Top-Selling C-Store Salty Snacks
Top-Selling C-Store Salty Snacks
By Brett Dworski on Sep. 18, 2018CHICAGO – Salty snacks have had a banner year in convenience stores. The category hit more than $5.5 billion in c-stores sales—good for more than a 6% increase since last summer—and unit sales increased about 2%, rising to nearly $3 billion, according to research firm IRI.
Case in point: C-store consumers are craving salty snacks. And although potato chips reign in popularity, the overlooked categories have also contributed to salty snacks’ yearly surge.
Here’s a look at the top salty-snack subcategories—from chips to pretzels and cheese snacks to pork rinds—and how they’ve performed in c-stores since August 2017, according to Chicago-based IRI's data …
Photograph courtesy of Shutterstock
1. Potato chips
Total dollar sales: $1.7 billion
Total dollar sales percent change: 4.3%
Total unit sales: $974.3 million
Total unit sales percent change: 0.2%
Potato chips are once again the top c-store snack, garnering more than $1.7 billion in total sales and nearly $1 billion in unit sales, according to IRI. The top potato-chip brands sold in c-stores over the past year include Lay’s, Ruffles, Pringles, Herr’s and Kettle chips—the latter of which surged 9.4% compared to last year, one of the highest increases in the subcategory.
Photograph courtesy of Frito-Lay
2. Tortilla/tostada chips
Total dollar sales: $1 billion
Total dollar sales percent change: 10.1%
Total unit sales: $527.9 million
Total unit sales percent change: 7%
Tortilla chips finished in second place and as the only other snack besides potato chips to gather at least $1 billion in total sales, according to IRI. The chips also increased more than 10% in total sales compared to last year. Top brands in the tortilla chip category were Doritos, Barcel Takis, Tostitos and Santitas.
Photograph courtesy of Frito-Lay
3. Other salted snacks (no nuts)
Total dollar sales: $893.3 million
Total dollar sales percent change: 6.8%
Total unit sales: $452.1 million
Total unit sales percent change: 2.6%
Other salted snacks—variations of savory snacks, excluding nuts—took third place in the salty-snacks sales race, reeling in nearly $900 million in total sales, a 6.8% increase from last year, according to IRI. Top brands in the sector include Funyuns, Chester's, Chex Mix, Gardettos and SunChips.
Photograph courtesy of Frito-Lay
4. Cheese snacks
Total dollar sales: $709.8 million
Total dollar sales percent change: 7.3%
Total unit sales: $387 million
Total unit sales percent change: 1.8%
Cheese snacks made a top-four finish and are growing quickly. The category totaled nearly $710 million in sales, good for a 7.3% increase—the second-highest surge on this list, behind tortilla chips, according to IRI. Earlier this summer, CSP detailed how cheese snacks were becoming the go-to segment of the snacking industry, due to new product innovation and consumers’ increased willingness to purchase them at retail locations. Top cheese snacks in the past year include Cheetos, Chester's, Herrs, Golden Flake and Wise Cheez Doodles.
Photograph courtesy of Frito-Lay
5. Corn snacks (excluding tortilla chips)
Total dollar sales: $392.4 million
Total dollar sales percent change: 2.9%
Total unit sales: $201.9 million
Total unit sales percent change: -2.9%
Despite rounding out the top five snack categories, corn snacks actually declined in overall sales by 2.9% within the past year. But corn-chip brand Fritos leads the way with positive year-over-year sales increases, followed by contenders Bugles and Sabritas, the latter of which increased 29.6% since last summer, according to IRI.
Photograph courtesy of General Mills
6. Pretzels
Total dollar sales: $242 million
Total dollar sales percent change: 1.4%
Total unit sales: $139.1 million
Total unit sales percent change: -2.8%
Pretzels continue to grow, whether they’retwisty, rod-shaped, circular or nonsalted. The subcategory—despite not leading the pack—has managed to garner more than $242 million in total sales, a 1.4% increase from the previous year, according to IRI. Top pretzel brands in c-stores include Combos, Snyders of Hanover, Rold Gold, Dots and Utz.
Photograph courtesy of Mars Wrigley Confectionery
7. Ready-to-eat popcorn
Total dollar sales: $233.2 million
Total dollar sales percent change: 5%
Total unit sales: $126.7 million
Total unit sales percent change: 0.1%
Snackable popcorn is on the rise. IRI data shows it increased 5% in total sales over the past year, and it has also surged 32% since 2012, according to research firm Mintel, Chicago. Top ready-to-eat popcorn performers include Smartfood, Cracker Jack, Lance, Chester's and SkinnyPop.
Photograph courtesy of Frito-Lay
8. Pork Rinds
Total dollar sales: $211.9 million
Total dollar sales percent change: $7.3%
Total unit sales: $124.5 million
Total unit sales percent change: 2.9%
Pork rinds—the pig of a skin, either roasted or fried—finished eight on the list and at the forefront of potential breakout subcategories in the future. The crispy snack topped more than $211 million in total sales and grew nearly 7.4% from last year, according to IRI—the third largest increase on this list. The best-selling pork rind brands include Baken-Ets, Tom's, Golden Flake, Turkey Creek and Carolina Country Snacks.
Photograph courtesy of Southern Recipe Small Batch