Total retail sales of snack foods in Canada are estimated to reach $3.11 billion by the end of 2015. With retail sales of snack foods to continue to grow at a steady pace in the coming years, the salty snack industry in Canada will remain a healthy environment with room for niche market products/brands to evolve and grow.

Consumers’ routine purchase of many items in the salty snacks category, as well as the increased number of immigrants, the aging population and changing consumer preferences towards healthier products will help support the growth. Certain demographic groups prefer specific types of salty snacks, with age, household size, presence of children and household income shaping these consumer demands. Additionally, a faster pace of life for consumers will see an increased demand for on-the-go sized items with healthier options and re-sealable packaging in order to help meet the needs of the modern consumer.

The primary focus of this report will be based on the results of Mintel’s exclusive consumer research and focuses on salty snack usage patterns, consumption occasions, consumer attitudes, attributes and associations with salty snacks. As well, trends/innovations and profiles of major salty snacks brands in the Canadian market are explored.

Definition

For the purpose of this report, Mintel defines the salty snack category to include the following: chips, snack nuts and other snacks.

Chips include: potato chips and rice based chips.

Other snacks include: potato based snacks, rice based snacks, corn based snacks, popcorn, pretzels, fruit snacks/jellies, meat snacks and fish/seafood snacks.

Nuts include: packaged nuts intended for immediate consumption.

Abbreviations

CAD Canadian Dollar
FORE Forecast
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GMO Genetically Modified Organism
GNPD Global New Products Database
HH Household
M Millions
NPD New Product Development
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