Thirteen Topeka c-stores join to promote low-sodium snacks in the front of their stores. A handful of convenience stores in Topeka plan to cut back on their salty snack food offerings, and instead, sell more healthy snacks. Each store agreed to create a rack of healthy, low-sodium items. “When you go into convenience stores, you…
C-Stores Missing Significant Snack Sales Opportunities
Consumer research from MSA and Paradigm Sample suggest the majority of customers looking to buy salty snacks leave the store empty-handed, a serious no-no for convenience stores. By Trish Temmerman, Management Science Associates (MSA). Nearly eight in 10 convenience store customers looking to buy salty snacks on a shopping occasion have left the store without…
New Products, Variety Enhancing Salty Snacks
Salty snack sales are a surging category and retailers should be going along for the ride. “All chip segments have become accepted mainstream food and that’s not going to change in 2012, said Amer Hawatmeh, president of St. George Oil in St. Louis, operator of six Coast to Coast convenience stores. Part of the attraction…
Gourmet Popcorn
Oogie’s Snacks, makers of Oogie’s Gourmet Popcorn, launched new Kettle Corn flavors at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in May. Oogie’s Popcorn is best known for its savory pre-popped popcorn flavors made with distinctive cheese and spices. Now the two new Kettle Corn flavors— Orginal and Sticks & Stonez—are set to start shipping in August.…
Driving Snacks Sales
While private label products are improving, quality and value remain critical components for all snacking options. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor “Yes, but…” That’s the all-too-common answer to the question of whether or not price promotions can drive snack sales in convenience stores. Yes, in a lousy economy people look for and respond to savings.…
Outlook Strong for Salty Snacks
The recession of the past couple of years has not swayed consumers from their salty snack habits. In almost every type of data, salty snacks continue to thrive. According to NACS’ 2010 State of the Industry report, convenience store salty snack sales climbed 3.4%, while margin dollars climbed 4.8%. Since 2007, sales of salty snacks…
Elevating Snack Sales
The weak economy has not taken much of a bite out of meat snack sales. Americans are loathe to sacrifice edible indulgences, even in times of financial crisis. All three NACS snacks categories—salty, packaged sweet and alternative—showed increases in average sales per store from 2008 to 2009, and showed gross-margin percentage and average gross-margin-dollar-per-store gains.…
Home Recipe Favorite
General Mills has introduced Chex Mix Muddy Buddies to convenience store retailers. Inspired by the popular homemade recipe, Chex Mix Muddy Buddies is a combination of chocolate and peanut butter Corn Chex cereal pieces tossed in a sweet powdery coating. Each 4.5-ounce bag has a suggested retail price of $2.19. The snack mix aims to…
Healthy Options Push Salty Snacks
TOP PERFORMERS Frito Lay Cheez-It (Kellogg’s) Chex Mix (General Mills) HONORABLE MENTIONS Combos (Mars) Cape Cod (Lance) Pringles (P&G) The down economy has inspired a consumer trend toward eating in and choosing less expensive home-entertainment options, which has been a boost to the salty snacks category. Customers are likely to choose snacks they perceive as…
Growing Snack Sales
Sunflower seeds, which have quietly built a loyal following both as planned and impulse purchases, are garnering more shelf space these days as c-store retailers expand this category. Randy Adams, buyer for Huck’s Food and Fuel in Carmi, Ill., found that sunflower seeds have proven so popular that when he recently completed a nuts and…