From Oreos to Doritos to Reese’s Pieces, food and snacks are an integral part of our lives. We eat them when we’re headed to the movies, when we’re killing time between meetings, and to fuel up in between larger meals. But not all snacks are created equal. Some are beloved only by a few, while others are so popular they’ve become a part of the cultural fabric.
Per a summary of a roundtable discussion published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Advances in Nutrition, Americans eat an average of 8 pounds of candy annually. Another sign that desserts are the preferred snack of choice? Six of the top 10 brands on this list are of the sweet persuasion rather than salty.
Stacker analyzed data from research and analytics firm YouGov to rank the 50 most popular food and snack brands in the U.S. as of the fourth quarter of 2022. Brands were ranked based on YouGov’s overall positive opinion score, which measures the percentage of positive responses among those surveyed. Scores are also broken down by generation. Some brands appear more than once on this list because YouGov may break the brand down by specific snacks—such as Reese’s Pieces or Hershey’s Kisses.
Read on for a look at some of the most popular food and snack brands in the United States.
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#50. Honey Nut Cheerios
– Positive opinion score: 71%
— Popularity among boomers: 66%
— Popularity among Gen X: 76%
— Popularity among millennials: 70%
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#49. Rice Krispies Treats
– Positive opinion score: 71%
— Popularity among boomers: 70%
— Popularity among Gen X: 68%
— Popularity among millennials: 75%
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#48. Milky Way
– Positive opinion score: 71%
— Popularity among boomers: 77%
— Popularity among Gen X: 70%
— Popularity among millennials: 69%
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#47. Reese’s Pieces
– Positive opinion score: 71%
— Popularity among boomers: 70%
— Popularity among Gen X: 73%
— Popularity among millennials: 72%
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#46. Tostitos
– Positive opinion score: 71%
— Popularity among boomers: 70%
— Popularity among Gen X: 74%
— Popularity among millennials: 75%
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#45. Goldfish
– Positive opinion score: 71%
— Popularity among boomers: 75%
— Popularity among Gen X: 70%
— Popularity among millennials: 69%
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#44. Orville Redenbacher’s Popcorn
– Positive opinion score: 72%
— Popularity among boomers: 74%
— Popularity among Gen X: 75%
— Popularity among millennials: 68%
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#43. French’s Mustard
– Positive opinion score: 72%
— Popularity among boomers: 79%
— Popularity among Gen X: 74%
— Popularity among millennials: 70%
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#42. Jif
– Positive opinion score: 73%
— Popularity among boomers: 76%
— Popularity among Gen X: 76%
— Popularity among millennials: 69%
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#41. Lifesavers
– Positive opinion score: 73%
— Popularity among boomers: 78%
— Popularity among Gen X: 77%
— Popularity among millennials: 64%
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#40. Land O’Lakes (butter)
– Positive opinion score: 73%
— Popularity among boomers: 83%
— Popularity among Gen X: 77%
— Popularity among millennials: 63%
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#39. Kraft Foods
– Positive opinion score: 73%
— Popularity among boomers: 80%
— Popularity among Gen X: 74%
— Popularity among millennials: 68%
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#38. Oreo Cookies
– Positive opinion score: 73%
— Popularity among boomers: 77%
— Popularity among Gen X: 75%
— Popularity among millennials: 66%
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#37. Smucker’s
– Positive opinion score: 73%
— Popularity among boomers: 81%
— Popularity among Gen X: 79%
— Popularity among millennials: 66%
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#36. Fritos
– Positive opinion score: 73%
— Popularity among boomers: 78%
— Popularity among Gen X: 72%
— Popularity among millennials: 71%
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#35. Cheerios
– Positive opinion score: 73%
— Popularity among boomers: 75%
— Popularity among Gen X: 72%
— Popularity among millennials: 73%
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#34. Ghirardelli
– Positive opinion score: 73%
— Popularity among boomers: 74%
— Popularity among Gen X: 72%
— Popularity among millennials: 76%
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#33. Chiquita
– Positive opinion score: 74%
— Popularity among boomers: 84%
— Popularity among Gen X: 76%
— Popularity among millennials: 66%
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#32. Nabisco
– Positive opinion score: 74%
— Popularity among boomers: 79%
— Popularity among Gen X: 72%
— Popularity among millennials: 71%
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#31. Twix
– Positive opinion score: 74%
— Popularity among boomers: 70%
— Popularity among Gen X: 84%
— Popularity among millennials: 70%
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#30. Kellogg’s
– Positive opinion score: 74%
— Popularity among boomers: 82%
— Popularity among Gen X: 75%
— Popularity among millennials: 72%
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#29. Chips Ahoy!
