The Comprehensive Guide To Office Snacks

Combating the mid-morning slump? Trying to power through back-to-back meetings? Need a creativity boost for your next project? Struggling to find an icebreaker for mingling with your coworkers? Funny enough, office snacks are the solution to ALL of these challenges.

Top technology companies across the globe, like Google and Facebook, popularized employee perks like large office kitchens, office snack displays, and coffee-shop-style setups that could rival Starbucks. They knew that office food services save employees $2-26 per day, making yearly salaries travel farther, and are a talent acquisition and employee engagement machine.

It’s always cheaper to retain talent than to acquire new, which is why 32% of companies offer complimentary food, and doing so can see employee job satisfaction increase by a whopping 67%. On the talent acquisition front, the data speaks for itself. A recent study showed that more than 60% of employees would change jobs for a better free food perk.

Office Snack Trends

Office snacks are our love language. Our incredible team on the ground hooks up over 300+ offices across the globe with premium office snacks, coffee, and beverages. What makes Crafty the obvious choice for those looking to streamline their efforts is our revolutionary technology suite.

Our central dashboard provides top workplaces with complete transparency into their food and beverage programs. It rounds up all the reports across every location into one place, including operations status, consumption data, budget tracking, orders, invoices, and so much more. Want a peek beneath the hood?

We dived into our clients' consumption data to find what’s trending in the office snack world, and here’s what we found:

• The average office invested 76% more in their pantry program in 2024.
• A few of the office snack categories that saw the most significant jumps were:
  • Yogurt & Cheese: 129% increase
  • Popcorn & Pretzels: 122% increase
  • Deli: 91% increase
  • Chips & Crackers: 86% increase
  • Spreads: 85% increase
  • Dried Fruit, Nuts, & Trail Mix: 79% increase
  • Bars: 67% increase
• Here's the breakdown of office snack spend:
  • Bars: 8% of spend
  • Sweets & Candy: 6% of spend
  • Chips & Crackers: 6% of spend
  • Dried Fruit, Nuts, & Trail Mix: 5% of spend
  • Yogurt & Cheese: 4% of spend
  • Produce: 4% of spend
• Bananas are still the top office snack

Explore More Office Snack Trends:

• The Ultimate Ingredient Guide for Office Productivity and Wellness
• Brain Food Snack Guide to Boosting Productivity
• What Are the Best Bulk Snacks for Work?
• 4 Key Takeaways from the Vistar North Buying Show
• The Top Office Candy in Your City
• Fall Office Pantry Trends
• The Best Fresh Produce for the Office
• Top Healthy Office Snacks to Keep Productivity and Creativity Flowing

Food Service Insights

While Americans’ obsession with snacking didn’t take hold until the 1950s, smart employers have used food to draw their teams together and increase job satisfaction since the early 1900s. Back then, work conditions were often bleak. Savvy executives at the Larkin Company in Buffalo started offering a paid break and free coffee. In the late 1930s, Hewlett-Packard incorporated this and other benefits into the first employee benefits program.

During the Dot-com boom, technology companies used the power of food to attract and retain talent and provide a way for employees to come together and collaborate. Google co-founder Sergey Brin wanted every employee no further than 200ft. from food at any time. He believed big ideas and innovation would come to fruition if team members and leaders gathered around meals.

Explore the History of Office Snacks>

Explore More Food Service Insights:

• The Ultimate Ingredient Guide for Office Productivity and Wellness
• From Farm to Office Pantry: How Crafty Gets Your Favorite Snacks To Your Desk
• How To Stock an Office Kitchen with Healthy Snacks Your Team Will Love
• The Ultimate Guide to Organizing an Office Snack Station
• How the Hospitality Industry is Influencing The Office Experience

The Ultimate Guide to Creating an Office Kitchen and Pantry

A great office kitchen starts with a smart layout. Ensure that counter space and appliances are arranged in a “work triangle” to make moving about easy. Use durable materials that will stand the test of time, and strategically incorporate lights and skylights to set the mood. Calming colors, entertainment options, and even a Crafty expert on-site to keep your kitchen stocked help create an inviting environment.

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Office Snacks = Improved Employee Engagement

A recent Gallup poll found that employee engagement has 3.8 times more effect on employee stress than where they work. As many return to the office, anything an employer can do to improve engagement will improve employee satisfaction, retention, and culture.

