Publisher: Supermarket News
Published: September 24, 2026
Source: Read at Supermarket News (https://www.supermarketnews.com/cpg/conagra-identifies-3-major-trends-reshaping-america-s-198b-snack-industry)
Category: Food Access
Conagra's Future of Snacking 2026 report identifies bold flavors, functional benefits and permissible indulgence as major forces in the United States snack market. The market represents $198.2 billion in annual retail sales and grew 3.1% versus the prior year. The report analyzed more than 53 million shopping transactions across 17,000 snacking products, using data from Conagra, Circana and NIQ. Products offering benefits such as protein, energy, digestion and hydration reached $19 billion in retail sales, growing 12.7% versus the prior year.
Why this matters: Independent grocers can use these findings to review snack assortments for bold flavor combinations and products tied to specific nutrition or functional benefits. The report also points to opportunities in categories such as popcorn, seeds, meat snacks and pretzels with pickle flavors.
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