Consumption of oats granola has been witnessed with an increasing trend globally. Among all, the breakfast oat flakes and oat bars segment has the fastest growth in terms of revenue and volume being the quickest on-the-go breakfast. Its high nutritional value and rising consumption of healthy snacks and bars among the young population are driving the market. According to Grocery Headquarters’ annual publication ‘State of the Industry Almanac’, the sales of the granular bar brand Nature Valley is leading with USD 225.5 million, followed by Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut and Quaker Chewy, in the US in 2017. Also, with the increasing internet penetration, the online market for the purchase of food items including breakfast oats flakes and oats bars has seen rapid growth globally in the last 3-4 years. This category has attracted a few vertical specialists like Amazon, Walmart, Carrefour, etc. who are riding on increasing e-retailing growth and vying for a significant pie in online oats space. 

Europe accounts for the major market share followed by North America. The rising population of health-conscious consumers in the countries of these regions is influencing the high production volume of oats. In Europe, Russia is the largest producer of the crop. According to FAO, Russia amounted to over 2.78 million hectares, the largest harvested land area of oats worldwide, followed by Canada (1.08 million hectares) and Australia (1.03 million hectares), among leading countries in 2017. The major importers of oats include the U.S., China, Saudi Arabia, France, and India. In the case of imports, both raw oats and oat products are experiencing static growth in the United States market. However, countries like the Czech Republic and Sweden have emerged as the fastest-growing exporters.