第2109期:How a snack is born

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?

你觉得饿吗？ 也许距离你的下一顿饭还有一段时间，所以你现在可能正在考虑拿一个颜色鲜艳的小包，里面装着一些美味的东西。 也许是时候吃点零食了。 您并不孤单，我们都这样做 - 但开发和制作我们都知道和喜爱的零食需要付出多少努力？

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.

首先，公司必须弄清楚人们的兴趣是什么。 传统上，他们可能只是询问人们的零食习惯。 在当今的数字时代，应用程序可以要求顾客向右滑动他们喜欢的口味。 公司可以在互联网上搜索特定市场中每家餐厅的菜单，寻找最新的口味趋势和需求的食材。

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. 

零食趋势也会随着时间而变化。 当英国超市被鼓励从人们排队旁边的货架上撤下不健康的零食时，公司很快就提供了更健康的零食。 它们还可以反映不同的移民历史。 一家英国零食公司发现，南亚美食中常见的口味在英国卖得很好，但在美国却卖得不好，因为美国的印度食品传统较少。 对可持续性的需求促使一些企业家尝试使用昆虫作为零食的蛋白质替代来源。 其他品牌的营销方式是向原材料生产商提供更公平的价格。

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.

当然，看似完美的想法实际上可能并不那么实用。 适用于餐厅的配料可能不适用于饼干或薯片。 含有大量新鲜成分的零食可能保质期太短，无法成为可行的产品。 有些设计可能需要昂贵的包装来保护它们，这会阻止它们盈利。

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.

影响我们零食的因素有很多。 那些成功的产品反映了我们的品味和关注点，但可能受到制造工艺的限制。

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