THE MEAT OF THE MATTER

DAN ALAIMO

Meat items are a fast-growing segment of the snack category. They registered a 36% dollar sales gain in 2000, according to ACNielsen, Schaumburg, Ill., which dropped off to a still-significant 13.3% increase in 2001.

"We have put in a couple of new lines of meat snacks and they are doing very, very well," said Mike Tetmeyer, vice president, market, Hy-Vee, West Des Moines, Iowa.

The meat snacks are appealing to a broad range of customers, adults as well as kids, and are selling in a variety of package sizes. "The sales of large bags have been just crazy," Brown said.

"The trend toward meat snacks continues to rise," said Jim McCarthy, president and chief executive officer, Snack Food Association, Alexandria, Va. "We think a lot of the younger consumers are interested in various meat snacks and that is certainly helping sales." Snack nuts and seeds also are showing good increases, he noted.

"But of the different categories that we keep numbers on, the meat snacks were the highest-percentage increase in dollar sales, as well as pound sales," McCarthy said.