High food costs are impacting meat snack sales and pushing c-store retailers to figure out new ways to lift the category in 2024.
Dried meat snacks totaled $2.15 billion in dollar sales, showing a 0.4% decrease, while its unit sales dropped 7%. Jerky dollar sales also dipped 1.8%, with unit sales falling 4.4%, for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 31, 2023, according to Chicago-based market research firm Circana.
High’s, which has 59 locations throughout Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania, has also noticed a decline in meat snack sales.
“We expect to continue seeing the meat snack category decline. I think we will see a unit decline of approximately 15-20% in 2024,” said Mike Jackson, category manager for High’s. “I think we are going to have to see manufacturers come up with some new smaller sizes of jerky in order to keep even current sales.”
Randy Adams, category manager for Carmi, Ill.-based Huck’s, with over 125 locations in five states, said he thinks meat snack dollar sales will be flat while unit sales will likely decline 5-10% in 2024.
Snacking on a Budget
Since the price of meat snacks has increased, consumers are rethinking the way they shop for meat snacks at convenience stores.
“I believe we are going to see a shift from larger packages to smaller packages due to the increased costs and retail of meat snacks,” said Jackson.
“The larger packages are just getting too expensive, and with consumers tightening their belts, I think they will move to lower-priced items and perhaps even shift to the meat stick category for their protein snacking needs.”
These price increases are even leading some consumers to look outside of the grocery aisle for alternative options. Almost seven in 10 food and beverage executives (86%) expect increased competition from fast food and quick-service restaurants, per Deloitte’s “2024 Consumer Products Outlook.”
“I think consumers still want quality and variety, but due to price hikes, they are looking for lower-priced alternatives now,” said Adams.
Nonetheless, even though consumers are trying to save money when purchasing these snacks, they still want them to taste as good.
“Consumers want a good product but do not want to break the bank when purchasing them,” noted Jackson. “They do not want to sacrifice quality; they want something good for their hard-earned money, but they want less of it.”
To hopefully improve meat snack sales, retailers should consider adding more alternatives to provide customers with meat snacks they like but for a price they can afford.
“We’ll continue to offer value through our loyalty program, and we’ll look for ways to cut retails when possible,” said Adams.
