American Industry Overview: Potato Chips, Corn Chips and Similar Snacks
Industry Snapshot
The "salty snack" industry includes potato chips, corn chips, tortilla chips, ready-to-eat popcorn (except candy-coated), pork rinds, potato sticks, and extruded snacks such as cheese puffs. According to the Snack Food Association, sales for snacks during 2005 totaled $24.6 billion. Frito-Lay was the undisputed champion of this industry category, with Tostitos, Ruffles, Rold Gold, Fritos, Lay's, Cheetos, SunChips, and many more top sellers under its umbrella. Potato chips and tortilla chips controlled the snack foods market. Some 84 percent of American households eat potato chips, which had one-third...