Potato Chip Sales Boosted By Pandemic, Product Development

Potato chips have always been a favorite indulgence because they are familiar and satisfying, and they taste great. These attributes catered to consumers’ need for comfort food, driving potato chip sales during the pandemic. The category posted the most growth of all salty snack categories with an increase of almost $50.8 million in sales for the first three months of 2020, as compared with 2019, according to Information Resources, Inc. retail sales figures for the US snacking market.

Potato chips have long been a pioneering staple on pantry shelves. As stay-at-home orders were put in place, demand for core snacks exploded as people rushed to fill their cupboards with their favorite snack foods.

“This overnight change in behavior brought consumers to the snack aisle in record numbers and that behavior continues now as states and cities emerge in different stages and reveal the new normal,” said Matt Colford, director of marketing and strategic selling, North America, Old Dutch Foods, Roseville, Minn.

Innovation with products like kettle-cooked chips has led to category growth. The extra crunchy batch-cooked bite and unique flavors for this chip segment resonates with consumers. Kettle chips’ popularity is evidenced by the double-digit growth for Campbell Snacks’, Camden, NJ, Kettle brand (18.4%) and the Old Dutch Crunch product line (18.5%).

“Our Dutch Crunch kettle chips have been in markets for nearly 30 years,” Mr. Colford said. “Our success stems from combining mainstream seasonings intertwined with boutique offerings, such as Bacon Ranch and Prime Rib. Our recent flavor-fusion profile, Sour Cream and Dill Pickle, is fast becoming a best seller.”

In recent years, producers have responded to consumer preference for healthier snacks by lowering salt and using quality oils with health benefits. Utz’s Boulder Canyon brand of craft kettle-cooked potato chips are cooked in healthier oils like avocado, coconut, olive, sunflower, safflower and rice bran, which also add distinct flavor. Hanover, Pa.-based Utz launched Boulder Canyon’s Gourmet Medley Kettle Style Potato Chips.