15.08.2024
Study
Price increases boosted snack food sales by 15.6% in 2022 amid declining volumes, report says
Most people in the world consider snacking an important part of their daily diet. According to a study based on data from Circana (formerly known as IRI) and Sosland Publishing, a quarter of consumers snack daily during the day and 25% snack every evening.
The pretzel category has benefited the most from the snacking boom, being one of the two categories to show sales growth in both dollar and volume terms in 2022.
Sales of pretzels, which totaled about $1.8 billion last year, were boosted by new flavored and premium varieties. The two most popular brands in the US, Snyder’s of Hanover and Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps, are owned by Campbell Soup. The third-best-selling brand, Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, was acquired by Hershey in late 2021. In 2022, Dot’s showed a 49.1% increase in sales and a 41.3% increase in volume.
Another category that showed growth on both fronts was corn snacks, with sales of $1.5 billion. Sales in packages grew by 3.6% and in dollar terms by 21.1%.
According to the report, most of the growth in the snack segment was due to price increases. The actual number of products sold decreased in most categories.
In volume terms, sales of dried meat snacks fell by 10.6%, while sales in dollar terms increased by 1.2%. Even large categories that showed a higher percentage of sales growth in dollar terms experienced a drop in volume. Biscuits topped the list, with sales up 12.3% in dollar terms but down 4.3% in volume terms. Sales of potato chips grew by 14.5% in dollar terms, but in volume terms, 1% less products were sold in this category.
As inflation has driven up prices over the past year and a half, consumers’ willingness to pay more for snacks has been reflected in other studies.
In Mondelēz’s latest State of Snacking report, three out of four consumers said that higher prices for meal prep products hit their budget more than more expensive snacks. More than half are concerned about the availability of their favorite snacks on store shelves, although nearly 80% said it’s more important than ever to have moments of indulgence throughout the day.
At this week’s Sweets & Snacks Expo, Food Business News reported that Sally Lyons Wyatt, Circana’s executive vice president and head of customer research, sees a bigger problem in snack sales.
According to her, the decline in snack sales in the first quarter of 2023 is faster than in the food and beverage sector as a whole. She warned participants that they may be approaching a point where prices are becoming too high, and called for different methods to increase sales, such as adding more multi- and variety packs.