November 9, 2024

Forget the "Naughty" or "Nice" lists. This holiday season, Frito-Lay is all about salty vs. sweet with the release of its latest U.S. Snack Index1, revealing the taste preferences driving snack consumption among consumers.

Frito-Lay Logo (PRNewsfoto/Frito-Lay North America)

Survey data revealed women tend to prefer a mix of savory and sweet snacks, and Gen Z shoppers are more likely to seek savory snacks – while men and Boomers over age 55 have more of a sweet tooth. Yet, regardless of age or gender, it's food that brings people together during the holidays, as respondents overwhelmingly ranked snacks/food one of their "Favorite Things" for celebrating the season – second only to family and friends (whew!).

"This holiday season – and all year long – Frito-Lay has a snack for everyone, whether it's a tried-and-true classic or a new twist on an old favorite," said Mike Del Pozzo, senior vice president of sales and chief customer officer, Frito-Lay North America. "Consumers told us they prefer holiday food over drinks, gifts, decorations, music and sports. The good news is that Frito-Lay can meet that demand, as we produce nearly 100 pounds of snacks per second."

Holiday Campaign Starring Anna Kendrick

Americans will take part in an estimated 327 million gatherings over the next six weeks. Therefore, it's no snaccident that Frito-Lay is debuting its first-ever portfolio holiday creative campaign this week, ahead of the Thanksgiving supermarket surge.

Starring Anna Kendrick singing  "My Favorite Things" from the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical THE SOUND OF MUSIC, with a special take for Frito-Lay, the music video-esque production celebrates what everyone loves most about the holidays: snacks. Frito-Lay snacks, to be exact, as Kendrick shares the screen with Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos and Smartfood popcorn in a two-minute anthem video complete with a tacky-turned-tasty sweater party, gingerbread house decorating, queso-inspired tango, and of course a snack table spread that's fit for a king (or queen).

The Frito-Lay U.S. Snack Index: By the Numbers

The U.S. Snack Index also indicates time is at the top of everyone's wish list, perhaps due to the holiday shopping season being six days shorter in 2019 than it was last year. Americans are choosing NOT to play host this year. While they plan to attend a Thanksgiving (60 percent) or December holiday (44 percent) celebration, just 21 percent plan to host themselves.

Meanwhile, 40 percent of Americans say they'll pitch in to help with the snacks...provided the recipe is easy to prepare. And only 28 percent are stringing popcorn or partaking in other snack-inspired crafts – choosing instead to simply eat their snacks or give them as gifts (which is just fine with us, too).

America's Favorite Holiday Snacks

  • Snack mixes (39 percent)
  • Crackers (33 percent)
  • Popcorn (30 percent)

Salty vs. Sweet

  • More men than women prefer sweet treats (40 percent vs. 35 percent).
  • Women are more likely than men to enjoy sweet and savory snack blends (58 percent vs. 48 percent).
  • Gen Z reaches for salty snacks more so than Boomers – including popcorn (44 percent vs. 23 percent) and potato chips (43 percent vs. 26 percent).

Snack Occasions

  • Six out of 10 enjoy snacks as appetizers.
  • More than half eat snacks as part of a meal or immediately after.
  • One-third of consumers purchase snacks as gifts.

Among the 28 percent of people who say they use snacks in crafts, nearly half (48 percent) use popcorn while many also use pretzels (28 percent).

Frito-Lay's U.S. Snack Index is an ongoing, national pulse on how different generations, regions and cities snack. For more information, visit: FritoLay.com/SnackIndex.

1Survey Methodology 

Frito-Lay North America partnered with Morning Consult to field the Frito-Lay North America U.S. Snack Index nationally. This poll was conducted between Nov. 1-3, 2019, among a national sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of Adults based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

About Frito-Lay North America 

Frito-Lay North America is the $16 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com/ and on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/fritolay.

About PepsiCo 

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $64 billion in net revenue in 2018, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of the business.  For more information, visit www.pepsico.com