Sales of snack bars—like granola, nutritional, breakfast, and other types of bars—have endured a rollercoaster of consumer engagement over the past couple of years. According to data presented in the 2020 SF&WB “State of the Industry” coverage, the snack and granola bars category was up 1.4% to $6.4 billion (IRI, Chicago, 52 weeks ending April 19, 2020). But the following year—likely a consequence of reduced consumer mobility—category sales plummeted, down 8.3 percent to $6.0 billion, with nearly every company in the top 10 for the category experiencing reduced sales (IRI, 52 weeks ending April 18, 2021).
But bars are climbing back. In our coverage of the bars category at the end of 2021, we saw category sales striding forward, up 6.2% to a sales of $6.5 billion. And our forthcoming 2022 State of the Industry coverage (available in June) shows continued bars strength, with sales up 17.0% to $6.9 billion, per IRI.