Up 2.7 percentage points vs. 2024, 48.8% of consumers eat more than three snacks per day, according to Circana’s Snack Unwrap report from April 1. With an increase in snacking, the report reveals which shopping channels saw the largest unit sales in 2024, how inflation has affected snacking, what brands are doing to stay relevant and the snack element that more than half of consumers seek out—protein.
Many categories have seen a decrease in unit sales year-to-date through Feb. 23, such as chocolate, nonchocolate, potato chips, cookies, crackers, ice cream, snack nuts and more.
Dried meat snacks, nutritional/intrinsic health value bars, frozen handheld dinners and frozen appetizers saw unit growth in the 52 weeks ending Dec. 24. The snack with the most unit growth was yogurt, up 4.9% compared to the year prior. Chocolate had the largest decline, 3.4%, in unit sales.
Beyond unit sales category data, check out the latest snacking trends below.
Barbell Effect
There is a barbell-type impact from consumer value core snack shopping, according to Circana. This phenomenon occurs when factors like new technology, shifts in consumer behavior or innovation, disrupts an industry and the businesses that adapt to the extremes (very low-cost or very high-end) tend to thrive, while those in the middle struggle to survive, according to Forbes.
At opposite ends of the spectrum, the greatest growth came from the club channel—a result of consumers buying in bulk to combat inflation—and the dollar channel—a result of consumers buying lower price points to make ends meet, Circana said.
The club channel saw a 3.9% increase in unit sales for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 29, while dollar stores saw a 6.6% increase.
Online snack growth, especially with delivery, cannot be ignored, though, with a 9.5% unit change in the same period. Breaking it down further, total e-commerce snack delivery has seen 24.5% unit growth year-over-year, but e-commerce snack pickup has declined 5.1%.
Inflation and Private Label
Inflation has slowed in core snacking, food and beverage, according to Circana, but core snack prices remain 22% higher today vs. 2021.
Private label is also outpacing brands in many snack categories. For example, private-label chocolate grew 17.1% in unit sales for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 29, while branded chocolate declined 4.1%. Other snack categories in which private label outpaced brands include cookies, tortilla chips, nonchocolate, crackers, potato chips, dairy yogurt and salted snacks with no nuts.
However, 63.1% of consumers said they purchase the brand of their choice, up 0.8 percentage points vs. the prior year.
Flavor and Texture Exploration
With 10.6% of consumers looking for bold or unexpected flavors, branded mashups are trending in snacks, with products such as lemon white chocolate Milano cookies; blueberry and sunflower seed belVita snack bites; and Tzatziki Lays. Dill has also been in vogue for a few years, said Circana, and the flavor is now offered beyond snacking, in lip balm, beverages and more.
Brands are also launching snacks in new formats—Eggo-branded ice cream, Dave’s Killer Bread snack bites and Helena’s Hummus on-the-go squeeze pouches, for example.
These collaborations generate consumer intrigue, expand reach and create something new but familiar.
"Wondrous" snack demand is being fueled by social media as consumers learn and experiment. As an influencer, Shaquille O'Neal’s ShaqALicious gummies launched and reached $20.1 million in five months.
Protein and Energy
Finally, protein and energy are becoming more and more synonymous for consumers.
Up from a year ago, 63.7% of consumers stated they want snacks that provide an energy boost and 61.4% want high protein snacks.
Consumers want the best of both worlds, but down 10.5 percentage points from 2020, 83.8% of consumers said that snacks have a taste they enjoy.
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