By . Anthony Bond . PUBLISHED: . 04:29 EST, 22 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:36 EST, 22 June 2012 . When it comes to shopping around for their favourite snacks, youngsters of today are spoiled for choice. Thanks to the rise of the internet and social media, they are bombarded daily with advertising from new and upcoming brands keen for their cash. But a new report has revealed that despite the many different and new temptations on offer, young Britons like nothing better than a traditional biscuit. Popular: A new report has revealed that despite the many different and new temptations on offer, young Britons like nothing better than a traditional biscuit, such as a custard cream, pictured . What's your favourite type of biscuit? Classic favourites like custard creams and bourbons are top of the list with young Britons who enjoy a traditional indulgent treat just as much as older generations. Rather than choosing new and innovative biscuits a new report out today has revealed that 16-24-year olds are more likely to opt for the brands popular when granny’s biscuit tin was being passed around. Those in their teens and twenties have the biggest appetite for traditional British biscuits - with six in ten of them disagreeing that traditional biscuits are boring, compared to 55 per cent of their older counterparts aged 55 plus. The new research was carried out by  market research analysts Mintel. Its senior food and drink analyst Alex . Beckett said: 'The youth of Britain is growing up immersed in digital . media, text-speak and cutting-edge gadgetry but this doesn’t mean they . don’t appreciate a good old-fashioned Custard Cream. 'They . may lack TV support or big-name brands, but the humble Bourbon, Malted . Milk and Custard Cream are cherished by teens and students. Interesting: Youngsters in their teens and twenties have the biggest appetite for traditional British biscuits such as Bourbon and Custard Cream - with six in ten of them disagreeing that traditional biscuits are boring . 'Maybe . the lack of try-hard advertising appeals to them - or maybe these . biscuits are just better value than the increasingly chocolate-laden new . launches. Either way, the youth of austerity Britain has respect for . our biscuit heritage.' It's not for lack of choice that consumers are turning to classic biscuits - as innovation in the UK biscuit market has never been higher. Launches more than doubled in the UK between 2007 and 2011, rising to over 300 in the past 12 months. Furthermore, it is mainly younger consumers seeking solace in a biscuit as the majority (70 per cent) of 16-24 year-olds would opt for biscuits as an indulgent treat, compared to 62 per cent of the over 55s. Mature consumers, however, are far more likely to keep the time-honoured tradition of dunking alive - only 46 per cent of younger consumers (16-24) enjoy a biscuit with a hot drink as opposed to 63 per cent of the over 45s. The survey of 1,500 people showed that an increasing number of Brits can’t keep their hands from the cookie jar - with 86 per cent of Brits in 2011 eating sweet biscuits compared to 83 per cent in 2010. Today, 15 per cent of Brits confess to eating sweet biscuits once a day or more and nearly half (47 per cent) admit they like to treat themselves with foods that are not good for them. Worried: Almost half of all women say they feel guilty about eating biscuits . And when it comes to eating occasions, it seems biscuits are seen as a good way to help productivity, with nearly two in five (38 per cent) Brits munching on them at work or college or university, rising to 58 per cent users in full-time education. But despite Britain’s biscuit love - there is one thing casting a shadow across the popularity of the biscuit - the guilt factor. Overall, nearly two fifths (36 per cent) of biscuit eaters say they feel guilty about eating biscuits, a figure that rises to almost half (46 per cent) of all women. A strong demand for healthier biscuit options is also reflected in the fact that 40 per cent of consumers admit they would eat more if they were lower in sugar. Mr Beckett added: 'Women have rather a conflicted relationship with biscuits. They are more likely than men to indulge in them as a treat, but are then far more likely to feel guilty about it. 'Unfortunately, the healthy biscuits that are on the market are tarnished with a bland reputation, making that chocolate biscuit all the more tempting.' Indeed, healthy issues can represent the battleground for the biscuit industry, as two in five consumers believe that there aren’t enough of these available - but at the same time almost half (48 per cent) of consumers think low-fat and healthy biscuits taste 'bland'. In 2011, no additives or preservatives was the most used health claim for new products, accounting for a quarter of new product launches in the UK’s sweet biscuit sector. And it is Scottish consumers who eat the most sweet biscuits, with 20 per cent of consumers in that region eating them once a day or more. They are closely followed by those in the North of England with 19 per cent, 16 per cent in Wales, Yorkshire and Humberside, 15 per cent in the South West, 14 per cent in the South East and Anglia, 13 per cent in the East and West Midlands. While 12 per cent of Londoners and those in the North West have biscuits every day. In terms of value, total retail value sales climbed by a sweet 26 per cent since 2006 to reach £1.4 billion in 2011. And it appears the sector has unwrapped success for the future too, as Mintel expects it to grow a further 21 per cent to reach £1.7 billion by 2016. But it is the appeal of everyday biscuits, or plain biscuits, such as digestives, that have boosted the fortunes of the market, with sales value up 14 per cent in just one year (2010-11), with children’s biscuits also doing well with sales value up 8 per cent over the same period to reach a market value of £143 million in 2011. Conversely biscuit bundle packs have suffered, with value sales down 14 per cent over the past year to a value of £6 million in 2011.
Report reveals young Britons enjoy a traditional indulgent treat just as much as older generations .
