As part of their quarterly earnings reports Thursday, snack powerhouses PepsiCo and Conagra Brands reported lower revenue and unit sales, pointing to cost-conscious consumers pushing back on prices. And government data reflects the trend: the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that food prices rose only slightly last month.
PepsiCo, which makes not only its namesake sodas but also other drinks, Frito-Lay snacks and Quaker cereals, raised prices by 5 percent in the second quarter and saw unit sales shrink. Volumes in North America fell 4 percent for Frito-Lay, one of the company’s more prolific snack businesses, and 3.5 percent for PepsiCo Beverages.
PepsiCo said it will try “a vast array of combinations” of products, such as variety packs of snacks, and a wider range of prices. It also plans to lean into offerings branded as healthier, which continue to sell well, such as PopCorners, Smartfood and Bare, and build out its foreign snack lines, including Mexican brands Sabritas and Gamesa.its mostly completed quarter.