Food giants gobbling up healthy snack makers

Campbell Soup Co. and Hershey Co. on Monday unveiled deals totaling nearly $6 billion to buy healthy packaged snacks makers, the latest example of big U.S. food companies trying to cater to an increasing American preference for healthy foods.

Campbell will buy Cape Cod chips-maker Snyder's-Lance Inc. for $4.87 billion in cash to combat sagging soup sales. Snyder's-Lance, the No. 5 U.S. healthy savory snacks maker, also owns brands such as Eatsmart veggie snacks.

Hershey, meanwhile, will spend about $921 million to acquire Amplify Snack Brands, which makes SkinnyPop popcorn and Paqui tortilla chips.

Most of the products made by Snyder's-Lance and Amplify Snack claim to have no artificial ingredients or transfats and come in dairy-free cheese and naturally sweet flavors that are popular among millennials.

Snyder's-Lance shares, which have gained in the past few session on reports of a possible deal, rose 6.8 percent to a record high of $50 per share, matching Campbell's offer.

Amplify's shares rose 71 percent to their highest in just over a year. Shares of Campbell and Hershey were also up in midday trading.

U.S. packaged food makers, including General Mills Inc. and Kellogg Co., are buying or investing in healthy-food companies to shore up margins that have taken a beating from falling prices and demand for their mass-market brands.

ConAgra Brands Inc. bought Boomchickapop popcorn maker Angie's Artisan Treats in September, while Kellogg bought RXBar protein bar maker Chicago Bar Co. in October to create premium positioning for their wares.

The savory healthy snacks market is estimated to be $8.95 billion in the United States, having gained nearly 15 percent over the past five years, according to data from Euromonitor International.

The healthy sweet-snacks market is worth $10.37 billion, rising more than 20 percent in the same period.