Packaged sweet snacks hold a sweet spot in our collective hearts and minds—a lunchbox surprise, an afternoon pick-me-up or a pastry or muffin with morning coffee.
It’s a small category in terms of inside sales contribution (less than 2% in 2025), but a staple center store category. Even with relatively flat year-to-year in-store sales and gross margin contribution, packaged sweet snacks are go-to items for c-store shoppers who want a quick snack or indulgent treat.
Snack cakes/pastries/desserts lead with more than 55% of total category sales, per the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2025 Data, followed by muffins/donuts and cookies.
Morning Daypart Drives Sales
If you’re looking to heat up packaged sweet snacks sales, keep an eye on the morning rush.
PDI Insights Cloud data for 2025 showed that packaged sweet snacks sales peak from 6-9 a.m., Monday through Friday. The sweet spot—is 7 a.m.—that hour sees the highest sales contribution from packaged sweet snacks (10.84% of total weekly sales).
The morning daypart is the favorable time to market coffee with a sweet breakfast treat. When looking at cross-merchandising opportunities, it’s no surprise that heat map data shows that weekly hot dispensed beverage sales also peak between 6 and 7 a.m., with sales highest around 7 a.m. Monday through Friday.
There’s a good chance the morning customer is looking for portability, which the packaged sweet snacks category delivers. It’s much easier to eat a package of mini donuts on the go than a baked good that requires a fork and knife.
Sales during that 7 a.m. rush creep up slightly as the week goes on—on Mondays, that hour accounts for 1.67% of total weekly packaged sweet snacks sales, while on Friday it accounts for 1.97% of sales.
New Entries Drive Category Excitement
While grocery stores drive unit volume, c-stores drive impulse purchasing, which makes the convenience channel a hotbed for new product launches.
Data from NielsenIQ (NIQ) showed that more than 150 new packaged sweet snacks products were introduced to the c-store channel during the first quarter of 2026. Line extensions brought excitement to fan favorites with new flavors such as a cappuccino-flavored Twinkie and a Boston cream pie Little Debbie sandwich cookie by McKee Foods.
During Q1 2026, the top seller in the convenience channel was Little Debbie Honey Bun Glazed, which also grew in unit count by 2%.
CakeBites Girl Scouts Thin Mints snack cakes were among the top-selling new items launched in c-stores in March. In February, Little Debbie debuted two new snack cakes to the c-store channel (yellow cake and strawberry shortcake roll) that were among the top new product entries for the month, per NIQ data.
Expansion of Wellness Trends
Someone taking GLP-1 medications may be avoiding sweet products altogether. However, there is room for better-for-you options that don’t tread into the alternative snacks category.
A recent Mintel report suggested that the convenience factor (foods that are easy, quick, portable) plays a major role in how consumers shop for sweet baked goods. Consumers are looking to satisfy cravings or enjoy a small treat—but that doesn’t mean they’re always looking for something super sugary.
Packaged sweet snacks have leaned into health and wellness, which are largely reflected in products that tout natural flavors (fruits, spices) and nutrient-rich ingredients like nuts and seeds, fiber and, of course, protein.
See What’s New in October
The best place to see what’s new in the packaged sweet snacks category is at the 2026 NACS Show, taking place October 6-9 in Las Vegas (nacsshow.com). Each year the NACS Show serves as the launchpad for thousands of new products and solutions for the global convenience retail industry.
If there’s a new product coming to the packaged sweet snacks category, you’ll find it—and sample it—at the NACS Show.
