Total snack food sales jumped 12.5% to $487 million during Super Bowl Week 2021, according to new data from IRI, commissioned by SNAC International (SNAC), the trade association of the snacking industry. The biggest sales increases by category for Super Bowl week are tortilla chips, potato chips, pretzels, pork rinds, and refrigerated dips. 

“In America, football, snack foods and fun go together,” said Elizabeth Avery, president and CEO of SNAC. “Regardless of where you’re watching the big game this year, we know the bowl of snacks will be at the center of your Super Bowl huddle.”

The new snacking data, provided by IRI, compared 2021 shopping data from Super Bowl week to the prior week. It shows a significant increase in the following snack categories during Super Bowl Week:

• Tortilla Chips:                      26.5%
• Potato Chips:                     12.2%
• Pretzels:                              9.2%
• Refrigerated Dips:              33.3%
• Pork Rinds:                         7.6%

The data revealed an interesting snacking fact in the COVID era. Snack food sales volume and spending rose from 2020 to 2021, signaling that snack consumption grew regardless of whether or not the game took place with traditional parties or gatherings or in the midst of COVID precautions. The data signals a bright future for snacking growth.

In total, Americans eat 112 million pounds of snacks on Super Bowl Sunday, or the equivalent of 270 jumbo jets.

This is the fourth year SNAC has monitored consumer spending on snacks for the Super Bowl, with total purchasing on snacks rising from $370 million to $487 million during that time.

“Despite supply chain concerns impacting manufacturers of all kinds, America’s snack food companies are working overtime to ensure consumers have access to their favorite snack foods for the 2022 Super Bowl,” concluded Avery.

Source: SNAC International