Chips made out of potatoes are a well-known household staple, especially while watching sporting events at home. The category has been shaking things up, though, with the release of new formats, flavors, and proteins.

Market data

Per Chicago-based market research firm Circana data’s data from the 52-week period ending October 8, the “salty snacks” category is up 11.6% from last year, with $38.27 billion in sales, and the potato chips subcategory brought in $10.7 billion of that, and is up 11.4%.

The “other salted snacks (no nuts)” category, which would cover chips other than potato, brought in $7.6 billion, with an increase of 8.6% from last year’s time period.

Trends

“The chips category overall is trending towards healthier, better-for-you options but the challenge is most of these options require compromise; there hasn’t been any one product that checks all the boxes on flavor, health, and quality ingredients,” says Jason Wright, CEO and founder, Wilde. “We did something that had never been done before—made a nutrient-dense protein chip from chicken breast, egg whites, and bone broth. We made it crispy so it eats like a traditional chip. And we leaned into flavor with some classics like Barbeque that people expect and some unique ones like Nashville Hot and Buffalo that are a nod to familiar chicken dishes.”

“It has been a game changer for so many consumers who had previously settled for less desirable products or avoided buying [in] the category,” Wright adds.

In addition to staying on top of consumption and flavor trends more generally, Wilde has “an incredible group of superfans, and we listen to them,” he says.

“When Wilde was first introduced to the world, we took a hyper-targeted approach, zeroing in on fitness-focused consumers and retail spaces. We knew that audience would immediately get our unique proposition, and their adoption and evangelism of Wilde has been incredible. In turn, we’ve paid close attention to their feedback—through reviews, social media, emails, etc.—to help guide our decision-making,” Wright notes.

“As the benefits of protein have become top-of-mind with a broader audience, Wilde’s reach has grown, but our laser focus on consumer feedback has allowed us to continue delivering awesome products that become household staples,” he finishes.

Jared Drinkwater, CEO/co-founder/chipmaster, Low and Slow Snacks, says that with everything going on in the world, now more than ever consumers need snacks to help them escape from the daily grind.

“In my view, there are two types of ‘feel good’ snacks. One makes you feel good because they are better for you. The other makes you feel good because they are just really tasty, and perhaps even evoke special memories. I started Low and Slow to focus on the latter. When you open up a bag of our chips, it smells like you’re walking into your favorite BBQ joint or opening the door to your backyard smoker,” he reminisces. “This aroma is completely unique to salty snacks and can only be achieved by actually smoking product with real wood, which took us four years to figure out how to do.”

Drinkwater says that the brand is like a BBQ joint that smokes potato, corn, and tortilla chips instead of meat. “Thus, we get most of our consumer insights by hanging out at BBQ festivals, talking to local pitmasters, music festivals, and in our backyard smoking stuff with family and friends,” he explains.

Betty Lu, CEO, Confetti Snacks, says that her company is seeing a larger focus on sustainability and reducing food waste in the chips and snacking category.

“Confetti is excited to be ahead of the curve on upcycling gourmet snacks from imperfect produce and crop surpluses. We are [also] seeing a stronger focus on delicious, sustainable, and healthy snack options for both children and adults,” Lu says.

Confetti elevates rescued colorful produce to nutritious snacks with a longer shelf life to protect food security, she notes.

“Imperfect foods taste equally delicious and are very nutrient-dense. We are the only vegetable snack in the world that has been featured by the Michelin Guide and have won numerous international awards for the taste of our artisanal snacks,” Lu elaborates.

“Food is a social glue that brings people together from all walks of life. Confetti celebrates diversity by celebrating heritage flavors from around the world to create snacking experiences to delight consumers’ palettes,” she says.

Lu says that Confetti Foods has achieved some milestones to hopefully improve the utilization of upcycled produce.

“A shocking 40% of fruits and vegetables end up in landfills each year simply because they are visually imperfect, which leads to massive food waste of produce that is nutritionally just as good as its ‘perfect’ counterparts,” Lu explains. “Confetti's growth strives to help end global hunger with partners like UNICEF, Red Cross, homeless shelters, orphanages, UN's World Food Program, homeless shelters, orphanages, and refugee camps to provide emergency food aid to communities facing severe malnutrition due to poverty, war, refugee crisis, drought, famine, or natural disasters. Food businesses can be used as a force for good in resolving both sustainability and humanitarian issues, and the faster we grow, the more we can scale our impact on food waste and hunger.”

Lu says the brand has helped pave the way in some emerging consumer trends, such as a trend towards upcycled options, and healthier plant-based snack alternatives.

“Additionally, we are nutrient dense, high-fiber, 100% vegan, gluten-free, and contain no trans-fat or MSG. To ensure our brand stays current with consumer trends, we continue to do endless market research, experiments in our R&D kitchen, and exhibit in trade shows throughout the year to ensure we are up-to-date with all developments in the category, consumer trends, ingredient trends, and interesting emerging brands,” she finishes.

Jim E. Herr, senior VP of marketing, research, and development, Herr’s, says that while consumers certainly like traditional chip flavors, but it’s always fun to experiment with new and unique ones.  

“Potato chips are a great base to carry a variety of seasonings, including flavors that are bold, and regional, and sometimes replicate another food type like pizza or a cheeseburger. We often offer these bold new flavors as ‘limited-time-only’ varieties that are for off-shelf display. This allows us to offer unique flavors without replacing mainstay items on our shelves,” he explains.

