Does your sweet tooth make you sweet? Americans more likely to be social butterflies if they enjoy sweet treats over savory snacks

By Joseph Staples // SWNS

If you have a sweet tooth, chances are you like to live on the wild side of life, according to a new study.

A survey of 2,000 general population Americans has found major personality differences between those who prefer sweet treats and those who prefer savory snacks.

Among the differences, sweet snackers are more likely to be social butterflies with their snacking — like while hanging out with friends (20%) or during a game night (19%).

Savory snackers meanwhile tend to save their snacks for more intimate or subtle events, like on dates (27%) and binge-watching tv (23%).

And with more time on their hands, sweets lovers would likely end up at the beach (28%), museum (20%) or in the wilderness (17%). Savory palates, however, would rather go shopping at a mall (31%) or explore a new city (10%).

Commissioned by Hickory Farms and conducted by OnePoll, the study found when it comes to TV and other types of media, savory snackers liked science-fiction movies, historical fiction books and documentary TV series.

Meanwhile, sweet tooths were more drawn to comedies and mysteries across books, film and television.

Sweet tooths are also more likely to be more creative, adventurous, try new things and be more organized than their savory counterparts.

Perhaps most surprising of all, both types of people flip sides when it comes to breakfast. Sweet tooths reach for eggs (72%) and bacon (66%), while savory snackers go for fresh fruit (58%) and pancakes (57%).

“We’ll admit we didn’t expect to find so many personality differences between sweet and savory palates,” says Judy Ransford, Chief Marketing Officer for Hickory Farms. “I love to see this, because it tells me that when people shop for food gifts, they’ll seek out retailers who offer something for everybody. In fact, 67% of our gift basket sales in the first quarter of 2021 were from baskets with a combination of both sweet and savory treats.”

Regardless of snacking palates, there’s still a number of things universally agreed upon. For 35% of people, the primetime for a snack is in the early afternoon.

All adults have also come across foods they love now that they once hated. Top among those foods are bitter greens like broccoli (42%), kale (39%) and Brussels sprouts (39%). On average, Americans won’t start embracing these foods until they’re at least 22.

Two-thirds of Americans are also serious when it comes to their snacking habits. Sixty-two percent of people say they could eat an entire family-sized bag of chips in a single sitting if given the opportunity. Likewise, 62% get cravings easily and will give into their cravings easily.

“Americans love to snack,” says Judy. “We all have obvious flavor preferences, but it’s great to see that ultimately snacking both helps bring us together and get us through the day.”