IRVING, Texas—When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tee off against the Kansas City Chiefs for Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7, many of those watching the games will be munching on pizza, chicken wings and other snacks. More snacking and smaller gatherings at home are expected for Super Bowl LV, according to the Frito-Lay U.S. Snack Index, and c-stores are ready to fill those needs.
According to results from Frito-Lay's latest U.S. Snack Index, more than 40% of Americans are snacking more than they did last year. With eight in 10 Americans planning to tune in, Frito-Lay estimates even more snacking—a 21% increase from Super Bowl LIV—during this year's game.
“The Super Bowl is as much about enjoying a fun, shared national moment with our favorite foods and beverages as it is about the football game,” said Mike Del Pozzo, chief customer officer for Frito-Lay North America, in a press release. “Americans continue to look for familiarity and comfort in their favorite foods as the pandemic has continued, and we expect that trend to remain in the weeks leading up to game day as 80% of adults think [the] Super Bowl isn't complete without snacks and dips.”
To feed hungry game viewers, 7-Eleven is offering 7NOW delivery app users a large hot or ready-to-bake pizza for just a buck, PennLive.com reports. The offer is only for delivery, and customers can order triple cheese, extreme meat or pepperoni pies on Super Bowl Sunday.
“For over 50 years, millions of Americans have gathered together to watch the biggest football game of the year, and 7-Eleven has always been there for them with drinks, snacks and gameday essentials,” said 7-Eleven Senior Vice President and Head of Digital Raghu Mahadevan.
Kwik Trip will also offer multiple pizzas on sale at various price points on game day. “Historically, Super Bowl Sunday is a great day for pizza sales for us,” a Kwik Trip spokesperson told NACS Daily.
If chicken wings is your snack of choice for the Super Bowl, you might run into a little bit of trouble procuring them. In the days leading up to Feb. 7, there’s been a shortage of chicken wings, the Washington Post reports. While many chicken wing producers adhere to the sports calendar—stocking up ahead of the Super Bowl and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, for example—the pandemic has kept wing prices high for months.
“What’s been really strange about this year is it’s actually been really strong since late summer, the demand for wings,” said Christine McCracken, executive director of animal protein at Rabobank. “And that’s made it a bit harder for people who didn’t have a plan going into [the Super Bowl] or are trying to catch up with demand.”
Overall, the chicken industry will supply nearly 1.4 billion wings, a 2% increase from 2020, according to the National Chicken Council. “If you think about it, restaurants like wing joints and pizza places were built around takeout and delivery, so they didn’t have to change their business model that much during the pandemic,” council spokesman Tom Super wrote in the report. “Wings travel well and hold up during delivery conditions. Plus, they align with consumer desire for comfort food during the pandemic. Chicken production remained steady in 2020, and as long as people are sitting around watching TV and maybe drinking a beer, wings will remain in the game.”