Snack Food Manufacturers NAICS 31191

Jan 30, 2026 - New Dietary Guidelines

• The newly-released 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) carry significant implications for snack food manufacturers, largely because they take the strongest stance yet against added sugars and highly processed snack foods, The Nutrition Source reports. The guidelines explicitly call out salty and sweet packaged snacks as products consumers should avoid, and they tighten sugar recommendations far beyond previous DGAs, suggesting no more than 10 grams of added sugar per meal and advising children to avoid added sugars entirely until age 10. This pressures manufacturers of cookies, bars, chips, crackers, and sweetened snacks to reformulate, reduce sugar, and shift toward whole‑grain or minimally processed ingredients. The heightened focus on “highly processed foods” also raises reputational and regulatory risk for conventional snack categories. Going forward, snack makers face stronger incentives to innovate in low‑sugar, clean‑label, and whole‑food‑based products to stay aligned with evolving federal nutrition policy and consumer expectations.
• New research from consumer insights firm Circana finds that households using GLP-1 medications for weight‑loss or diabetes are projected to account for 35% of all US food and beverage units sold by 2030, up from about 23% at present. Because GLP‑1 users are increasingly focused on weight management, their shopping patterns are shifting dramatically. They’re buying fewer carb- and sugar-heavy snacks, while favoring higher‑protein, high‑fiber, and healthy‑fat foods. Even though their total retail food spending dips, they still outspend non-users overall. For snack‑food manufacturers, especially those reliant on sugary, high‑carb snacks, this trend signals reduced demand. To stay relevant, companies will likely need to reformulate or expand into products aligned with health‑centered, high‑protein, low‑sugar diets and adjust their marketing to appeal to this growing group of shoppers.

• The US Small Business Administration has launched what it calls its first-ever loan program dedicated to supporting America’s small manufacturers by providing additional credit for working capital needs. Effective Oct. 1, the Manufacturers' Access to Revolving Credit (MARC) Loan Program will provide a maximum of $5 million to borrowers engaged in manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), according to the agency. The money must be used for working capital needs, such as inventory purchases or new projects. MARC capital can be structured as a term loan for up to 10 years or a revolving line of credit for up to 20 years. MARC loans can be used in combination with other SBA and conventional commercial loans. The new working capital loan program is part of the Trump administration’s larger effort to strengthen US manufacturing.
• Producer prices for snack food manufacturers were flat in November compared to a year ago, after rising 5.5% in the previous November-versus-November annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Employment by the industry shrank 3.7% year over year in November, while average wages at food manufacturers rose 1.6% YoY in December to a new high of $24.25 per hour, BLS data show. Producer prices and wages at snack food manufacturers are near record high levels amid plummeting after-tax profits for food companies, which fell 119% in Q2 2025 compared to a year ago and 119.3% from Q1, according to the Census Bureau.