84.51° Highlights Snack Trends at Retail

Tying into February's designation as National Snack Food Month, Kroger’s 84.51° data analytics subsidiary shared insights and takeaways about how and why consumers are snacking.

From the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to the current state of inflation, snack purchases have ebbed and flowed, according to 84.51° data shared with the Institute.

In 2020, there was a significant spike in both snack sales (14%) and units sold (7%).

In 2021, sales began to plateau compared to the year prior, with only an 0.82% increase in sales and a 5.87% decrease in units.

In 2022, as consumer concerns around inflation set in, there was a notable increase in sales on a dollar basis of 10.8%, but a decrease in units sold by 5.7%. 

According to 84.51°, shoppers are currently getting their snack fix from a variety of places, including:

• the grocery store (89%),
• mass retailers (68%),
• club stores (32%), and
• online (21%).

In terms of what consumers are buying, fruits and potato chips are the most popular types of snacks consumers regularly consume (70% and 62%, respectively), followed by cheese, crackers, chocolates, vegetables, nuts, tortilla chips, popcorn, cookies, yogurt, candy, granola bars, pretzels, fruit snacks, protein bars and pita chips.

• Healthy snacks (e.g., natural & organic, simple ingredients, low sugar, etc.) are extremely important to about 28% of consumers.
• Protein bars are the most popular snacks eaten on-the-go (70%).
• Between meals, consumers are snacking on nuts (62%), potato chips (57%), fruit snacks (56%), and crackers (53%).

The majority of consumers (59%) said they snack due to a craving, while 21% said they snack because they don’t have time for a full meal. Other reasons for snacking cited by 84.51° include wanting something to graze on throughout the day, having an indulgence, doing it out of habit and relieving stress.

Additionally, consumers are most often driven to snacks by their taste and flavor (74%), followed by fulfilling a craving (63%) and convenience (51%).