Bourbons and custard creams among the favourite snacks for 16-24-year-olds .
By . Anthony Bond . PUBLISHED: . 04:29 EST, 22 June 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:36 EST, 22 June 2012 . When it comes to shopping around for their favourite snacks, youngsters of today are spoiled for choice. Thanks to the rise of the internet and social media, they are bombarded daily with advertising from new and upcoming brands keen for their cash. But a new report has revealed that despite the many different and new temptations on offer, young Britons like nothing better than a traditional biscuit. Popular: A new report has revealed that despite the many different and new temptations on offer, young Britons like nothing better than a traditional biscuit, such as a custard cream, pictured . What's your favourite type of biscuit? Classic favourites like custard creams and bourbons are top of the list with young Britons who enjoy a traditional indulgent treat just as much as older generations. Rather than choosing new and innovative biscuits a new report out today has revealed that 16-24-year olds are more likely to opt for the brands popular when granny’s biscuit tin was being passed around. Those in their teens and twenties have the biggest appetite for traditional British biscuits - with six in ten of them disagreeing that traditional biscuits are boring, compared to 55 per cent of their older counterparts aged 55 plus. The new research was carried out by  market research analysts Mintel. Its senior food and drink analyst Alex . Beckett said: 'The youth of Britain is growing up immersed in digital . media, text-speak and cutting-edge gadgetry but this doesn’t mean they . don’t appreciate a good old-fashioned Custard Cream. 'They . may lack TV support or big-name brands, but the humble Bourbon, Malted . Milk and Custard Cream are cherished by teens and students. Interesting: Youngsters in their teens and twenties have the biggest appetite for traditional British biscuits such as Bourbon and Custard Cream - with six in ten of them disagreeing that traditional biscuits are boring . 'Maybe . the lack of try-hard advertising appeals to them - or maybe these . biscuits are just better value than the increasingly chocolate-laden new . launches. Either way, the youth of austerity Britain has respect for . our biscuit heritage.' It's not for lack of choice that consumers are turning to classic biscuits - as innovation in the UK biscuit market has never been higher. Launches more than doubled in the UK between 2007 and 2011, rising to over 300 in the past 12 months. Furthermore, it is mainly younger consumers seeking solace in a biscuit as the majority (70 per cent) of 16-24 year-olds would opt for biscuits as an indulgent treat, compared to 62 per cent of the over 55s. Mature consumers, however, are far more likely to keep the time-honoured tradition of dunking alive - only 46 per cent of younger consumers (16-24) enjoy a biscuit with a hot drink as opposed to 63 per cent of the over 45s. The survey of 1,500 people showed that an increasing number of Brits can’t keep their hands from the cookie jar - with 86 per cent of Brits in 2011 eating sweet biscuits compared to 83 per cent in 2010. Today, 15 per cent of Brits confess to eating sweet biscuits once a day or more and nearly half (47 per cent) admit they like to treat themselves with foods that are not good for them. Worried: Almost half of all women say they feel guilty about eating biscuits . And when it comes to eating occasions, it seems biscuits are seen as a good way to help productivity, with nearly two in five (38 per cent) Brits munching on them at work or college or university, rising to 58 per cent users in full-time education. But despite Britain’s biscuit love - there is one thing casting a shadow across the popularity of the biscuit - the guilt factor. Overall, nearly two fifths (36 per cent) of biscuit eaters say they feel guilty about eating biscuits, a figure that rises to almost half (46 per cent) of all women. A strong demand for healthier biscuit options is also reflected in the fact that 40 per cent of consumers admit they would eat more if they were lower in sugar. Mr Beckett added: 'Women have rather a conflicted relationship with biscuits. They are more likely than men to indulge in them as a treat, but are then far more likely to feel guilty about it. 'Unfortunately, the healthy biscuits that are on the market are tarnished with a bland reputation, making that chocolate biscuit all the more tempting.' Indeed, healthy issues can represent the battleground for the biscuit industry, as two in five consumers believe that there aren’t enough of these available - but at the same time almost half (48 per cent) of consumers think low-fat and healthy biscuits taste 'bland'. In 2011, no additives or preservatives was the most used health claim for new products, accounting for a quarter of new product launches in the UK’s sweet biscuit sector. And it is Scottish consumers who eat the most sweet biscuits, with 20 per cent of consumers in that region eating them once a day or more. They are closely followed by those in the North of England with 19 per cent, 16 per cent in Wales, Yorkshire and Humberside, 15 per cent in the South West, 14 per cent in the South East and Anglia, 13 per cent in the East and West Midlands. While 12 per cent of Londoners and those in the North West have biscuits every day. In terms of value, total retail value sales climbed by a sweet 26 per cent since 2006 to reach £1.4 billion in 2011. And it appears the sector has unwrapped success for the future too, as Mintel expects it to grow a further 21 per cent to reach £1.7 billion by 2016. But it is the appeal of everyday biscuits, or plain biscuits, such as digestives, that have boosted the fortunes of the market, with sales value up 14 per cent in just one year (2010-11), with children’s biscuits also doing well with sales value up 8 per cent over the same period to reach a market value of £143 million in 2011. Conversely biscuit bundle packs have suffered, with value sales down 14 per cent over the past year to a value of £6 million in 2011.
young Britons who enjoy a traditional indulgent treat just as much as older generations. Rather