By: Zhane Isom | July 2, 2024
Sweet, salty and healthy snacks are thriving in c-stores as consumers continue to purchase them, and retailers are adjusting their snack sections based on growing trends.
The snack category at convenience stores is expected to see continued dollar sales growth as inflation pushes prices higher and customers seek out new flavor experiences across sweet, salty, meat and healthy snacks.
Flavor and taste reign supreme in the snacking universe, with 83% of consumers reporting they choose snacks with a flavor they prefer, according to Circana’s recent comprehensive analysis of the snack market. The analysis also stated that 46% of Americans eat three or more snacks each day, helping the snack category continue to grow exponentially.
Snack Outlook
Retailers reported seeing an increase in consumers’ salty, sweet and healthy snack purchases.
However, sweet snacks have received the most attention, resulting in a significant dollar sales increase. Cookies garnered $1.23 billion in dollars, a 13% increase for the 52 weeks ending April 21, per Circana.
Farmers Union Oil Co., with one store in Montana, vouches for sweet snacks’ continued growth.
“For our sweet snacks, most of our customers come in for our Peanut Butter Crispy Bars, Maple Bars, Cinna Babies and Hostess snacks,” said Diane Meeks, c-store manager, Farmers Union Oil. “Our Cinna Babies come in a pack of five small cinnamon rolls, and we typically sell between 150 to 200 packages a month.”
At Farmers Union Oil, Hostess doughnuts are a huge hit. The company sells about 30 bags of Hostess Donettes Crunch a month.
Following sweet snacks in terms of trends and dollar sales are healthy products. In particular, healthy snacks and granola bars have seen the most traction from consumers.
For the 52 weeks ending April 21, snack bars, granola bars and granola clusters saw a 9.6% increase in dollar sales and stayed relatively flat at -0.2% in unit sales for the same period, noted Circana.
“There has been a notable increase in the popularity of high-protein granola and energy bars,” said Meeks. “We are also noticing a growing demand for fruit and veggie grab-and-go cups.”
Randy Adams, category manager/buyer for Huck’s, with over 125 locations in five states, has noticed an uptick in healthy snack demands. He mentioned that Hippeas and some salty, better-for-you snacks have been doing well in his stores.
Other healthy snacks seeing dollar sales gains in c-stores are snack nuts, seeds and corn nuts. Seeds reached $999 million in dollar sales, which is a 4.3% increase for the 52 weeks ending April 21, per Circana.
“Additionally, we have always seen a high demand for products like sunflower seeds, especially being in a farm and ranch community with baseball season in full swing,” said Meeks. “Sunflower seeds are currently our No. 32 top seller.”
For salty snacks, consumers still demand their favorites, including potato chips, pretzels and more.
Potato chips increased 9.4% in dollar sales and 2% in unit sales for the 52 weeks ending April 21. Pretzels increased 8.2% in dollar sales for the same time frame, per Circana.
The salty snack segment has been heating up at Huck’s as customers demand more snacks with heat.
“Anything with heat, whether it’s the Frito Flamin’ Hot line or items with Tajin, are trending,” said Adams.
Since spicy snacks are doing exceptionally well at Huck’s, the chain has decided to add a section in its stores called BIGG HEAT that displays a variety of hot, salty snacks.
Meat Snacks at C-Stores
2024 has been a rocky year for meat snacks, with inflation playing a massive role in sales at c-stores.
Meat snack dollar sales stayed steady at -0.5%, but unit sales dropped by 5.5% for the 52 weeks ending April 21, noted Circana.
“The pricing on jerky is starting to have a little bit of a negative impact on unit sales,” said Adams. “I am seeing a shift from consumers from the bagged jerky to sticks because they can still get them for under $2.”
Farmers Union Oil, nonetheless, has seen growth. Meeks explained that jerky products have taken the top two spots in its grocery and snack categories this year. Craig’s Jerky is the c-store’s best-selling brand in terms of quantity and revenue.
“We expect an increase in our healthy and meat snacks … due to the products we are starting to bring in from local vendors,” she said. “With jerky taking the No. 1 spot and being a high-priced item, I believe we will increase the category by 5%.”
Snacks will continue to make great strides in c-stores. It is up to retailers to offer and know what their customers want and when they want it.
For instance, Farmers Union Oil is adding fruit, veggie and protein cups to its open-air selections and including more local vendors in the category. And Huck’s is keeping salty products in its loyalty program since the segment is popular in Huck’s stores.
Source: CStore Decisions