NielsenIQ study finds 42% of shoppers are buying snacks less often, while 56% are 'extremely concerned' about overall food costs; PepsiCo's Frito-Lay, General Mills and others report decrease in snack sales, attributed mostly to rising prices

April 28, 2025 (Adweek) –

Reflexively telling your boss you love him at the end of a Zoom meeting has a special place in the cringe hall of fame, as does accidentally revealing your search history to a friend.

But if you're on the same wavelength as a colorful aquarium pet, it's no problem at all.

Goldfish, a legacy Pepperidge Farm brand, has seized on a popular myth and built a new campaign around it. Namely, since goldfish reportedly have nanosecond-long memories, why can't we all "Be More Goldfish?," per the new tagline.

The approach proves itself, twice over, in a pair of spots from Mischief @ No Fixed Address that star Saturday Night Live's Ben Marshall: the writer-actor makes a few embarrassing gaffes in front of his employer and his buddy, but instantly forgets, continuing on blissfully with his day.

"As someone with bright orange hair and a short attention span, I felt uniquely qualified to 'Be Like Goldfish,' which is all about smiling through everyday missteps and staying positive," according to Marshall, who recently appeared in a Beats by Dre ad with Kim Kardashian. "Also, if there were a competition to find the human who most resembles a Goldfish, I'd easily rank top 100 in the continental United States."

'Snack recession'
The work for Goldfish, which is also launching an updated package design, comes during a period recently dubbed a "snack recession," where inflation-weary consumers are cutting down on discretionary purchases like chips, sweets and crackers, according to researchers.

According to a recent study from NIQ, 42% of shoppers say they're buying snacks less often, while 56% of the population reports they are "extremely concerned" about food costs overall.

Marketers like PepsiCo's Frito-Lay, General Mills and others are reporting a decrease in their snack sales, attributed mostly to rising prices at the grocery store and beyond.

And while tariffs are expected to take another toll on the American pocketbook, the growing use of weight-loss drugs is also partly responsible for the snack sales dip, analysts said.

A study from Cornell University, citing GLP-1 use, found that ultra-processed food segments like cookies, chips and other "calorie-dense items" have had the steepest drop-off in sales.

When consumer do buy snacks, they are increasingly looking for bargains (37%), reducing their impulse purchases (35%), limiting their premium choices (29%), and switching to private label (26%), according to the NIQ data.

Among the coveted Gen Z and millennial demos, the NIQ study found some crossover in their changing behaviors. Both groups said they're buying value-sized portions, sometimes at club stores, and assembling their own homemade treats.

The new Goldfish campaign, from Mischief @ No Fixed Address, launches during a "snack recession."Goldfish
"Price increases driven by tariffs haven't just impacted groceries, but everything from transportation to clothes to health care," Chris Costagli, NIQ's vice president of food insights, told ADWEEK. "This is putting more downward pressure on nonessential categories, and people are looking for ways to cut back."

The snack category overall pulled in $268 billion for the 52 weeks ending October 26, 2024, with brick-and-mortar purchasing still leading the way but online and social shopping growing quickly, NIQ says.

Marketers are experimenting with a number of tactics--from modestly-priced single-serve packs to protein-enhanced products--to counter the sales slides. General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening said during a recent earnings call that the company would step up investment in innovation and brand communication.

Execs at Campbell Soup, the parent conglomerate, declined to discuss current economic conditions and their impact on sales and marketing. But they plan a significant media buy around the new Goldfish campaign, including cable TV, popular streamers Hulu, Peacock, and YouTube, and social platforms like Pinterest, Meta, and TikTok, saying it captures "the playful spirit" of the brand.

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GLP-1s are Changing Diets, and Danone's CMO is Ready

Goldfish (the animal) trivia: the popular household pet has a bad rap as a dim, tunnel-vision creature, but research says otherwise. It's capable of learning and recall, recognizing faces and remembering objects for weeks, months or even years, per Live Science.

But for the joke's sake, and as a creative jumping-off point, Goldfish (the brand) is sticking with the short-term memory trope.

"It's kind of an awesome way to live--you never have to dwell on the past," according to Bianca Guimaraes, Mischief's executive creative director and partner. "There are a lot of times in life where it's better to 'Be Like Goldfish,' and we wanted to bring that idea to life in a funny, relatable way."

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