Seeds and nuts are at the very core of the better-for-you (BFY) snacking trend, which portends good things for the category on convenience store shelves in 2023.
Dollar sales for the nuts and seeds category in the convenience store channel topped $787 million, a respectable gain of 4.2%, for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 31, 2022, according to Abigail Benn, communications specialist for NielsenIQ.
The nut segment alone saw sales of $523 million, up 1.7%. Almonds notched $55.9 million, up 0.8%. Cashews registered sales of $122 million, a loss of 4.4%, while mixed nuts with peanuts garnered sales of $5.9 million, up 3.5%. Mixed nuts without peanuts saw sales of $13.7 million, down 10.8%. Peanut sales rang in at $187 million, a gain of 5.3%. Pecan sales reached $6.4 million, up a strong 20.1%, while pistachios notched $131 million, up 3.6%.
NielsenIQ also found that sales of seeds totaled $263 million, a strong gain of 9.7%. Within that segment, pumpkin/squash seeds notched $22.5 million, down 0.1%, and sunflower seeds recorded $240 million in sales, up by an impressive 10.7%.
BFY Snacking
“For the past couple of years, pandemic-related stress drove significant increases in indulgences like confections and ice cream,” noted Brandon Daniels, manager of public relations for GetGo, which operates more than 260 c-stores throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. “But we’re now seeing overall consumer behavior shifting back to BFY snacking, which was popular pre-COVID.”
That’s good news for seeds and nuts, which customers perceive as healthy snack options. What’s more, customers, who snacked more frequently when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, have continued this snacking habit as the world has returned to normal.
“Consumers have embraced snack foods as a form of comfort and entertainment and are snacking more and more often,” explained Dragana Ilic, a buyer with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), which operates 589 Express convenience stores and 122 main stores.
“Body nourishment has become increasingly more important to consumers, and therefore more focus has been placed on BFY brands, such as those with clean labels, quality ingredients, organic, non-GMO, etc.,” Ilic added.
Ilic predicted that in the coming years demand for nuts and seeds, fruit- and vegetable-based foods and products derived from natural sources will gain a higher level of significance.
“Look for more and more convenience store brands to explore private-label options for savory snacks such as seeds and nuts,” predicted Ken Morris, the managing partner for Cambridge Retail Advisors in Massachusetts.
Bundled promotions will increasingly make sense for this product grouping, Morris added. “This category is a natural for collocation with energy drinks, ready-to-drink (beverages), waters and sodas, as well. Maybe we’ll see some private-label savory snacks even closer than usual to these beverage items.”
