Despite private label’s growth in recent years, the $6 billion cookie and cookie bar industry is still led by Kraft Foods, Northfield, IL, with sales of more than $1 billion. In second place in cookie sales, The Kellogg Company’s, Battle Creek, MI, sales numbers are nearly one-third of Kraft’s numbers, which are mostly driven by its brands Oreo and Chips Ahoy!
Mintel, a research firm based in Chicago, IL, found that consumers’ brand loyalty when it comes to cookies plays a large part in cookie purchases. Price isn’t always top of mind when deciding which cookie to buy. Consumers like to stick with the cookie brands they enjoyed in childhood. More than half of the respondents to Mintel’s survey said they already know what cookies they will buy before entering the store, indicating that price is not as strong of a driver in cookies as in other categories.