May 26, 2025 – In the US, potato and tortilla chips are consumed because of their convenient snacking characteristics, versatility, and fusion of taste and texture. Innova’s 360 research into potato and tortilla chips highlights consumption frequency, market-influencing factors, product launch trends, and consumer preferences. This research also reveals valuable insights that brands can use to grow in the market.
Potato and Tortilla Market Size
There has been a projected 3% CAGR growth rate of the US potato chips and crisps sales value and volume till 2027. Despite a snack-centric landscape, potato-based chip sales are sluggish. Regardless of the size of the category and the rise in snacking, the projected slow growth in the next three years indicates the maturity of the market.
The US tortilla and corn chips sales are behind the projected general volume growth of 3% in the next three years. These products appear less top of mind for impulse occasions, suggesting brands move beyond salsa and guacamole flavor innovation and explore more innovative ways to target several snacking occasions.
Potato and Tortilla Market Influences
Consumers in the US are noticing snacks products with reduced sizes and rising prices, triggering new choices of snacks. US snackers are twice as likely to trade down to store brands than name brands. Brands that help consumers feel in control of their food budget, even in small doses, can turn transparency into trust and loyalty.
Chips trends show that half of the consumers in the US consider health-promoting ingredients when buying snacks. Clean labels and natural are more relevant to them. The conversations around UPFs (ultra-processed foods) are misaligned with consumer understanding. The salty snacks category ranks fourth in the market, is likely to be considered UPFs. Nearly 3 in 10 consumers eat UPFs less than once a week or never. These trends suggest a knowledge gap, which brands can try to fulfill.
The Rise in Chips Launches
After some fluctuations in new product launches since 2020, chip brands have ramped up innovation in the past year. The US chips category’s recent rebound displays 1% growth of total snacks, in line with total food and beverage launches. There has been a 7% and 2% rise in potato-based snacks and corn-based snacks, respectively, driven by flavor innovation over the past five years.
Regular potato chips lead with one-third of all chip launches, including kettle-cooked, potato crisps and wavy/rippled potato chips. This is followed by tortilla chips and pretzels, encompassing a variety of product shapes and forms.
Potato and Tortilla Brands’ Presence
The chips market is fragmented in terms of innovation, with the top 10 manufacturers account for 46% of launches over the past five years. The chips category is fragmented in terms of innovation. Almost three-quarters of new chips product launches are from national brands. PepsiCo and Kellogg, or Kellanova, are leading companies in new product launches. Campbell, Utz Quality Foods, and Grupo Bimbo are the only other top 10 branded manufacturers for new product introductions.
Private labels are driving new product launches, with 31% of US consumers increasing their purchase of private label products compared to the past year. More than one-quarter of chips launches are from private label brands over the past five years. The top retailer brands for launches are Aldi, Ahold Delhaize, Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger. Other retailers introducing new chips products include H.E.B., Wegman’s, Albertson’s, Wakefern, Target, and Topco.
Top Trends in Action
Consumers in the US are craving extraordinary experiences, reflecting the ‘Wildly Inventive’ food trend. This trend encourages companies and manufacturers to amaze consumers with unexpected mashups that provide a ‘wow’ effect. Brands like Pringles, Bettergoods, and Lay’s are delivering new tastes with unique flavors, ingredients, and cuisine combinations.
Improving quality beyond simply enhancing the ingredients is important as the demand for added value rises. The ‘Ingredients and Beyond’ trend emphasizes the value of using premium ingredients to differentiate products. Brands are identifying consumers expectation from products, and they are responding by communicating in clear and direct language with easily recognizable ingredients, and natural cues on their packaging.
Consumer Preferences
The purchasing penetration of potato-based snacks is higher than that of any other snack. Popcorn and pretzel sales growth both outpace chips as the fastest-growing snacks, demonstrating that consumers are not only adding new types of snacks to their routines, but they are also looking for a balance between better-for-you and indulgent varieties with diverse textures and tastes.
In the US, more than half of consumers eat snacks many times a day. Yet the chips market represents just a small share of those daily occasions, as do salty snacks overall. Middle age and parenthood are influencing the salty snack consumption frequency. Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to be snacking on salty snacks throughout the day, indicating signs that flavor innovation can be targeted to specific times, tastes, and needs.
Ingredients and Flavor Trends
Chips trends show that corn is the top grain ingredient, followed by wheat flour, corn flour, rice flour, and cornmeal in the US chips launches. Almost all new chips products contain some kind of oil. Vegetable, sunflower, and canola oils are leading, while soy and avocado oil display a rise in launches. Brands are highlighting better-for-you ingredients and texture variety through these cooking oils.
BBQ, sea salt, sour cream and onion, and jalapeno chili are top flavors in potato-based chips. Within corn-based chips, cheese, chili, lime, and nacho cheese flavors are leading in product launches. No individual wheat and other grain-based snack flavors display more than 1% in launches. Brands opt for popular regional flavors to create fun and familiar tastes to appeal to consumers.
What’s Next in Potato and Tortilla Chips Trends?
While chips remain the largest snack category by volume, their slower growth, compared to other savory snacks such as popcorn or meat snacks, suggests a maturing market. Chip consumption frequency falls far short of snacking overall. As food functionality gains even broader acceptance, brands can tap into the emotional side of enjoyment to subconsciously connect to more snack motivators, such as treating, or use pairings in a convenient form to address physical snack drivers, such as satiety, to increase consumption.
In the US, consumers aren’t motivated entirely by health in snack choice, but they do want choices with sustenance or overall nutrition, even in indulgent options. Chips trends reveal sought-after protein, or lack thereof, is perhaps the core of slower growth. Brands can focus on better-for-you ingredients to drive choices, suggesting that even in indulgent options, delivering nutritionally can be impactful when taste is not compromised. This functionality can help products break through in a crowded snack space.
Brands have the opportunity to be more creative with bolder flavors, hybrids, limited editions, and new pairings while keeping recognizable or familiar taste profiles. Innovators that tap into these trends and focus on creative innovation, such as multi-flavored packs, creative variety packs, bolder classics, and contrasting flavors, are likely to sustain in the market.
This article is based on Innova’s Potato & Tortilla Chips in the US report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to find out more
