GATED BUTTON
49.4%
Meat snacks
13.2%
Granola/
yogurt bars
UNIT VOLUME
32.5%
Health/ energy bars
UNIT VOLUME
4.9%
Other alternative snacks
UNIT VOLUME
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
1.09%
1.11%
1.10%
1.10%
1.11%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
35.91%
43.70%
44.09%
43.43%
43.41%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
8.4%
6.0%
1.4%
1.8%
2.8%
Other salty snacks
8.4%
UNIT VOLUME
Pretzels
3.1%
UNIT VOLUME
Popcorn (ready-to-eat)
3.7%
UNIT VOLUME
Mixed
4.3%
UNIT VOLUME
9.7%
Puffed
cheese
UNIT VOLUME
16.2%
Nuts/
Seeds
UNIT VOLUME
20.1%
Tortilla/
corn chips
UNIT VOLUME
Potato
chips
26.4%
UNIT VOLUME
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2.73%
2.74%
2.81%
2.85%
2.87%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
31.47%
36.60%
37.86%
38.30%
38.05%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
5.8%
4.4%
4.5%
2.9%
3.6%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
3.22%
3.19%
3.17%
3.13%
3.17%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
42.49%
47.00%
48.26%
48.62%
49.02%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
3.5%
2.8%
1.6%
0.1%
4.0%
Share of in-store sales
Margin percentage
Percent change in total sales
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Five-Year Trend: Candy
Candy's total industry sales growth of 4 percent in 2019 was the category’s largest increase in the last five years.
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
3.22%
3.19%
3.17%
3.13%
3.17%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
42.49%
47.00%
48.26%
48.62%
49.02%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
3.5%
2.8%
1.6%
0.1%
4.0%
Novelties/
seasonal
3.2%
UNIT VOLUME
Candy rolls, mints, drops
4.5%
UNIT VOLUME
8.4%
Non-chocolate bars/packs
UNIT VOLUME
15.6%
Gum
UNIT VOLUME
24.7%
Chocolate bars/packs
UNIT VOLUME
Bagged/
repackaged peg candy
43.6%
UNIT VOLUME
The Consumer View
Just shy of one-third of c-store shoppers purchase cigarettes in an average month.
With the coronavirus pandemic shutting down self-serve areas of the convenience store in many regions of the country last year, dispensed beverages suffered as the packaged beverages category benefitted. In this special “Deep Dive” report, a bonus supplement to the Convenience Store News 2021 Industry Report, we present exclusive data and analysis of the packaged beverages category at c-stores.
Industry Report 2021 Deep Dive:
Exclusive data and analysis of the packaged beverages category
at convenience stores.
packaged beverages
9.2%
9.2%
12.8%
THE CONSUMER VIEW
After 10 years of sitting on its menthol report, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave notice that it will be taking steps to ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes, and ban all characterizing flavors — including menthol — in cigars within the next year. Any regulations are sure to face legal challenges.
Lawmakers continue to level the playing field by applying existing tobacco regulations to electronic cigarettes and vapor products. The latest example is subjecting the segment to the same ID requirements as in-person sales. Late last year, Congress passed the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, which applies the same safeguards already in place for traditional cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Subsequently, several federal legislators joined together to introduce the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2021 in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in April. The bill would establish the first federal electronic cigarette tax, and increase the tobacco tax rate for the first time in a decade.
Lawmakers continue to level the playing field by applying existing tobacco regulations to electronic cigarettes and vapor products. The latest example is subjecting the segment to the same ID requirements as in-person sales. Late last year, Congress passed the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, which applies the same safeguards already in place for traditional cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Subsequently, several federal legislators joined together to introduce the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2021 in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in April. The bill would establish the first federal electronic cigarette tax, and increase the tobacco tax rate for the first time in a decade.
Lawmakers continue to level the playing field by applying existing tobacco regulations to electronic cigarettes and vapor products. The latest example is subjecting the segment to the same ID requirements as in-person sales. Late last year, Congress passed the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, which applies the same safeguards already in place for traditional cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Subsequently, several federal legislators joined together to introduce the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2021 in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in April. The bill would establish the first federal electronic cigarette tax, and increase the tobacco tax rate for the first time in a decade.
The Biden Administration is reportedly exploring the idea of requiring tobacco companies to lower nicotine to levels that are no longer addictive. The move would affect all cigarettes sold in the United States. Changes to traditional cigarettes would come at a time when sales are experiencing lower annual declines. Many industry insiders point to an increase in smoking as COVID-19-related closures saw more people working from home — where there aren’t smoking restrictions.
Maine is the latest state to consider banning all flavored tobacco product sales. California's ban is on hold as the issue waits to hit the ballot in the November 2022 general election, and Connecticut's General Assembly Finance Committee recently revised legislation to prohibit only the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes and vapor products, amending an original proposal to apply a ban to all flavored tobacco products. Such moves could be moot if the FDA moves forward with its plans.
Source: IWSR
-0.7%
-0.3%
-2.2%
-0.9%
1.0%
42.66%
42.02%
41.45%
41.58%
41.40%
13%
12.92%
12.5%
12.71%
12.74%
Supply chain product procurement was a major challenge for convenience stores and their supplier partners during the second quarter of 2021, and the struggle is expected to continue through the rest of the year. Beverages were particularly impacted, with 72 percent of convenience retailers reporting Q2 supply disruptions to packaged beverages, according to two surveys from industry trade association NACS.
"The pandemic has transformed how consumers perceive holistic health and wellbeing. It's impacting how we live and increasing the importance of the foods, beverages and supplements we choose, presenting new opportunities … to meet their needs," said June Lin, vice president, global marketing, Health & Wellness at ADM, an agricultural origination and processing company. Consumers today are taking a more proactive approach to managing wellbeing with functional nutrition, close-to-nature ingredients, and products that signal
self-care.
Beverages are playing an increasing role in consumers’ everyday lives. The Hartman Group's Modern Beverage Culture report documents how consumers have become constant sippers. Among the findings, 65 percent of consumers said they always have a beverage on hand, including 73 percent of millennials, 63 percent of Gen Xers, and 58 percent of baby boomers.
Juggling the demands of remote work and remote learning last year, consumers turned to convenience stores for an energy boost. Beverages, particularly energy drinks, dominated 2020's most successful c-store new product launches. According to IRI's 2020 New Product Pacesetters report, which annually reveals the top new product launches across the food and beverage and nonfood sectors, beverages accounted for nine of the top 10 New Product Pacesetters in the convenience channel. Six of the top 10 new products were energy drinks.
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