Snack Food Manufacturers NAICS 31191

Jul 30, 2025 - Smaller, Less Expensive Package Sizes

• Makers of chips, cookies, and crackers are downsizing package sizes to appeal to inflation-weary consumers with lower-priced options as a way to boost sales, The Wall Street Journal reported in July. While consumer-goods companies have long offered a range of package sizes to meet different needs – such as on-the-go snacking or portion control – affordability has become a priority. For example, WSJ reported that snack-and-soda giant PepsiCo now sells Lay’s potato chips in half a dozen different-sized bags, costing from around 50 cents to roughly $5. The strategy is to keep consumers buying your brand by offering a variety of product sizes at price points they can afford, hoping they trade up to larger package sizes when they have more money to spend. Another benefit of smaller-size offerings is that they tend to have higher profit margins.
• Nearly half (48.8%) of US consumers snack three or more times per day, up 2.7% over last year, according to a new report from market research firm Circana. Circana’s Snack Unwrap report published in April found consumers between the ages of 18-44 are the most frequent snackers. Nearly two-thirds of consumers (63.7%) say they want snacks that provide an energy boost, and 61.4% want high-protein snacks. The top categories for unit growth per the report are yogurt and yogurt drinks (up 4.9% year over year), followed by dried meat snacks, and crackers and frozen fruits. Chocolate posted the largest unit sales decline (down 3.4%). Given inflation’s impact on food prices, it’s no surprise that the retail channels that saw the largest rise in unit sales were dollar stores, up 6.6% YoY, and buy-in-bulk club stores, up 3.9%, last year.

• A growing emphasis on health and wellness among consumers is transforming the snacking industry, according to the Food & Flavour Outlook 2025 by food ingredient maker Griffith Foods. Consumers today are looking for snacks that do more than just taste good and satisfy hunger. Instead, they’re shopping for functional snacks that offer health benefits, leading to a rise in so-called functional snacking, with ingredients intended to enhance mental clarity, boost immunity, or improve digestion. Examples include gut-friendly snacks like granola bars infused with probiotics, fermented vegetable chips, yogurt-covered nuts, and collagen-boosting treats, according to Griffith Foods. As a result, start-up companies and major players like Mondelez and Nestlé are investing heavily in functional snack innovation. A report from The Business Research Company predicts that the global functional food market will reach $315 billion this year.
• Producer prices for snack food manufacturers rose 2.6% in June compared to a year ago, after rising 3.3% in the previous June-versus-June annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Employment by the industry shrank 1.7% year over year in May, while average wages at food manufacturers rose 3.1% YoY in June to $24.06 per hour, easing from their record high in January, BLS data show. Prices and wages at snack food manufacturers have been climbing since 2021 as the industry faces rising input costs and the manufacturers have struggled to hire and retain workers.