Campbell, Hershey bet on salty snacks

In a packaged-food industry suffering from weak demand and shifting consumer tastes, there’s still one safe bet: Salty snacks.

Potato chips, popcorn and other savoury fare have remained strong sellers, even as other categories languish. And that’s driving companies’ M&A strategies: Campbell Soup and Hershey both announced deals on Monday that give them well-known savoury brands.

Campbell is acquiring Snyder’s-Lance for about $4.9 billion in cash, adding Cape Cod potato chips, Snyder’s pretzels and Pop Secret popcorn to its portfolio. 

Hershey, meanwhile, is snapping up Amplify Snack Brands, spending roughly $921 million for a business that’s best known for SkinnyPop