Worth their salt
Convenience stores have always been ground zero for grabbing chips and a pop, but the salty snacks category is growing in bold new directions. Innovation is lifting it to new heights and profitability that retailers can maximize with smartly curated selections for consumers.
Consider current trends: the quest for crunch; hybrid mashups like sweet and savoury combos; better-for-you choices that have become mainstream, while evolving to meet growing demand for snacks with protein and fibre.
What’s at stake is a bigger slice of the savoury snack market, valued at $6.6 billion. The salt snack segment dominates, representing $3.6 billion, with potato and tortilla chips out front. And here’s the important part: Sales are still growing. Estimates peg the CAGR at between 4.7% to 6.8%.
Bold flavours drive growth
When it comes to flavour, outside-the-box options grab consumer attention. Just look at Miss Vickie’s Ristoranti Series introduced last fall, which taps into classic Italian dishes with kettle- cooked potato chips reminiscent of vodka sauce pizza, cacio e pepe (spaghetti with black pepper and pecorino Romano), and spicy pepperoncini and focaccia.
Some companies have supercharged their flavours taking them into ultra-hot-stuff territory. For example, Takis rolled tortilla chips, for example, offer spicy options that unapologetically push heat to the extreme with SKUs such as Blue Heat and Dragon Sweet Chili.
PepsiCo Canada is the major player in salty snacks, with sales outpacing other companies by a wide margin. It recognizes just how important c-stores are in its recipe for success.
“The convenience channel continues to evolve rapidly, but one thing remains clear: salty snacks are still one of the most powerful drivers of impulse, engagement and basket growth in retail today,” says Marie-Helene Jauron, senior director, convenience and gas channel, PepsiCo Canada.
As she points out, convenience stores are built around immediacy, impulse and simplicity—and snacks align perfectly with all three.
“Unlike planned grocery purchases, most convenience store visits are mission driven and often spontaneous,” she says. “Shoppers come in for a drink, a quick bite, or a last-minute need and snacks naturally attach themselves to that mission.”
That makes snacks one of the most reliable add-on categories in retail. A beverage becomes a combo. A quick stop becomes a larger basket. Routine visits become habitual.
Frequency is another key driver.
“Snacks are not an occasional indulgence. They are part of everyday activities—road trips, work breaks, gaming sessions and late-night moments,” says Jauron. “That repeat behaviour creates a steady and predictable revenue stream for retailers.”
From a business perspective, the category also delivers strong margins, high turnover and flexibility across multiple price points, from entry-level single-serve packs to premium and share-size offerings.
Health-conscious consumers reshape the category
Companies such as PepsiCo Canada are keeping a close eye on changing consumer preferences. Health and wellness, once considered niche within convenience, are now firmly mainstream, Jauron says.
Today’s shoppers still want indulgence but increasingly seek products that deliver balance and “feel-good” benefits, including higher-protein options, reduced-sodium or lower-fat products, and labels with simpler, recognizable ingredients.
The company meets those needs with brands such as Quaker Crispy Minis Rice Cakes and Smartfood Popcorn, while also expanding options with lower sodium, fibre and protein.
“In short, the category is no longer only about indulgence,” she says. “It is about balance, flexibility and meeting consumers where they are.”
And right now, consumers want something new and different.
“Traditional snacks, especially Lay’s potato chips and Tostitos tortilla chips, remain the foundation of the category,” says Jauron. “They continue to deliver strong volume, broad appeal and trusted brand recognition across demographics. However, innovation plays an important role in driving growth, especially in the convenience-and-gas channel.”
Flavour remains one of the category’s most powerful tools, with consumers actively seeking bold and unique experiences. With summer being the peak consumption period for snacks, PepsiCo Canada says it prioritizes innovation aggressively during the season.
A key growth brand for the company in convenience is Doritos, which continues to resonate strongly with younger Canadians through bold flavours and disruptive innovation, including products that nod to familiar favourites such as Doritos Ketchup. Jauron says the flavour’s return follows strong previous sales and impressive repeat-purchase rates.