– Positive opinion score: 75%
— Popularity among boomers: 75%
— Popularity among Gen X: 71%
— Popularity among millennials: 78%
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#28. Frito-Lay
– Positive opinion score: 75%
— Popularity among boomers: 81%
— Popularity among Gen X: 74%
— Popularity among millennials: 71%
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#27. Campbell’s
– Positive opinion score: 75%
— Popularity among boomers: 79%
— Popularity among Gen X: 78%
— Popularity among millennials: 71%
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#26. Land O’Lakes
– Positive opinion score: 75%
— Popularity among boomers: 84%
— Popularity among Gen X: 73%
— Popularity among millennials: 72%
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#25. Lay’s Chips
– Positive opinion score: 75%
— Popularity among boomers: 78%
— Popularity among Gen X: 74%
— Popularity among millennials: 75%
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#24. Cheetos
– Positive opinion score: 75%
— Popularity among boomers: 76%
— Popularity among Gen X: 77%
— Popularity among millennials: 76%
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#23. Snickers
– Positive opinion score: 75%
— Popularity among boomers: 81%
— Popularity among Gen X: 78%
— Popularity among millennials: 70%
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#22. Nestle Toll House
– Positive opinion score: 76%
— Popularity among boomers: 81%
— Popularity among Gen X: 76%
— Popularity among millennials: 73%
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#21. Pringles
– Positive opinion score: 76%
— Popularity among boomers: 67%
— Popularity among Gen X: 77%
— Popularity among millennials: 81%
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#20. McCormick
– Positive opinion score: 76%
— Popularity among boomers: 87%
— Popularity among Gen X: 74%
— Popularity among millennials: 73%
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#19. Ruffles
– Positive opinion score: 76%
— Popularity among boomers: 79%
— Popularity among Gen X: 77%
— Popularity among millennials: 77%
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#18. Dove
– Positive opinion score: 76%
— Popularity among boomers: 78%
— Popularity among Gen X: 76%
— Popularity among millennials: 73%
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#17. Planters
– Positive opinion score: 76%
— Popularity among boomers: 88%
— Popularity among Gen X: 79%
— Popularity among millennials: 64%
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#16. Quaker
– Positive opinion score: 76%
— Popularity among boomers: 83%
— Popularity among Gen X: 76%
— Popularity among millennials: 71%
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#15. Reese’s
– Positive opinion score: 76%
— Popularity among boomers: 83%
— Popularity among Gen X: 81%
— Popularity among millennials: 69%
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#14. Dove (chocolate)
– Positive opinion score: 76%
— Popularity among boomers: 83%
— Popularity among Gen X: 73%
— Popularity among millennials: 76%
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#13. Heinz Tomato Ketchup
– Positive opinion score: 77%
— Popularity among boomers: 74%
— Popularity among Gen X: 81%
— Popularity among millennials: 73%
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#12. Pillsbury
– Positive opinion score: 77%
— Popularity among boomers: 84%
— Popularity among Gen X: 80%
— Popularity among millennials: 68%
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#11. Doritos
– Positive opinion score: 77%
— Popularity among boomers: 69%
— Popularity among Gen X: 77%
— Popularity among millennials: 82%
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#10. Hershey’s Kisses
– Positive opinion score: 77%
— Popularity among boomers: 85%
— Popularity among Gen X: 77%
— Popularity among millennials: 73%
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#9. Heinz
– Positive opinion score: 77%
— Popularity among boomers: 78%
— Popularity among Gen X: 81%
— Popularity among millennials: 74%
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#8. Oreo
– Positive opinion score: 78%
— Popularity among boomers: 80%
— Popularity among Gen X: 73%
— Popularity among millennials: 81%
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#7. Betty Crocker
– Positive opinion score: 78%
— Popularity among boomers: 82%
— Popularity among Gen X: 80%
— Popularity among millennials: 74%
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#6. Kit Kat
– Positive opinion score: 78%
— Popularity among boomers: 79%
— Popularity among Gen X: 81%
— Popularity among millennials: 76%
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#5. Ritz
– Positive opinion score: 79%
— Popularity among boomers: 82%
— Popularity among Gen X: 82%
— Popularity among millennials: 75%
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#4. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
– Positive opinion score: 80%
— Popularity among boomers: 81%
— Popularity among Gen X: 81%
— Popularity among millennials: 78%
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#3. Lay’s
– Positive opinion score: 80%
— Popularity among boomers: 83%
— Popularity among Gen X: 78%
— Popularity among millennials: 78%
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#2. Hershey’s
– Positive opinion score: 81%
— Popularity among boomers: 85%
— Popularity among Gen X: 78%
— Popularity among millennials: 80%
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#1. M&M’s
– Positive opinion score: 83%
— Popularity among boomers: 89%
— Popularity among Gen X: 83%
— Popularity among millennials: 78%
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