Commentary Cool snacks: A cross-disciplinary approach to healthier snacks for adolescents Klaus G. Grunert a, * , Steen Brock b , Karen Brunsø a , Tenna Christiansen c , Merete Edelenbos d , Hanne Kastberg e , Stinne Gunder Strøm Krogager f , Line Holler Mielby d , Karen Klitgaard Povlsen g a Aarhus University, MAPP Centre, Bartholins All e 10, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark b Aarhus University, Department of Culture and Society, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 7, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark c Langelandsgade 195, DK-8200 Aarhus N, Denmark d Aarhus University, Department of Food Science, Kirstinebjergvej 10, DK-5792 Aarslev, Denmark e Technological Institute, Gregersens Vej 1, DK-2630 Taastrup, Denmark f Aalborg University, Department of Communication, Nyhavnsgade 14, DK-9000 Aalborg, Denmark g Aarhus University, Department of Aesthetics and Communication, Helsingforsgade 14, DK-8200 Aarhus N, Denmark article info Article history: Received 16 June 2013 Received in revised form 6 October 2015 Accepted 11 October 2015 Available online 22 October 2015 abstract Young people snack and their snacking habits are not always healthy. We address the questions whether it is possible to develop a new snack product that adolescents will find attractive, even though it is based on ingredients as healthy as fruits and vegetables, and we argue that developing such a product requires an interdisciplinary effort where researchers with backgrounds in psychology, anthropology, media science, philosophy, sensory science and food science join forces. We present the COOL SNACKS project, where such a blend of competences was used first to obtain thorough insight into young people's snacking behaviour and then to develop and test new, healthier snacking solutions. These new snacking solutions were tested and found to be favourably accepted by young people. The paper therefore pro- vides a proof of principle that the development of snacks that are both healthy and attractive to ado- lescents is possible if based on an interdisciplinary, concerted effort. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Snacking, defined as food consumed between the three main meals (de Graaf, 2006), is an important part of the daily life of adolescents. Snacks are among the first food products that ado- lescents buy with their own money for consumption outside a family context (Brown, McIlveen, & Strugnell, 2000; Nicklaus, Boggio, Chabanet, & Issanchou, 2004). Often snacks have a high content of saturated fat, salt and refined sugar, and the public debate suggests that adolescents tend to eat too much unhealthy food resulting in negative consequences for public health such as obesity and lifestyle-related diseases (Christensen, 2003; Fagt et al., 2004). Public concern has given rise to numerous initiatives, mostly using informational and educational tools, which aim at encour- aging people to choose healthier alternatives. However, there is clearly also a role for new product development. If young people prefer less healthy snack products, somehow the existing more healthy alternatives seem to appear as less attractive to them. There is no reason to believe that healthier alternatives are not chosen just because they are healthier. It is thus worth asking whether it is possible to develop a healthy snack product that adolescents will find attractive. Developing such a product should be based on a thorough un- derstanding of the target group, its snack preferences and the de- terminants of these preferences. The importance of consumer insight in the new product development process is scientifically well-established (e.g., Im, Nakata, Park, & Ha, 2003), widely acknowledged in the industry, and has led to a range of tools for consumer-oriented new product development (Grunert et al., 2008). Still, there have been no breakthrough successes in the development of healthy snacks for adolescents. We believe this is because of two major hurdles. First, the dominant approach of analysing food preferences as a result of individual deliberation is generally limited (K€ osters, 2009), but may be especially limited in * Corresponding author. E-mail address: klg@mgmt.au.dk (K.G. Grunert). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Trends in Food Science & Technology journal homepage: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/trends-in-food-science- and-technology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2015.10.009 0924-2244/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Trends in Food Science & Technology 47 (2016) 82e92