How to maximise return in the growing spicy snacks segment

99% of people in Great Britain consume savoury snacks [Kantar], with bagged snacks being the number one fastest-growing impulse category [Kantar]. And that’s not all: 50% of shoppers are purchasing their savoury snacks in convenience outlets [Kantar], so there’s a lot for retailers to play with this year to maximise their sales.

A strong core range is absolutely key, with the top 20 savoury snack products delivering over 25% of the category’s value sales [Nielsen]. However, it’s equally important to keep your finger on the pulse of the latest launches to supplement your core range, which can help you to tap into the latest consumer trends and create excitement in-store.

Spicy snacking is on the rise

If the last year has proven anything, it’s that shoppers are continuing their hunt for bold and exciting flavour innovations from the savoury snacking aisle. Leading the charge is the rise of spicy snacks, with the segment experiencing an impressive 8.7% year-on-year growth [Kantar].

As Kay Patel from Best-One Global Food and Wine, London, points out: “Spicy flavours are on trend at the moment. They’re attracting a lot of younger shoppers who are seeing these flavours online through social media.” 

PepsiCo’s Extra Flamin’ Hot launch range – which includes Walkers Max, Doritos and Wotsits Crunchy – can attest to this, having launched in March 2024 and generated a total of £27.2m in sales [Nielsen]. At the same time, the demand for price-marked packs (PMPs) has continued to surge in recent years, as shoppers look to enjoy their favourite flavours at accessible price points. In fact, 59% of new product packs sold in independents and symbols are PMPs [Nielsen].

Making the most of channel exclusives  

However, retailers should also remain on the lookout for new product launches in formats that enable them to drive their savoury snacking sales. For example, offering spicy innovations in PMP packs combines shopper appeal with great value.

To help them achieve this, PepsiCo unveiled its new Doritos Dinamita Extra Flamin’ Hot rolled tortilla chip innovation exclusively to the UK convenience market this February.

“We’ve done really well with spicy flavours in the past and PepsiCo bringing out Dinamita will only add to that,” explains Patel at Best-One. “Dinamita is an impulse product and convenience stores are going to do the best with it. So, we really get behind the chance to have an exclusive in our channel and we’re loving it.”

The NPD activation opportunity

To capitalise on all of these factors, impactful launch campaigns that truly capture the attention of retailers and shoppers alike, making NPD unmissable in-store, has become a fundamental part of how PepsiCo operates in the convenience market.

And launching Doritos Dinamita as a channel-exclusive gave PepsiCo the opportunity to work with leading retailers across the country to achieve exactly that. From full window wraps to floor stickers, branded prize wheels and bollard covers, retailers went all-out with their bespoke activations. The activity helped to raise awareness of the launch while actively engaging shoppers and driving trial and purchase in retailers’ stores.

The results speak for themselves. As Amit Putambeker from Nisa Local Huntingdon reveals: “Dinamita has been our best snack NPD for a long time. We sold 100 packs during our first week of stocking it, which was 100% down to the activation.”

Doritos Dinamita Extra Flamin’ Hot is available to the convenience channel now through all major wholesalers. For more information, visit Doritos website