According to research carried out by marketing firm Mintel, consumers have been reaching for salty snacks, with the tortilla market growing by 18 per cent since 2007, popcorn by 17 per cent and cheese snacks by 20 per cent.

Chris Haack, senior analyst at Mintel, suggested that people have been choosing the snacks as they present good value for money. He added: "As the economy gets stronger, we expect annual sales increases to slow, but we don't expect markets to contract. New product innovations and the changed eating habits of (consumers) will keep shoppers headed towards the snack aisle."

Mintel expects sales increases to taper, with potato chip sales expected to rise just above three per cent annually over the next five years, with tortilla chip sales increasing above four per cent.