--- title: Snack Sales Slump as Consumers Lose Appetite for High Prices description: Consumers are cutting back on expensive snacks due to rising prices. Learn how inflation is shifting snack-buying habits. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 602 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes published: '2025-03-20T12:30:01.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - News word_count: 454 canonical: https://money.com/snack-sales-slump-high-prices/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Girl with shocked face holding a granola bar, with chips and money in the background](https://img.money.com/2025/03/News-Snacks-Are-Expensive.jpg) High prices for popular branded snack foods are pushing some consumers to cut back or choose more affordable alternatives. Several companies in the snack industry are reporting lower-than-expected sales, citing price sensitivity from consumers worried about the economy and struggling to cope with food inflation. Prices for snacks are up about 22% since February 2020, which is basically on par with food-at-home inflation, according to the the [Consumer Price Index](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm). ## From pricey snacks to overwhelming debt — Find financial relief ### Accredited Debt Relief can start you on the path to resolve your debt, especially if you owe over $20,000. Why wait? Select your state to get started today! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/z3aa244b8353?ap_referrer=%2Fsnack-sales-slump-high-prices%2F) On Wednesday, General Mills reported a "[slowdown](https://investors.generalmills.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/General-Mills-Reports-Fiscal-2025-Third-quarter-Results-and-Updates-Full-year-Outlook/default.aspx)" in snacking categories including bars, fruit snacks and salty snacks. General Mills, which makes some of the most popular cereals such as Cheerios, as well as Nature Valley granola bars and Fruit Roll-Ups, said the trends in snacking impacted the company's performance for the most recent quarter. Asked if the troubles in snack-food sales could be a result of GLP-1 weight loss drugs such as Wegovy, General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening said on an earnings call that it's more about consumer confidence. "Our belief is that consumers have become much more value conscious," he said, noting that Americans are also going out to restaurants less often and cutting back on other discretionary groceries (i.e., not kitchen staples). ## Shoppers are skipping expensive snack foods Snack food companies are reporting to investors that they are feeling the impact of Americans' more economical shopping behavior in the grocery aisles. J.M. Smucker recently said its Hostess brand was seeing decreased sales, with the company's executive [citing](https://s203.q4cdn.com/703080298/files/doc_financials/2025/q3/The-J-M-Smucker-Co-FY25-Q3-Earnings-Prepared-Remarks-_-Final.pdf) general inflation in the economy that is weighing on consumer spending. Campbell’s, which owns Goldfish and Kettle Brand chips, reported a 2% drop in organic sales, also blaming snack food demand. Oreos maker Mondelez International recently said it expected a [drop in profit](https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/mondelez-misses-fourth-quarter-revenue-estimates-2025-02-04/) due to rising cocoa prices, which have prompted price increases. Research confirms that consumers with tighter budgets are adjusting their shopping habits, choosing cheaper options or store-brand snack foods at the grocery store. One survey by 84.51°, which is part of Kroger, found that 43% of shoppers are open to switching to lower-cost brands for snacks and candy. "Consumers still have their snacking occasions, but they are switching to lower-cost brands more often to satisfy their needs," Melissa Myres, insights director at 84.51°, told [Progressive Grocer](https://progressivegrocer.com/consumers-opt-private-label-snacks-offset-national-brand-prices). "They’re willing to trade down or into other options when it comes to snacking." Beyond price sensitivity, PepsiCo, which owns Frito-Lay, reported another market shift affecting snack sales: health. In an [earnings call](https://apnews.com/article/pepsico-earnings-revenue-4483d93d6789c1ed70c57205be8a9d92) last month, CEO Ramon Laguarta suggested that companies will need to market healthier products: "There’s a higher level of awareness among American consumers toward health and wellness," he said. ## Reduce payments and make debt manageable with a Debt Relief program ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/78341a69d0df?bidid=4113498881&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=670648082&ptoken=f7199b9ac280cf4e8075fc25ac556de6) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/23879/medium_3847e650-29eb-411b-9b8c-05deb0d02cbc.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/efa83e266c86?bidid=4113498883&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=670648082&ptoken=c778e80f4745ca824e102785802f6319) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/15565/medium_832cc4b7-74f8-4735-8fe1-6917816cbe8d.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/6d6c8facefa1?bidid=4113498879&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=670648082&ptoken=e818edfb7c22f41a96403e512f678965) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/22445/medium_ba73f26a-1e1e-4e49-9739-df1298783de6.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/ee18acc32de3?bidid=4113498895&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=670648082&ptoken=f9f0a2bc2cd36acd20d0659e0a517e67) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/9246/medium_94931930-28cf-46b5-b09d-683979caec81.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/dbbae46519ee?bidid=4113498887&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=670648082&ptoken=616b19bc71b768ba8eebb608d8fa91e1) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) If you owe over $20,000 or more, Freedom Debt Relief can help you get back on your feet! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/u5c2defb44d4?ap_referrer=%2Fsnack-sales-slump-high-prices%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/snack-sales-slump-high-prices/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Inflation", "item": "https://money.com/inflation/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Snack Sales Slump as Consumers Lose Appetite for High Prices" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/snack-sales-slump-high-prices/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/snack-sales-slump-high-prices/", "name": "Snack Sales Slump as Consumers Lose Appetite for High Prices", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-03-20T12:30:01.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/snack-sales-slump-high-prices/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/snack-sales-slump-high-prices/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Snack Sales Slump as Consumers Lose Appetite for High Prices", "articleSection": "Economy and Politics", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/03/News-Snacks-Are-Expensive.jpg", "width": 2218, "height": 1479, "caption": "News-Snacks-Are-Expensive" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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