From NBC News: groceryOne of the biggest snacking days of the year is almost here, and consumers are hungry for cheaper chips.
The good news: Some Super Bowl snacks could cost less this year.
PepsiCo announced this week that it is cutting prices up to 15% for several popular snacks including Doritos, Lay’s, Cheetos and Tostitos.
The price cut comes after years of rising costs at the supermarket. Grocery prices have climbed 2.4% over the last year and 25.6% over the last five years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And salty snack retail prices jumped around 38% from 2020 to mid-2024, according to a report from Jefferies.
Pew Research Center report found that 66% of Americans are concerned about the price of food and consumer goods.
“They are value-obsessed now, and it’s out of necessity,” said Brian Choi, managing partner and CEO at The Food Institute, an industry data and consulting firm. “You’re seeing consumers shift down to private labels, so not the Doritos.”
“They’re looking for the Aldi version, or the Trader Joe’s version because a lot of times, the price of chips are $2, maybe even $3, lower per package,” he explained.
Aldi’s growth, with 17 million new customers in 2025 and plans for over 180 new US stores, could challenge companies like Pepsi and Mondelez.
“The average shopping basket of the consumer in the U.S., whether you’re in the higher or in the lower social economic classes, has not increased for the last two, three years,” said Dirk Van de Put, chairman and CEO of Mondelez. “Within that basket, they have spent more money on the basics: milk, meat, bread and so on. And as a consequence, snacking is being affected.”
Economists say we are in a K-shaped economy, with wealthy consumers driving spending due to stock market gains and wage growth, while many lower- and middle-income Americans struggle to keep up with rising costs.
Here are some additional posts about the K-shaped economy theory.
An example of the K shaped economy, in one chart. pic.twitter.com/Ul9DjbG8qT
— Peter Mallouk (@PeterMallouk) February 7, 2026
The K-shaped economy is becoming steadily more K-shaped. That’s the message in our updated estimate of personal outlays by income group. The share of total outlays going to those in the top 20% of the income distribution – making over $175,000 per year nationwide – increased to… pic.twitter.com/0DG90BUAUk
— Mark Zandi (@Markzandi) January 18, 2026
Are we in a K-shaped economy? NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun takes a closer look at what the data reveals in the latest Ask the Economist. pic.twitter.com/SW4u5yrUHc
— REALTORS (@realtors) February 7, 2026
K-shaped economy results in a K-shaped job market but in the opposite direction. Stocks keep soaring higher as consumer sentiment plunges. Companies cut higher capability and higher cost employees (downward arm of K-shaped job market) & replace w/AI or offshoring (upward arm). pic.twitter.com/3YOUKDyYOY
— Dr. Isaiah Hankel (@drisaiahhankel) January 28, 2026
Read more at NBC News
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