Take Chongqing spicy hotpot: it originated with Chuanjiang trackers, who cooked and ate offcuts like beef and mutton organs that others discarded.

The origin of Sichuan cuisine is similar. In the Qing Dynasty, Shandong and Cantonese cuisines were revered because they used better ingredients. But modern Sichuan cuisine has become the largest cuisine nationwide. Besides the spicy flavor that stimulates people's love, Sichuan cooking methods also remove the smell from offcuts and turn them into delicious dishes.

And the most important point is that it's precisely the use of all kinds of ingredients that made Sichuan cuisine the largest—because everyone can afford it.

Looking at the history of Chinese eating, it's a history of continuously introducing offcuts as delicacies.

Take duck neck: 20 years ago, before Juewei and Zhou Hei Ya, who would consider duck neck a delicacy?

**4. How to price by referencing competitors**

A new product, even if more expensive than similar products, shouldn't be outrageously expensive; even so, you must clearly explain where the extra cost lies; even if explained, consumers must be able to compare and see where the value is.

Take a single duck foot. If others sell a similar product for 3 yuan, and it's a branded product, but you insist on selling for 6 yuan, then even if consumers buy it, they'll buy it with a magnifying glass:

**Is it much bigger than other products?** — It might be a bit bigger, but not much.

**What aspects are better?** — Well, I've trimmed the nails, and it tastes better...

When consumers taste it, they'll think, "Is this twice as delicious as other duck feet? Impossible! Not worth it at all."

Unless it's boneless duck feet, or it's the best of the best among free-range duck feet... If you haven't made such a fundamental change, don't raise the price too much. Even if you've advertised and invested in market costs.

Whether it's a differentiated product or not, as long as the essence is still that product, no matter the flavor, you can't price much higher than competitors.

In terms of pricing, Lao Gan Ma is the ultimate example. Lao Gan Ma keeps profits so low that latecomers have no desire to compete and can only set higher unit prices.

How to price? Here's a method.

_1. When the competitor is the best-selling in the category;_ _2. Consumers can name its brand;_ _3. It's basically the highest-priced in the category._

At this point, if you're not a brand and don't have support from ads, displays, or shelf space, no matter how great your competitive strategy is, you need to price lower than the competitor. Unless your product is fundamentally different.

To summarize, what characteristics do best-selling snacks have?

> **Long eating time:** Whether it's flavor, packaging size, or product size, follow this rule;
> **Prominent flavor:** Not only delicious but also memorable;
> **Low price:** The key is that the unit price shouldn't be expensive.

Actually, throughout this article, I've been saying one thing: whether this snack is worth it.

Are there such new products? Many. For example:

**-05- What new products sell well?**

**【Lemon Chicken Feet】**

**1. The past of lemon chicken feet**

Two years before lemon chicken feet rose, a vinegar-pickled chicken foot tried to carve out a share of the pickled pepper chicken feet market.

It's similar to pickled pepper chicken feet: refreshing, chewy, sour and spicy. Unlike pickled pepper chicken feet, its color is light soy sauce color. Another difference: although it's also sour and spicy, its sourness is far less natural than pickled pepper's; it's vinegar-pickled.

**2. The present of lemon chicken feet**

Since vinegar's sourness wasn't good enough, some manufacturers directly thought of lemon's sourness and started developing lemon chicken feet.

But lemon's sourness has a problem: lemon juice loses its fresh aroma over time. What to do? Right, online sales! Express delivery with free shipping, arriving within 7 days, plus ice packs, perfectly solves it.

After lemon chicken feet took the top spot in Taobao's chicken feet category, many manufacturers were unconvinced and launched bagged and boxed lemon chicken feet with longer shelf life, but there's always an unresolved issue—the lemon aroma.

Although they can sell some products now, in the long run, consumers will eliminate "lemon chicken feet" without lemon aroma.

**3. Reasons for selling well**

The first is **taste**. Adding lemon to pickled pepper chicken feet makes the sourness more natural (whether or not it's added, consumers think it's better—because the name "lemon" itself implies sourness);

The second is **color**. Lemon chicken feet perfectly inherit everything from pickled pepper chicken feet—refreshing, chewy, sour and spicy—and discard the unnatural white color of pickled pepper chicken feet;

The third is **freshness**. Most come with ice packs and are delivered fresh throughout. Not to mention anything else, just this appearance will impress consumers—this is fresher.

**4. The future of lemon chicken feet**

You might say I missed that lemon chicken feet are also boneless.

Actually, boneless isn't necessarily the best form for chicken feet.

**1) Time.** Although boneless chicken feet have some chewiness, the eating time is far shorter than with bones;

**2) Price.** Boneless chicken feet don't keep the mouth busy long, but they include labor costs, making them much more expensive;

**3) Essence.** What's the essence of eating chicken feet? Gnawing on bones. Like ribs: if you remove the meat from the bones, would you still eat them?

What do you think? Do you think lemon chicken feet have a future?

About the author: Sunshine Head, focused on food marketing for 10 years, repeatedly failed but kept trying. Main focus: corporate strategy and marketing, skilled at using unconventional logic to interpret business truths. After ten years of sharpening a sword, I'm now sharing my past 10 years of entrepreneurial experience with you, providing a practical and rich guide to avoid pitfalls. I also welcome discussion and exchange with friends.

Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted.


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