How can snack brands win in social commerce and AI?

TikTok and Douyin are becoming key discovery channels.

Snack brands are under pressure to rethink digital strategies as social commerce and generative artificial intelligence (AI) reshape how consumers discover and buy products, shifting growth towards platforms and algorithm-led recommendations.

“Besides snacks’ high repurchase rates, ‘frequently bought together’ and ‘buy it again’ algorithms are disproportionately more effective for snacks than for other fast-moving consumer goods categories,” Euromonitor International Ltd. said in a March report.

Platforms owned by Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., Ltd., including TikTok and Douyin, are becoming key discovery channels, especially for visually driven categories.

Snack sales via TikTok Shop in the US more than doubled in 2025, outpacing overall e-commerce growth, whilst similar gains were recorded in the UK.

Brands are also scaling influencer partnerships to drive visibility. Mondelēz International, Inc. and The Dodo Chocolates have worked with creators and chefs to generate viral campaigns and lift online sales.

Generative AI tools are adding another layer to product discovery. Consumers use platforms such as Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity AI to compare products, assess ingredients and find recommendations.

Euromonitor said 28% of users shopping with AI tools value more relevant recommendations, although AI-driven referrals still account for about 4% of snack e-commerce traffic. Confectionery leads in AI-assisted searches, particularly for gifts and trending products, with referral traffic rising 37% in 2025.

Global snack e-commerce sales reached about $57b, compared with a total global snack market of roughly $679b in 2024, according to Euromonitor.

The Asia-Pacific snack market is projected to hit $569.2b by 2034 from $293.7b in 2025, supported by demand for convenience in markets such as China and India, according to Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd.

Brands are also adapting product strategies. Flavour trends such as pistachio, cheddar cheese, and tropical fruits are gaining traction, whilst texture and sensory cues are becoming more important in digital merchandising.

Euromonitor said brands need stronger omnichannel strategies, combining social commerce, AI tools, and efficient distribution to stay competitive.

Questions to ponder:

1. How can smaller brands compete for visibility against bigger budgets?
2. How can data from platforms be turned into actionable insights?
3. How can brands measure return on influencer partnerships?