The easiest place to start is food! Over 88% of employees believe it’s essential for their employer to provide office snacks, and 92% want their workplace to have coffee breaks and lunch spaces available to socialize and collaborate.

Explore How Snacks at Work Impact Employee Engagement:

• Office Snacks Have Superpowers: How Mini-Meals Help Employee Appreciation
• Muffin Morale & Pantry Productivity: The Power of Office Snacks on Employee Engagement
• How to Pick the Best Employee Appreciation Snacks
• Snack Boxes: A Lifeline for Busy Parents
• How to Ace Employee Engagement
• 8 Proven Employee Engagement Strategies
• Why Your Office Kitchen Layout Matters for Employee Engagement
• 6 Tips to Create Gathering Spaces in Your Office Kitchen

How to Budget for an Office Snack Program

Explore how to budget and maximize every dollar for your corporate food and beverage program, from proper inventory planning, daily insight into your F&B budget, and reliable food service management. The Corporate Travel Index reported that offices with 100 employees spend between $78,000 to $208,000 annually for office snacks.

It may seem like a lot, but the International Labour Organization (ILO) stats show that the overall return on investment in catered lunches is 150%. At the same time, Harvard Business Professor James Heskett indicates that companies with an employee-centered culture can increase revenue by up to four times.

Explore How Leading Companies Create an Office Snack Service Within Budget:

• The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Budget for Your Office Pantry
• Is Your Office Pantry Program Giving ROI?
• 5 Tips to Save on Your Corporate Food Service Program
• How to Maximize Your End-of-Year Office Pantry Budget
• Tap an Expert: How to Create an Ideal Office Pantry Lineup
• Solve the Perk Paradox: How Crafty Aligns Your Office Pantry Program Budget to Your Ideal Experience
• The Best Office Coffee Products for Every Price Point
• The Best Office Drinks for Every Price Point
• Top Snack Bars at Every Price Point
• The Top Vegan Office Snacks at Every Price Point

Create an Inclusive Office Snack Service

60% of Americans report dietary restrictions, which makes it crucial to be mindful of these preferences in your office snack program. Crafty is uniquely positioned to help businesses keep a well-stocked office kitchen where everyone will find something to satisfy their cravings. Our diverse product catalog has hundreds of items catering to dietary restrictions, values, and goals.

Explore How to Create a Healthy and Value-Driven Snack Program:

• Healthy Snacks for Work:
  • Top Healthy Office Snacks to Keep Productivity and Creativity Flowing
  • How To Stock an Office Kitchen with Healthy Snacks Your Team Will Love
• Dietary Preferences:
  • Beginner's Guide to Vegan Office Snacks
  • The Beginner's Guide to Gluten-Free Office Snacks
  • Beginner's Guide to Keto Office Snacks
• DEI
  • The Foodie's Guide to Celebrating Black History Month
  • The Foodie’s Guide to Native American Heritage Month at Work
  • The Foodie's Guide to Kosher Office Snacks
  • The Foodie’s Guide to Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at Work
• Sustainable Office Snacks
  • Five Steps to Craft a Sustainable Pantry
  • The Best Sustainable Products for Your Office Pantry
  • How the Crafty Platform Minimizes Office Food Waste

Creative Snack Station Ideas

Work may be serious, but at Crafty, we believe office food should be fun. Having the same products day in and day out can get stale, so sometimes it’s good to switch things up. Why not combine two things everyone loves to inspire your next product switch: music and food?

Taylor Swift Snack Station

Inspired by Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras tour, we pair snacks with different eras in her career to show how snacks can set the mood. When Swift burst onto the music scene, her lyrics were heartfelt and comforting, just like our classic Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies. In the Midnight era, it was all about high energy and late nights,  which our Verb Energy Caffeinated Snack Bar perfectly captures. Turn on your Swiftie playlist and have these options displayed in your office kitchen!

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Office Snacks Fit For Queen B

Time to join the snack hive! Take a tasty journey through Beyoncé's discography paired with the perfect office snack to reflect each of Beyoncé's iconic albums. From bubbly and flavorful McBride Sisters Black Girl Magic Brut to hearty SoulFull Project Multigrain Hot Cereal, adding a touch of magic to your office experience.

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