The great thing about working to boost salty snack sales is that customers walk through the door already loving salty snacks.

But convenience store operators can always do more to showcase their offering.

Deciding what to stock, which items to prioritize and the best snacks to promote begins with knowing which of the plethora of salty snacks sell best.

The stakes are high: for the 52-week period ending Dec. 3, 2023, the total U.S. convenience store channel’s salty snacks recorded sales of $8.03 billion, up 14.6%, according to Chicago-based market research firm Circana. Within that category, potato chips had the highest sales at $2.39 billion, up 14.1%. Sales of tortilla/tostada chips were over $1.74 billion, and cheese snacks saw sales of $1.13 billion. Others salted snacks (no nuts) notched sales of $1.08 billion, a year-to-year gain of 15.5%.

Corn snacks, excluding tortilla chips, recorded sales of nearly $769 million, a large 21.2% jump. Pretzels performed just under $380 million in sales, a 13.8% rise. Ready-to-eat popcorn/caramel corn sales jumped up 8.7%, while pork rinds increased 6.2%.

In addition to knowing the different types of salty snacks that are selling well, keeping abreast of the trending flavor profiles is equally as important. Lately, a mix of hot and sweet is growing in popularity. Better-for-you options are also a rising trend, so stocking low-sodium snacks would appeal to the more health-conscious consumers.

Testing new snack flavors with customers while also making sure the staple flavor favorites are well stocked is a priority.

Beyond the statistics and trends, c-store retailers need to be active in beating the drum about salty snacks in every way they can.

One no-brainer method of stepping up sales is to make promotional offers and discounts available to consumers, the theory being that consumers across all of retail love getting more for less. While offers should be clearly communicated in window signage, shelf talkers and out at the gas island, employee suggestions also help sway consumer decisions in favor of impulse purchases.

Cross-promoting salty snacks with other in-store items — especially beverages, since salty foods make people thirsty — is a surefire way to build ring and move more product off shelves.