“The multi and variety pack segment has also seen tremendous growth over the last few years as it satisfies a convenience and portion control need for consumers,” Herr adds.

“Our flexible and collaborative process allows us to stay current with flavor trends. We work with flavor houses and ingredient suppliers for the most current flavor developments and ideas. We also track trend data online to understand what flavors, ingredients, and products are gaining popularity in the market,” he expands. “After we develop concepts for new ideas, we use data to guide our decision-making process on which new items are the most exciting and appealing to consumers. Flavor preferences do change from year to year, so we try to make this an ongoing process.”

Innovation

Jason Bullock, proprietor, Dick’s Potato Chips, says that consumers are looking for experiences that not only create memories, but that they can replicate when they get home. Bullock previously worked in the wine industry for 20 years, and has been seeing more wineries adding potato chips to their tasting menus because they’re “affordable and a fantastic match with wine.”

“On the Dick’s Instagram account you’ll see Isis Daniel, ‘The Millennial Somm,’ pairing Salty Dick’s with champagne and sparkling wine. This is an incredibly popular pairing, as the salt and richness of the chip are perfect complements with the crispness and acidity of the bubbly. We call the concept ‘experiential snacking,’” he explains.  

Bullock says that although big brands continue to release new flavors, research shows that plain potato chips reigns supreme, with the barbecue flavor a distant second.

“We don’t need new flavors—we need new marketing,” he suggests. “As an example of that concept, a new wholesale customer recently purchased our chips without having tasted them. They were convinced by the marketing concept alone.”

“As another example, earlier this year I participated in an online wine forum’s annual Black Friday-style sale. The sale features mostly wine, but I was invited to sell Dick’s because the participants got such a kick out of the marketing. Hundreds of people placed orders over the course of two days, and none of them had previously tasted the chips themselves,” he adds.

Lu says a key innovation is the development of snacks that are delicious and nutritious.

“The curation of a well-balanced blend of sustainable snacks that are healthy, plant-based, nutrient dense are the epitome of permissible indulgence, and don't make the consumer feel like they are replacing their beloved chips with a lesser alternative. Innovations in R&D and manufacturing processes have allowed us to create crunchy, healthy options that consumers can indulge in with all the gusto of their traditional chip and not feel guilty afterwards,” she explains.

“With Confetti, we have minimally processed the vegetables to ensure they retain their key nutrients. We use a proprietary process of dehydration and low-heat baking to bring the veggies and fruit to crunchy perfection all while maintaining the rich phytonutrient content and vivid rainbow hues. They are light, airy and crunchy, yet bursting with flavors to celebrate diverse cultures of the world,” Lu notes.

What’s next

Wright says that Wilde just launched its Spicy Queso flavor, which is now on shelves at all Sprouts and select Target stores and will hit Amazon and other retailers early next year.

“Spicy Queso has all the crunch and flavor that our consumers love and is packed with hints of smoked chipotle, roasted jalapeño, and seasoned, aged cheddar cheese; each chip gives a nod to classic chicken enchiladas,” he explains.

Herr says that the brand will be launching a Honey Jalapeno kettle chip flavor in early 2024.

“Our current jalapeno kettle chip is a fan favorite, so we are excited to see the reaction to this line extension.  Adding the sweetness of honey to the zesty jalapeno flavor makes for a very smooth but dynamic flavor,” Herr notes.

“We are also coming back with year three of our ‘Flavored by Philly’ consumer-led flavor contest, where consumers enter their favorite menu flavors from small Philly restaurants, and we pick the top three and put them each on a chip. Consumers then vote for their favorite restaurant-inspired flavor and the winning business receives $10,000. Herr’s supports and celebrates small businesses in our hometown with this unique flavor contest. This is an example of a ‘limited-time-only’ product that really takes potato chip flavor innovation to the next level,” he adds.

Lu says that Confetti Snacks is planning to expand by constantly innovating and experimenting.

“Curating exotic vegetables and fruits is essential to excite more people into snacking on Confetti. On top of that, we also work with award-winning chefs from around the world so that we can celebrate extraordinary culinary cultures into our snacks,” she notes.

“A gourmet line of colorful dips to go with our colorful chips is in our plans. We want to make our way into other food aisles so that we can sneak in more servings of veggies and fruit into the consumers’ daily lives. We are working with Disney on a line with a famous mouse, and launching this [during] Chinese New Year, which will enable us to reach millions of children and families to allow them to enjoy more plants in their lifestyle,” Lu expands.

“We have done an exciting showcase with Singapore Tourism Board in the recent F1 Grand Prix in Las Vegas, hosted by Rod Stewart. The snacks were a huge hit with celebrities. Confetti was also voted the best tasting snack with the employees of Netflix; we will be catering our gourmet upcycled plant-based snacks to their headquarters and offices from Jan 2024 onwards,” she adds.

“If we can scale and hit critical mass, our impact on hunger and food waste will be magnified and accelerated by [changing] rescued colorful produce to nutritious snacks with a longer shelf life to protect food security. Hopefully that allows the masses to enjoy veggies and fruit in a whole new magical way and help them to eventually integrate more colors in their daily lives for good,” Lu relates