Tortilla chips sales

Potato chips sales are the highest in the snack food industry. The next big seller is the tortilla chip. Table 5 lists the sales figures for the major snack food products in the United States (5). 

Tortillas represent 30% of aU baked product sales in the United States and continue to be the most popular food in Mexico and Central America. Approximately, 120 million tortillas are consumed yearly in the United States, making these the second most popular baked product after white bread. An average Mexican consumes more than 80 kg of maize tortillas annually. Today, derived products such as flat tostadas and tortilla chips are extensively sold as snacks and in the preparation of fast foods (Chapter 12). Tostadas are the base for the preparation of a wide array of meals. Taco shells are the American version of tostadas, the only difference being that they are usually fried bent (U form) and rarely colored. Regular and low-fat tostadas and taco shells are available in grocery stores in Mexico and the United States. 

The current world market for snack foods represents a volume of more than 4.2 billion kg, which is equivalent to approximately 34.8 billion of annual sales. The United States alone manufactures and sells approximately 61% of this. In 2002, the American and British people had the highest annual per capita consumption of snack chips that included potato chips, tortilla chips, and extruded snacks, with an average annual intake of 7.3 and 6 kg, respectively. Netherlanders, Australians, Spaniards, and Mexicans are next on the list (Pepsico 2004, Sema-Saldivar 2008). 

Lime-cooked maize snacks are the fastest-growing market within the salted category. In the United States, volume and sales of tortilla chips in 2003 were estimated at 692 million kilograms and more than 4.5 billion in sales (Anonymous 2004). 

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