Big Business

A Closer Look at Snack Foods

America's love for sugary and salty snacks is undeniable. According to the Snack Food Association, in a single day last year (Super Bowl Sunday '09), Americans consumed an estimated 30.4 million pounds of chips, dips, pretzels, popcorn and other treats. With this kind of appetite, experts are confident the snack-food industry is one that will continue to hold up fairly well even amid difficult economic conditions. Here's a closer look at the facts and companies behind your favorite guilty pleasures.

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

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Big Business America's love for sugary and salty snacks is undeniable. According to the Snack Food Association, in a single day last year (Super Bowl Sunday '09), Americans consumed an estimated 30.4 million pounds of chips, dips, pretzels, popcorn and other treats. With this kind of appetite, experts are confident the snack-food industry is one that will continue to hold up fairly well even amid difficult economic conditions. Here's a closer look at the facts and companies behind your favorite guilty pleasures.

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Chicken Wings About 1.25 billion wing portions will be consumed during Super Bowl weekend in 2010. According to the National Chicken Council, the demand for wings has grown so fast that wings now cost more per pound than chicken breasts.

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Pizza Whether they order it from Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, or the local family-owned restaurant, Americans love their pizza. Domino's Pizza predicts that more than 9 million pieces of pizza will be eaten on Super Bowl Sunday in 2010.

(AP Photo/Lisa Tolin)
Hot Dogs If the number of hot dogs sold at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay during Super Bowl XLIII in 2009 was 55,200, just imagine how many hot dogs are consumed at house parties on Super Bowl Sunday every year.

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Guacamole Guacamole dip is a common snack choice, especially at Super Bowl parties. Many grocery stores compete to sell avocados, the main ingredient in guacamole dip, for the most reasonable price each year. The California Avocado Commission predicts 160 million avocados will be purchased and eaten by Super Bowl fans in 2010.

(AP Photo/Larry Crowe)
Veggies and Dip Believe it or not, vegetables and dip are one of the most popular snacks at Super Bowl parties. According to the NPD Group, a market research firm that tracks Americans and their eating habits, vegetables have been the No. 1 food eaten in homes during the last three Super Bowls.

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Utz Utz Quality Foods Inc., based in Hanover, Pa., is the largest independent privately held snack brand in the U.S. The company was founded in 1921 and distributes a variety of potato chips, pretzels and other snack foods throughout the eastern U.S.

Americans love pretzels so much that they'll spend an estimated $38 million on the salty treats for Super Bowl Sunday in 2010.

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Frito-Lay Frito-Lay North America Inc., part of PepsiCo Inc. since a merger in 1965, is the North American champion of chips. The company makes some of the best-known and top-selling snack foods around, including Cheetos, Doritos, Fritos, Lay's, Rold Gold, Ruffles, SunChips, and Tostitos. According to PepsiCo, Frito-Lay's North American snack-food sales make up about 30 percent of the company's total sales.

(AP Photo/Lisa Poole)
Tastykake The Tasty Baking Co. has been churning out Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes, Butterscotch Krimpets, Chocolate Cupcakes and tons of other baked goods since 1914. This Philadelphia company is in the process of relocating and updating its operations in an effort to increase its gross annual sales in excess of the current $250 million.

(AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)
Herr Food Herr Food Inc. makes about 340 different kinds of snack foods, including potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, cheese curls, popcorn, crackers, nuts, pork rinds, onion rings, and meat sticks. This mostly East Coast company is still a family-run business. The company's chairman and CEO is James M. Herr, son of company founder James Stauffer Herr.

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Quaker Oats Quaker Oats Co., a division of PepsiCo Inc., is a large food manufacturing company based in Chicago. In addition to breakfast cereals, Quaker produces various food and drink products, including Soy Crisps and snack bars. In 2001, Quaker merged with PepsiCo to create the fourth-largest consumer goods company in the world.

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Nabisco Headquartered in East Hanover, N.J., Nabisco is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Kraft Foods Inc. The company (originally known as National Biscuit Co.) produces cookies and snacks, including American favorites such as Chips Ahoy!, Fig Newtons, Oreos, Ritz Crackers, Teddy Grahams and Nutter Butters.

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
Keebler Founded in 1853, Keebler Co. is the second-largest cookie and cracker manufacturer in the U.S. In 2001, Kellogg Co. bought Keebler and its popular elf mascots to increase market share.

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Kettle Foods Kettle Foods, based in Salem, Ore., produces all-natural, hand-cooked chips. Originally Kettle products were only available in natural food stores. The company, now owned by the private investment firm Lion Capital, is making an effort to increase market share by expanding into mainstream supermarkets.

Kettle Foods chips, as well as other potato-chip brands, reign as the favorite snack food of Americans. A poll conducted by Neilsen Co. reveals that Americans will spend as much as $173 million on potato chips for Super Bowl Sunday in 2010.

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Sara Lee Based in Downers Grove, Ill., Sara Lee Corp. is a global manufacturer and marketer of bakery, beverage and other food products. Some popular Sara Lee brands include Ball Park, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Senseo, and Sara Lee.

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, file)