Salty Snack Sales Continue to Increase Through 2020

The consumption of snack foods in the U.S. is undoubtedly a large part of our culture. Snacks offer a convenient way to curb hunger by eating a quick bite on the go. In addition to this, they are often times individually packaged which means there is little or no preparation required to stock up and enjoy! One of the most popular segments of the snack market is salty snacks. These include our favorite items such as chips, pretzels, and more! The salty snack food market is currently experiencing a strong growth, in fact, by 2020 it is estimated that the U.S. salty snack sales are to hit $27 billion. While this may seem like a large number, the industry is already on its way. Sales were $22.5 billion in 2015 with popular products such as potato chips, popcorn and caramel corn, and fruit and vegetable chips contributing to this growth.

The Appeal of Salty Snacks

The salty snack industry has a large appeal. According to the article “Snacking: The New American Pastime,” Mintel research shows that 60 percent of snackers eat salty snacks as a treat, and 58 percent buy them to satisfy a craving. With large numbers of consumers at stake, it is important for manufacturers to promote their product’s unique benefits. Consumers often times want to eat a healthy snack while feeling as though they are indulging.

Consumer Needs

Knowing what drives consumers to pick one snack over another is important to staying competitive in the snacking industry. For example, how much are health considerations taken into account when selecting snacks? According to a Nielsen study, “More respondents around the world care about the absence of ingredients than the addition of them.” In addition to this, Susan Dunn, executive vice president, Global Professional Services, Nielsen said, “Consumers want snacks to stick to the basics.”

As manufactures of salty snacks move forward with their products, improving taste and product varieties can only help to improve sales. It will also benefit manufactures to pay attention to consumer demands and snacking occasions as well. In addition to taste and variety, the labeling of snack food packages is important. Correctly labeling food helps consumers to learn more about the contents of what they are consuming and highlights the benefits that healthy snacks have to offer.

If you are in the market for a labeler to cater to the snack food industry, consider giving us a call. We have a custom designed Flex-Pac^TM labeler and strong partnerships with the vast majority of bagger/wrapper manufacturers. In addition to this, we can apply pressure sensitive labels to just about any surface of the package, which makes it ideal for reclosable, production and primacy labels. Let us help you push the salty snack market to $27 billion by 2020.