Snack foods - whether sweet or salty, traditional or cutting edge, organic or vitamin fortified, healthy or indulgent - play an integral part in the American lifestyle. And now more than ever, Americans are craving these delectable treats according to "Sweet and Salty/Savory Snacks in the U.S.: Lifestyle Marketing and New Product Development in the New Economy, 3rd Edition" by leading market research publisher Packaged Facts.

This increased desire stems, in part, from the recession, which has snack consumers embracing a value mentality that prizes quality and whole ingredients, better-for-you recipes, and green production practices. While low prices are always a draw, consumers are seeking snacks with fewer additives or preservatives, and are spending extra dollars for organic and premium snack treats that can boost their flagging spirits over the long climb back to prosperity.

Savvy marketers taking advantage of consumers' intensifying desires for value and wholesome packaged snacks will help the industry near $82 billion by 2013, a 20% increase from the $68 billion experienced in 2008.

"Snack producers must do their best to accommodate the changing dynamics and multiple tastes and moods of snack consumers," says Tatjana Meerman, Publisher of Packaged Facts. "Not only do these producers have to cater to diverse tastes, but the pressure is on to keep prices low, health benefits high, and production green; fold in a battle between big brands and private label; add a cultural yearning for simple, real, and natural; and factor in the long - term effects of the global financial fallout - and you have a complicated snack market."

New to the third edition, "Salty/Savory Snacks in the U.S." investigates the overlapping relationships between snack culture and snack consumption based on lifestyle to develop the following four industry classifications - Value and Traditional, Functional and Fortified, Natural and Organic, and Premium and Gourmet. "Salty/Savory Snacks in the U.S." investigates not only the raw numbers associated with product launches, sales and market positions, but also the lifestyle patterns and the financial, social and political concerns that contribute to the rise and fall of snacking trends. Broken into two main categories, the report analyzes the following snack food segments:

Salty/Savory

- Crackers
- Dried Meat Snacks
- Nut Snacks
- Popcorn and Rice/Popcorn Cakes
- Salty Snacks

Sweet

- Candy
- Cookies & Bakery Snacks
- Food Bars
- Fruit Snacks
- Gelatin/Pudding Cups
- Yogurt