Execution matters at retail
For salty snacks in convenience, “execution is where the category truly comes to life,” says Jauron. “Visibility is everything. The most successful retailers treat snacks not as a static aisle, but as a dynamic merchandising opportunity.”
She recommends secondary placements at checkout, beside Pepsi beverage coolers and within meal-solution zones to capture impulse purchases. Cross-merchandising with drinks, like Lay’s and Pepsi combos, amplifies both categories and increases basket size.
Bundling also remains a proven growth driver. Simple meal deals pairing a sandwich, drink and snack transform individual items into value-driven solutions that resonate with today’s price-conscious shoppers.
Pricing strategy is equally important. Offering a range of price points ensures accessibility, while promotions such as multi-buys and limited-time offers create urgency and encourage trial.
“Ultimately, success comes down to making the shopper decision easy—visible, appealing and instantly rewarding,” says Jauron.
Seeing purple
It’s not just major players focusing on innovation and evolving consumer needs. Smaller companies are doing the same, including Purplesful Snacking.
Founded by Canadian entrepreneurs Matthew and Jasmin von Teichman, the company has steadily gained a loyal following for its purple popcorn, which officially hit shelves in February 2022. It continues to expand distribution in grocery and convenience outlets across Canada and the U.S.
The husband-and-wife team set out to create a company with a mission-first mandate, aiming to support children’s charities through corporate profits with 25% going to organizations devoted to children’s health and education.
“We wanted to be a philanthropic-driven business, and didn't have a product to match it,” explains Matthew von Teichman. “Then I recalled a conversation I had with a guy I met in Anaheim at the big natural product show about 10-plus years ago. He was a purple corn farmer from Peru who told us all about purple corn. We were jazzed for our Purplesful popcorn to enter the salty snack arena, which is a high-velocity category.”
Purple corn appeals to health-conscious snack consumers because it contains more fibre, antioxidants and protein than traditional popcorn.
Customer feedback suggests consumers appreciate its digestibility, creamy texture, tender crunch and lack of hulls that get stuck in teeth. Purple kernels also pop more completely than other varieties.
With grocery distribution now firmly established, the company is turning its attention to expanding its presence in the convenience-store channel.
Purplesful is well-positioned to succeed in convenience stores because of current nutrition trends, including “fibre maxing,” with up to six grams of fibre per five-cup serving.
“People are looking for clean, nutritionally dense products, and they want products with a short ingredient list — not 45 ingredients or something,” says Jasmin von Teichman.
Initially, the popcorn was popped in sunflower oil.
“Because of that, we couldn’t get a listing in the U.S. to save our lives,” says Matthew von Teichman. “Whole Foods wouldn’t even take a meeting with us. The anti-seed-oil movement pushed us to switch to coconut oil.”
Purplesful’s current all-vegan lineup — Sea Salt, White Cheddar, and Jalapeno and Cheddar — is set to expand with a new grass-fed SKU designed to taste like movie-theatre popcorn.
Matthew von Teichman says the inspiration partly came from one of his other companies, Rolling Meadow, Canada’s first grass-fed dairy company.
“I thought it would do extremely well as an ingredient in a snack,” he explains. “Grass-fed butter is also a bit more decadent and rich than normal butter, so I knew the taste would be off the charts!”
Kirk Homenick, president, Naturally Homegrown Foods, says nutritional trends play a big role in how the company approaches innovation for Hardbite chips. “Today’s consumers want snacks made with real, simple ingredients and nothing artificial, which fits with what we stand for,” he says. “We’re seeing growing interest in things like alternative cooking oils, high-quality ingredients and clean labels. That said, we’re not just chasing trends. Our focus is on making thoughtful ingredient choices and being transparent about what goes into our products.”
Hardbite’s kettle-cooked potato chip classics continue to sell well, especially those that deliver bold taste. Some standouts include its avocado oil line and Black Sea Salt classic chips. And coming soon, a football-focused collaboration with the B.C. Lions for Buffalo wing chips, featuring five players. It demonstrates the brand’s pride in being Canadian. “It matters more than ever,” says Homenick. “For Hardbite, that’s a big part of who we are."
