Fruit is deeply ingrained in our evolutionary biology. Humans are wired to crave sweetness because in our hunter-gatherer past, sweet meant safe. Fruit and honey signalled non-toxic, ripe and nutrient rich. Anything bitter or sour usually meant poison.

Fast-forward a few millennia and those instincts are still firing. Only now, instead of climbing trees, we’re raiding vending machines to chase the same dopamine hit through refined sugar and artificial flavours. All rush, no nourishment.

BUT. All hope is not lost.

A new wave of brands are bringing fruit back to the table - dressed up, dipped, baked, blended and more damn delicious than ever. With a little ‘better-for-you’ spin on it. This article is a deep-dive into the fruit-based snack trend.

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What’s goin’ on with fruit?

Fruit’s getting the candy treatment. Not the ol’ dried-apricot-in-a-ziplock vibe or kids sugar-disguised-as-fruit wraps type of thing. We’re talking dipped, dusted, stuffed, baked, and bite-sized - positioned unapologetically as treats.

My favourite recent launch is this line by Smood Sweets - dates wrapped with a candy ‘m&m’ like layer. No sugar added and nails the textural element of candy with the goodness of real food. I reckon this will fly.

There are a couple of factors at play that are driving this broader trend:

Sugar fatigue

OK thanks Captain Obvious.

But it’s worth mentioning. Shoppers still want sweet but want to feel better about it. Fruit’s “natural sugar + fibre + vitamins” story is a lot more appealing than the empty calories and sore teeth of refined sugar.

Industry monitoring shows fruit-based snacks have become the #3 subcategory for global snack launches, with a 6% rise in launch share over five years.

Whole-food feel

These type of snacks tick the box for the “made of things I recognise” brief. People are trying to eat a more balanced diet - we’ve seen this come through clearly in some recent market research we commissioned. The idea that you can get a sweet-treat AND feel good about eating a more balanced diet is pretty rad.

The gut-health and fibre craze

With GLP1’s impacting more and more dietary decisions, choosing to snack on fruit instead of pure chocolate or sweets is a no brainer. Fruit delivers sweetness with substance - fibre, polyphenols, and slow energy. It hits the craving and keeps your gut microbes happy.

Positioning matters, a lot.  

What’s most interesting about this wave of new brands isn’t purely the product themselves, but the positioning.

Nibblish has launched in Woolworths in Aus and from an outside perspective, it looks like they are nailing it. Increased shelf facings, constantly shopped, premium price points.

The packaging design and branding makes the product feel like an indulgent treat, not something you give to your kids in place of a candy bar.

Tapping into ‘permissible indulgence’

They look decadent, taste sweet, and even come in chocolate - but the narrative is built on natural sweetness, whole ingredients, and “nothing fake.”

That’s why shoppers feel good reaching for them. They satisfy both systems in the brain: the primal sugar craving and the rational self-justification that says, “Hey, it’s fruit.”

It’s the same tension that made protein cookies a thing - snacks engineered to feel naughty while signalling virtue. Only now, it’s happening with fruit.

Mars acquired Trü Frü (the chocolate-covered frozen fruit brand) for a nine-figure sum. Closer to home, Australian startup Bomberry can barely keep up with demand, their chocolate-dipped frozen blueberries flying out of freezers across independent supermarkets. And when I spoke with the team behind Franui, who make an almost identical product, they told me they’ve stopped marketing altogether. Not out of strategy, but necessity. They simply can’t produce enough to meet demand.

The emerging “source of fibre” claim

Industry reports keep saying fibre is the next protein.

I’m not convinced - at least not yet. Protein built its cultural dominance through precision: “You need X grams per kilo of bodyweight.” It gave people a target, a number to chase, and a sense of control. Fibre, on the other hand, is fuzzy. Everyone knows they should eat more of it, but no one’s counting grams. It’s health by vibe.

That said, as gut health and GLP-1s shape more of our food decisions, fibre’s story is finally getting a spotlight. It might never become the new protein - but it could easily become the new reason to justify a snack.

We’re gonna keep seeing these launches

I’m calling it now - we’re only at the start. Expect a wave of new launches in this space, and more importantly, mainstream adoption.
The real winners will be the brands that can hit volume, bring down price points, and make choc-dipped fruit feel as everyday as a Mars Bar.

Fruit’s comeback isn’t about nostalgia or health halos. It’s about reframing indulgence. The winners are designing snacks that live perfectly between the protein bar and the candy aisle: indulgent enough to crave, credible enough to justify.

And that middle ground is getting more valuable by the day. With sugar-reduction targets tightening, supermarkets expanding their “better-for-you” shelves, and shoppers rethinking what healthy actually means, fruit-based treats are becoming the new permissible pleasure. Expect chewy, chocolate-dipped, fibre-fortified, smoothie-textured formats that don’t pretend to be health food, they just deliver on it.

The question isn’t if fruit will go mainstream again - it’s how far up the value chain it can climb. From frozen to ambient, from natural confectionery to premium gifting, the opportunities are ripe.

What do you reckon? Reply if you’ve seen anything interesting in this space.

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