---
title: "Consumers Are Snacking More, But They Aren’t Ditching Three Meals A Day"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/cafa06a5-3451-4f89-a8f9-09b8f30c316c
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/consumers-are-snacking-more-but-they-arent-ditching-three-meals-a-day-4365
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
published: 2016-04-27T15:10:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:11:29.437Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/08abe83387e27a8e30cbdd5d2c88b1eb9528160422124132.png
---

# Consumers Are Snacking More, But They Aren’t Ditching Three Meals A Day

**TL;DR:** Consumers in the U.S. are snacking more, but still maintain their three meals a day habit. The snacking trend is changing the way consumers dine out, with restaurants needing to accommodate a wide variety of appetites.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-04-27. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/consumers-are-snacking-more-but-they-arent-ditching-three-meals-a-day-4365).*

## Story

Eating habits in the U.S. have always revolved around three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. But now there’s a new food trend that’s working its way in between meals—snacking.

According to an article in Restaurant Hospitality, the snacking trend is going strong. Research from consultants at The Hartman Group shows that Americans are snacking all day, blurring the lines between what’s a meal and what’s a snack. The group reports that 90 percent of consumers snack multiple times a day. 80 percent of that snacking is done to fill a physical, emotional or social need, while the other 20 percent is mindless.

But even though more Americans are snacking, standard meal habits aren’t going away. Only seven percent of consumers say they receive all of their calories in the form of snacks. That means that people still routinely find time in their days for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Hartman Group says that dinner is viewed as the most important meal because of its social aspect.

This snacking trend is important for restaurants to note because it’s altering the way consumers dine out. As The Hartman Group says, “Our eating is more fluid overall, as consumers eat whenever and however they want.”

That means that as consumers continue to snack, restaurants will need to accommodate a wide variety of appetites. Customers might not be looking for full meals when they go out to grab a bite—they might be more interested in appetizers or something to share. Snacking might not take away our habit of eating three meals a day, but it is changing the way we eat them. So as snacking habits evolve, the restaurant industry will follow.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- restaurant industry (topic)
- consumer behavior (topic)
- snacking trend (topic)
- meal habits (topic)
- eating habits (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/consumers-are-snacking-more-but-they-arent-ditching-three-meals-a-day-4365). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/cafa06a5-3451-4f89-a8f9-09b8f30c316c).