On National Junk Food Day and beyond, the popularity of salty snacks licks the competition 24/7/365

There are 50 million consumers who often snack between meals and agree that “salted snacks are my favorite snack.” Packaged Facts reveals who they are and how to market to them in our report Salty Snacks in the U.S.

It’s National Junk Food Day, and with Americans nationwide indulging in junk foods ranging from the traditional to the weird and wacky, it’s a perfect time to pay homage to the granddaddy of all junk foods-the salty snack.  

Whether it be the crunchy potato chip, the versatile corn/tortilla chip, savory cheese snacks, the twisty pretzel, or airy popcorn (aka the healthy man’s salty snack), these products occupy a ubiquitous presence in the average American diet.  Indeed, more than 90% of households in the country report using a salty snack in the past 30 days, according to the Packaged Facts report Salty Snacks in the U.S.

While potato chips lead the way in terms of popularity, the snack rarely-if ever-occupies a place in the typical American home by its lonesome. For example, there are only 8 million households, or 7% of all households using salty snacks, that consume potato chips alone. In sharp contrast, there are 77 million households, or 67% of the total number of households that purchase salty snacks, that use at least three kinds of salty snacks. 

Interestingly enough, in many ways, adults living in households consuming all four types of salty snacks (potato chips, popcorn products, corn/tortilla chips/cheese snacks and pretzels) represent a bygone image of Middle America.  Rather than being young, multicultural and urban, they are more likely than adults on average to be between the ages of 35 and 54 and non-Hispanic white.  They are much more likely to live in the Central region of the country and in small and medium-size urban areas.  They also have a higher likelihood of working full-time and enjoy a middle- to upper-income life style with a household income of $75,000 or more.  Children and parents also are more common in households eating potato chips, pretzels and popcorn products as well as corn/tortilla chips/cheese snacks. 

Add Salty Snacks in the U.S. to your intelligence library and receive a 10% discount during our promotional period effective through October 15, 2015. Use code PF0721SNACKS.

--  Daniel Granderson