How a snack is born一款新零食是如何诞生的

　　Are you feeling peckish? Maybe it's a while until your next meal, so perhaps now you're thinking about reaching for a brightly coloured packet with something delicious inside. Maybe it's time for a snack. You're not alone, we all do it – but just how much work goes into developing and making the snacks that we all know and love?

　　First, companies have to work out what people have an appetite for. Traditionally, they might just have asked people about their snack habits. In today's digital age, apps can ask customers to swipe right on the flavours they fancy. Companies can search the internet for every restaurant menu in a specific market, looking out for the latest taste trends and in-demand ingredients.

　　Snack trends also change over time. When British supermarkets were encouraged to remove unhealthy snacks from the shelves next to where people queue up, companies were quick to provide healthier treats. They can also reflect different histories of migration. One British snack company found that flavours common in South Asian cuisine sold well in the UK, but less so in the US, where there is less of a tradition of Indian food. And demand for more sustainability has led some entrepreneurs to experiment with using insects as an alternative source of protein for snacks. Other brands market themselves as offering a fairer price to the producers of the raw ingredients.

　　Of course, what might seem like the perfect idea might not actually be that practical. Ingredients that work well in a restaurant, might not work on a biscuit or crisp. Snacks that contain a lot of fresh ingredients may have too short a shelf life to be a viable product. Some designs might need expensive packaging to protect them, which stops them being profitable.

　　There are many factors that influence our snacks. Those that are successful reflect our tastes and concerns but can be limited by the manufacturing process.

　　词汇表

　　peckish 有些饿的

　　meal （一顿）饭，餐

　　packet 小包，小袋

　　delicious 美味的

　　have an appetite for 对胃口，爱吃

　　flavour （食物或饮料的）口味，味道

　　menu 菜单

　　taste 味道

　　in-demand ingredient 热门的原料，需求量大的成分treat 零食

　　cuisine 菜肴，烹饪

　　protein 蛋白质

　　raw ingredient 原材料

　　biscuit 饼干

　　crisp 薯片

　　fresh ingredient 新鲜食材

　　shelf life 保质期

　　packaging 包装，包装材料