- Contents
- *Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
What you need to know
The $5.6 billion salty snacks category grew 15% from 2009-14 and is expected to grow an additional 21% from 2014-19, benefiting from the increase in Americans snacking more often. While some remain concerned about the ingredients and nutritional value of salty snacks, others agree healthier options are available. Taste and indulgence are main purchase drivers, highlighting consumers’ desire to treat themselves, despite interest in BFY (better-for-you) snacks. As other food and beverage categories enter the snacking space, manufacturers must promote the unique benefits of their products, including their variety of flavors and formats, convenience, taste, and affordability.
Mintel here provides a comprehensive analysis of the following factors that have the greatest potential to impact the category’s performance:
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Market drivers for the category including understanding consumers’ motivations for purchasing salty snacks and how those motivations differ by snack type.
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The role of health in the category and consumer health concerns related to these products, as well as key product attributes consumers look for when purchasing salty snacks.
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Opportunities for category growth including playing into the snacking and portability trend, and meeting consumer demand for BFY items, while also allowing them to indulge.
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Consumer behaviors and attitudes related to salty snacks, including consumption habits, nutritional concerns, and purchase behavior.
Definition
This report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Chips, Popcorn, Nuts, and Dips – US, January 2014; Salty Snacks – US, January 2013; Chips, Pretzels, and Corn Snacks – US, January 2012; Salty Snacks: Chips, Pretzels, Snack Nuts, and Seeds – US, March 2011; as well as Salty Snacks – US, August 2009 and the August 2008 report of the same title.
This report covers the following segments:
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Popcorn
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Pretzels
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Cheese snacks (eg cheese balls, cheese puffs, etc)
This report differs from the previous report of the same title (Salty Snacks – US, January 2013) because of differences in segment coverage.
Excluded from this report are chips, including potato chips and tortilla chips, snack nuts, and dips. Chips and dips are covered in Mintel’s Chips, Salsa & Dips – US, January 2015 report.
Value figures throughout this report are at rsp (retail selling prices) excluding sales tax unless otherwise stated.
Note: The terms cheese snacks, cheesy snacks, and cheese-flavored snacks are used interchangeably in this report.
Sales data
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Market Size and Forecast: total retail sales based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews; US Census Bureau, Economic Census; Progressive Grocer’s Consumer Expenditures Study; forecast developed by Mintel.
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Segment Performance: total retail sales based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews; US Census Bureau, Economic Census; Progressive Grocer’s Consumer Expenditures Study; forecast developed by Mintel.
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Retail Channels: based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews; US Census Bureau, Economic Census; Progressive Grocer’s Consumer Expenditures Study; except supermarket and drug store sales, which are based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews.
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Leading Companies and Brand Share: based on MULO sales data from Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews. MULO is defined as Multi Outlet, representative of the following channels: total US Grocery, Mass, total US Drug, total Walmart, Dollar, Military, and Club. Note that the values shown in this section differ from the Market Size and Forecast and Segment Performance sections of this report. Companies and brands sales data encompasses only sales through MULO channels, while Market Size and Forecast and Segment Performance sales cover the entire retail market.
Consumer survey data
For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through Lightspeed GMI to explore consumer consumption of/attitudes and behaviors toward salty snacks. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in October 2014 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.
Mintel selects survey respondents by gender, age, household income, and region so that they are proportionally representative of the US adult population using the internet. Mintel also slightly over-samples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in our survey results and to allow for more precise parameter estimates from our reported findings. Please note that Mintel surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in the survey results.
Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, using the Simmons NCS (National Consumer Study) and the Simmons NHCS (National Hispanic Consumer Study).
The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NCS/NHCS was carried out during April 2013-June 2014 and the results are based on the sample of 24,073 adults aged 18+, with results weighted to represent the US adult population.
While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.
Abbreviations
The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report.
| BFY | Better-for-you |
| CPI | Consumer Price Index |
| FDA | US Food and Drug Administration |
| GMO | Genetically modified organism |
| GNPD | Global New Products Database |
| LSR | Limited service restaurant |
| MULO | Multi Outlet, representative of the following channels: total US Grocery, Mass, total US Drug, total Walmart, Dollar, Military, and Club |
| NCS/NHCS | National Consumer Study/National Hispanic Consumer Study (Experian Marketing Services) |
| : | : |
| : | : |
Generations are discussed within this report, and they are defined as:
| World War II/Swing generations | Members of the WWII generation were born in 1932 or before and are aged 83 or older in 2015. Members of the Swing Generation were born from 1933-1945 and are aged 70-82 in 2015. |
| Baby Boomers | The generation born between 1946 and 1964. In 2015, Baby Boomers are between the ages of 51 and 69. |
| Generation X | The generation born between 1965 and 1976. In 2015, Gen Xers are between the ages of 39 and 50. |
| Millennials* | Born between 1977 and 1994, Millennials are aged 21-38 in 2015. |
| iGeneration | Born between 1995 and 2007, members of iGen are aged 8-20 in 2015. |
| Emerging generation | The newest generation began in 2008 as the annual number of births declined sharply with the recession. In 2015 members of this as-yet-unnamed generation are under age 8. |
* also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers
In order to provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets, Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows:
| CPI | The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.
The CPI and its components are typically used to adjust other economic series for price changes and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars. Examples of series adjusted by the CPI include retail sales, hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the national income and product accounts. In addition, and in Mintel reports, the CPI is used as a deflator of the value of the consumer’s dollar to find its purchasing power. The purchasing power of the consumer’s dollar measures the change in the value to the consumer of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different dates. The CPI is generally the best measure for adjusting payments to consumers when the intent is to allow consumers to purchase, at today’s prices, a market basket of goods and services equivalent to one that they could purchase in an earlier period. It is also the best measure to use to translate retail sales into real or inflation-free dollars. Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics definition. |
