From merger and acquisition deals to the freeze-dried candy craze, here are some of the top headlines from the center store category in convenience throughout 2024.
Mars Agrees to Acquire Kellanova and Other M&A Moves
Global food, snack and candy maker Mars Inc. and Kellanova in August said they entered a deal under which Mars agreed to acquire Kellanova for $83.50 per share in cash, for a total of $35.9 billion.
Upon completion of the transaction, Kellanova will become part of Mars Snacking and will be led by Global President Andrew Clarke. McLean, Virginia-based Mars is a global leader in pet care, snacking and food. Chicago-based Kellanova is a leading company in global snacking, international cereal and noodles; North American plant-based foods; and frozen breakfast foods. It is home to snacking brands including Pringles, Cheez-It, Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, NutriGrain and RXBAR, as well as food brands including Kellogg’s international, Eggo and MorningStar Farms.
In other 2024 snacks and candy acquisition news:
The J.M. Smucker Co., Orrville, Ohio, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Voortman cookie brand to Second Nature Brands, a U.S.-based creator of premium snacks and treats controlled by CapVest Partners LLP. PepsiCo Inc. has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Garza Food Ventures LLC, doing business as Siete Foods, for $1.2 billion. The Hershey Co. acquired sour candy brand Sour Strips. And J&J Snack Foods Corp. acquired Hoboken, New Jersey-based Thinsters, a better-for-you cookie brand that was owned by Hain Celestial Group, a global health and wellness company.
Nonchocolate, Freeze-Dried Candy Grow
About 90% of consumers said when they treat themselves, they buy chocolate, according to the National Confectioners Association (NCA) 2024 State of Treating Report. And while chocolate saw a 5.8% increase in sales in 2024, non-chocolate candy increased 12.1% and gum/mints grew 15.4%, the report said.
What also grew in non-chocolate candy this year was freeze-dried candy, as seen at the Sweets & Snacks Expo and the NACS Show. Freeze-dried candy has seen a rise in popularity due to its meteoric rise on TikTok and other social media platforms. Brands include Space Age Snacks, TrendyTreats, Sow Good Inc.—and Mars even got in the game with freeze-dried Skittles.
Freeze-dried candy takes all the moisture from the candy creating the candy to puff up and offer more flavor, Enzo Prina, founder of Space Age Snacks, told CSP Daily News.
Hershey Shakeups
Sweets and snacks company Mondelēz International Inc. is exploring an acquisition of chocolate maker Hershey Co. in a potential deal that would create a food giant with combined sales of almost $50 billion, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Hershey's main controlling owner, The Hershey Trust, has rejected Mondelēz International's preliminary takeover offer as being too low, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The trust has approximately 80% of the company's voting power, said the report.
Hershey is also undergoing leadership changes.
Michele Buck, president and CEO of chocolate maker Hershey Co., will assume leadership of the U.S. confection business as Michael Del Pozzo is leaving the role Dec. 12 after three months on the job.
Del Pozzo is returning to PepsiCo in a new leadership position where he worked prior to joining Hershey. His career at PepsiCo.
While the company looks to identify a new leader for its U.S. confection business from a selection of both internal and external candidates, Buck will lead the business through its next phase of growth and advance Hershey’s leadership snacking powerhouse vision, the company said.
Inflation Hurts Center Store
Dollars sales are up in the center store at convenience stores, but don’t let the numbers deceive.
C-store center store sales “aren’t so hot when it comes to unit sales,” Don Burke, senior vice president at Management Science Associates Inc., Pittsburgh, said Sept. 9 at CSP’s inaugural Center Store Forum in Schaumburg, Illinois.
Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) are “stealing a lot from convenience in terms of value meals,” Burke said. “Consumers are really dollar conscious and looking for an added benefit in what they buy.”
Overall, center store unit volume is down 7% from June 2023 to June 2024.In the last 14 months, the numbers were at their worst in January and February of this year, when volume was down 9%, Burke shared at the forum.
Also at the center store forum, retailers shared how price increases were hurting the category.
“I’m really worried about price increases,” said Chris Long, the director of category management at the Greater Houston Retailers Cooperative Association. “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that I see Tostitos for $7.99. They’ve gone from ‘need to haves’ to ‘nice to haves.’ My house, we don’t even purchase chips unless they’re on sale.”
Some customers no longer can afford products such as this, he said, adding, “This is one of the things killing center store.”
Another challenge, and one of the most consistent complaints he has heard in his 10 years in retail, is inconsistent service levels in the center store. “It’s beyond frustrating. ‘This guy didn’t show up’ or whatever. It really hurts the small guys who don’t do a lot of volume,” he said.
Click here to learn more about the Center Store Forum, which will take place Sept. 8-10, 2025, in Lombard, Illinois.
Interested in learning more about the center store category? Register or sponsor CSP’s Convenience Retailing University here.
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