A Guide to Snacking: Sweet Snacks

When it comes to being the go-to place for packaged sweet snacks, convenience stores have their work cut out for them.

Consumers are still making most of their packaged sweet snack purchases in supermarkets, which had 81.8-percent dollar share for the 52 weeks ended Feb. 14, 2015. C-stores were a distant second at 13.2 percent, according to Nielsen.

Nielsen numbers for the same 52 weeks showed supermarkets held a 68-percent share in unit volume, while the convenience channel only notched 26.3 percent. The good news: that is a one-point increase for the convenience retail channel from the year before.

Muffins and doughnuts have steadily commanded nearly half of the packaged sweet snacks category share in both dollar sales and unit volume at convenience stores for two years.

However, snack cakes, pastries and desserts are the comeback kids in the category. This segment of tasty treats increased 14.2 percent in dollar sales for the 52 weeks ended Feb. 14, 2015 after dropping 5 percent during the previous 52 weeks.

Click here to continue reading the “Top Trends in Sweet Snacks” special feature, published in the May Convenience Store News Guide to Snacking.