Dried cranberries account for nearly one-third of dried fruit and snack mix sales.
By Haley Hastings 
Dried fruits and snack mixes made up 0.8 percent of produce department dollar sales during the latest 52 weeks ended Sept. 26. The category posted average sales of $409 per store per week, a 13.7 percent decrease compared to the previous year. Volume sales also declined significantly during this period, down 22.2 percent from the previous year, due in part to an average retail price increase of 11 percent to $3.41.
Dried fruits and snack mixes posted even contributions to produce department dollar sales across the four U.S. regions, contributing roughly one percent of sales in the East, Central, South and West regions, respectively. Average sales of dried fruits and snack mixes decreased across the U.S. regions. The East region posted the highest average weekly sales at $636 per store, down 8.4 percent compared to the previous year. The Central and South regions each decreased average weekly sales by roughly 16 percent. The West region, which posted the second-highest average weekly sales among the U.S. regions, saw a decrease in dollar sales of 12 percent.
For the latest 52 weeks, dried fruits and snack mixes sales peaked the week of Thanksgiving (the week ended Nov. 29) at $579 per store. The second, third and fourth highest-selling weeks for the category all occurred in December. The week prior to Christmas (the week ended Dec. 20) was the second-highest seller, at $515 per store, followed by the week of Christmas at $504 per store. The lowest-selling week for dried fruits and snack mixes occurred the week ended Aug. 1, at $364 per store.
The largest contributor to dried fruits and snack mixes was dried cranberries at 31.2 percent of category sales, followed by snack mixes at 18.1 percent, and prunes at 7.8 percent. Both dried cranberries and snack mixes decreased dollar and volume sales, while prunes increased dollar sales and decreased volume.
This sales review is provided by Nielsen Perishables Group. Based in Chicago, Nielsen Perishables Group specializes in retail measurement, analytics, marketing communications, category development, promotional best practices and shopper insights.
For more information, contact Nielsen Perishables Group: Haley Hastings, (773) 929-7013 | email: Haley.Hastings@nielsen.com.