Snack World - May 2012 - 35

CORN SNACKS

Making it Into a Meal
Corn snacks began hitting grocers’ shelves in the 1950s and have been a staple in the snack aisle ever since. In addition to being a snack in the pantry, corn snacks can serve as an ingredient or accompaniment to a variety of dishes. In fact, consumers may be turning to corn chips and snacks more often to assist with meal preparation. Corn snack manufacturers often provide recipes on their consumer websites showcasing ways in which these products can be incorporated into foods. In fact, Frito-Lay North America, Plano, TX, features more than a dozen recipes that use its Frito brand corn snacks. Using snacks in recipes isn’t exactly a new concept, however. Wise Foods, Berwick, PA, permits visitors of its website to download a 1959 cookbook that includes a variety of recipes incorporating its potato chips. Today, Wise Foods offers several types of corn chips, including traditional corn chips in Original and Bar-B-Que varieties as well as Dipsy Doodles Wavy Corn Chips, which it refers to as the “The Ultimate Dipping Chip” on its packaging. Herr Foods, Nottingham, PA, features many recipes on its website, including a salsa chip meatloaf, which can use a bag of corn chips. In fact, those a bit adventurous in the kitchen might even use the company’s Chili Cheese corn chips, which is the company’s latest introduction in this category. A new style of corn chip that is made with popcorn appears to be making a lot noise in this segment. Chip’ins from Popcorn, Indiana, Englewood, NJ, represents one of the fastest growing corn snacks. Chip’ins gourmet popcorn chips were introduced to the market in January 2011. Launched in four varieties — White Cheddar, Hot Buffalo Wing, Sea Salt and Jalapeño Ranch — the air-popped popcorn chips has seen its sales quadruple during the past year, according to SymponyIRI Group sales data. The company expanded its offering earlier this year when it began offering a Classic BBQ flavor.

Top Corn Snack Brands
Brand / Vendor Dollar Sales ($mil) Dollar Sales % Change 5.6 3.4 1.0 6.3 5.1 42.7 5.2 NA (6.2) 0.4 (11.3) 412.1 1.4 73.9 (36.7) (2.8) 8.6 (11.8) Unit Sales (mil) 215.4 88.8 42.8 18.7 16.8 14.9 8.5 2.4 3.6 2.0 1.5 0.7 1.1 1.2 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.4 Unit Sales Volume Volume Sales % Change Sales % Change (mil lb) (2.4) (8.2) (5.2) 6.7 (8.3) 32.3 2.8 NA (16.8) (6.9) (14.4) 557.2 (6.9) 62.6 (40.6) (9.5) 7.7 (18.0) 114.7 46.5 32.6 8.0 7.4 6.2 5.4 0.7 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.2 3.6 2.2 0.8 2.4 4.5 33.7 2.4 NA (12.5) (4.9) (13.5) 478.8 (5.6) 72.7 (40.6) 13.6 7.7 (17.2)

Corn Snacks (no tortilla chips) - total 471.2 Fritos/Frito-Lay North America, Inc. 196.5 Fritos Scoops/Frito-Lay North America, Inc. 127.6 Bugles/General Mills, Inc. 37.6 Fritos Flavor Twsits/Frito-Lay North America, Inc. 31.6 Barcel Takis Fuego/Barcel USA 25.6 Private label 13.4 PopCorners/Medora Snacks 4.7 Sabritas/Frito-Lay North America, Inc. 4.2 Barcel Takis/Barcel USA 3.0 Mike-sell's/Mike-sell's Potato Chip Co. 2.9 Popcorn Indiana Chip'ins/Popcorn Indiana 2.2 Wise Dipsy Doodles/Wise Foods, Inc. 2.0 Barcel Churritos/Barcel USA 1.9 Fritos Singles/Frito-Lay North America, Inc. 1.9 Tom's/Snyder's-Lance, Inc. 1.3 Have'a/Have'a Natural Foods 1.2 Robert's American Gourmet Tings/Pirate Brands 1.2
SOURCE: INFOSCAN REVIEWS TOTAL US — SUPERMARKETS, DRUGSTORES AND MASS MERCHANDISERS (EXCLUDING WAL-MART) 52 WEEKS ENDING MARCH 18, 2012

www.sfa.org

May 2012

Snack World

35
http://www.sfa.org
Snack World - May 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Snack World - May 2012
