Trail mix is a great snack when you’re on the go—whether you’re on the road or taking a hike.
The combination of different ingredients can make it either a sweet treat or a healthy snack.
While you can make your own trail mix at home for a reasonable price, you’ll find that buying trail mix at the store can be quite expensive.
Since all the ingredients tend to be on the cheaper side, you may wonder why trail mix is so expensive.
Why Is Trail Mix So Expensive? (10 Reasons)
The average price of trail max varies between $5 and $10.
However, there are some brands of trail mix that sell for $12 and more.
Certain factors like the cost of ingredients, how healthy the mix is, and the packaging size all impact the price of trail mix.
Let’s look at these factors in more detail.
1. Almond Costs
One of the primary ingredients in many trail mix bags is almonds.
Almonds are a staple because they provide a good amount of flavor to the mix.
Almonds are also quite healthy.
One of the reasons almonds are healthy is that they contain healthy fats instead of unhealthy fats.
Since your body needs fat to burn energy, the fact that it’s burning your healthy fat makes it all the better.
Almonds also contain a decent amount of fiber and protein, too.
That can help your digestive system and encourage muscle growth as well.
The problem with almonds is that they’re expensive to farm.
Almonds grow on trees which means they’re susceptible to extreme temperatures, diseases, and pests.
They’re different from peanuts which grow underground.
Since it costs farmers a bit more money to grow almond trees and harvest them, they sell their almonds at higher prices.
As such, you may notice that trail mixes that contain almonds tend to be more expensive.
Trail mix is expensive because of the high cost of almond farming.
2. Honey Costs
Another common ingredient in trail mix is honey.
Honey is useful because it adds a sweet flavor to the mix without using processed sugar.
Honey also has a ton of health benefits.
In particular, it’s known to contain antioxidants.
Antioxidants keep your body healthy in several ways, but one of the most important is their impact on heart health.
They can help reduce heart disease.
The problem with honey is that it can be quite expensive.
One of the main reasons behind high honey prices is the declining population of honeybees.
Honeybees have struggled to adapt to climate change.
Without honeybees, there may be fewer plants around since they play a critical role in flower pollination.
Beekeepers have done their best to keep bee populations alive, but they can only do so much.
As such, since there is a smaller bee population, it also means there isn’t as much honey production as there used to be.
That results in higher honey prices.
Trail mix brands that use honey must pay higher costs to acquire their honey.
As a result, they need to offset their costs with higher prices.
Trail mix is expensive when it uses expensive honey.
3. Health-Focused Trail Mix
There is an abundance of different trail mixes available.
Some are more dessert-oriented for those who want trail mix as a sweet snack.
Others are a bit more savory and can even mimic a traditional meal.
There are some types of trail mix, however, that are specifically health focused.
These types of trail mixes usually use certain ingredients designed to give you a health boost.
They’ll focus on using certain fruits or nuts designed to improve your memory or energy levels.
They use whole ingredients or natural ingredients to make their mixes healthier.
Trail mix is often bought by consumers because it’s viewed as a healthier snack.
Some companies use that thought process heavily in their marketing.
The problem with health-focused trail mix is that it tends to be on the expensive side.
One reason it’s expensive is that it uses high-quality ingredients.
They’re naturally more expensive to source.
Another reason is that the labeling makes it more expensive.
Whenever something is healthy, it just tends to be more expensive.
Trail mix is expensive when it’s health focused.
4. All-Natural Ingredients
Whether they are truly healthy or not, some trail mix brands focus on using all-natural ingredients.
This type of trail mix tends to be on the expensive side because natural ingredients are more expensive to source than synthetic ingredients.
As an example, some trail mix brands might use artificial flavors.
They might advertise that their trail mix comes in a pineapple flavor.
However, it doesn’t actually contain pineapple.
It uses artificial pineapple flavoring.
It’s synthetic.
Other brands will take slices of pineapple and add them to their trail mix to give it that flavor of pineapple.
Clearly, the second method is going to be more expensive since the brand has to source pineapples.
All-natural ingredients also aren’t as processed.
Natural ingredients have little else done to them aside from cleaning, so they are viewed as healthier from a processing standpoint as well.
Since it’s more expensive to source natural ingredients, trail mix brands have to offset their costs with higher prices.
Trail mix is expensive because some of them use expensive natural ingredients.
5. Gluten-Free Ingredients
Some people who need to eat gluten-free snacks rely on trail mix as a healthy option.
Some people suffer from gluten allergies.
A gluten allergy, or intolerance, can leave you feeling unpleasant after eating something that contains gluten.
Wheat is one of the primary sources of gluten.
If you suffer from gluten intolerance, then you might experience bloating after eating something that contains gluten.
Feeling tired or even sick can also be symptoms of gluten intolerance.
As such, people who suffer from gluten intolerance usually want to stay away from it.
Since trail mix tends to be a healthier snack, it makes sense that trail mix brands started making gluten-free trail mixes, too.
They wanted to offer a type of trail mix that could prevent certain people from feeling sick or tired after eating their product.
The problem with gluten-free trail mix is that it tends to be more expensive.
That’s because it takes a bit more work to remove gluten from ingredients that contain it.
It might also mean that some brands change their ingredients entirely to use ingredients that don’t contain gluten at all.
Either way, creating a gluten-free product tacks on some additional processing and manufacturing costs.
Since it costs manufacturers a bit more money to produce, they’re going to charge more for their trail mix.
Trail mix is expensive when it uses gluten-free ingredients.
6. Expensive Fruits
You may notice that some of the more expensive trail mix brands use fruit.
They might have slices of dried apples or dried cranberries in their mixes.
Whatever the fruit, those trail mix options tend to be on the more expensive side.
That’s because fruit tends to be expensive.
Even if the company dries the fruit to make it last longer, they still need to source the fruit in the first place.
The problem with fruit is that it can be expensive to grow.
If there are problems occurring in a certain area that are impacting the supply of that fruit, then the price is going to be high.
For example, if a disease or pest is impacting large areas, then those areas might not produce as much fruit as they normally do.
As a result, of shortage might occur.
Because there’s a shortage, the trail mix brand has to spend more money to source the fruit.
Since the brand is taking on higher costs, they’re going to sell their mixes at higher prices.
Some fruits are also naturally more expensive than others.
If the fruit is rare or difficult to grow, then it’s going to be more expensive.
Trail mix is expensive because some brands use expensive types of fruit in their products.
7. Larger Packages
The size of the trail mix package also determines its price.
Originally, trail mix typically came in small bags.
Trail mix had a reputation for being a quick snack that you could enjoy at work, at school, during a road trip, or even when hiking on a trail (hence its name).
To encourage its use as a snack, trail mix brands kept their packages relatively small.
It allowed consumers to easily store trail mix in a pocket or small bag.
These days, however, people are snacking more than ever.
Small smaller trail mix bags aren’t ideal for some people any longer.
They want bigger bags.
Trail mix brands were happy to accommodate them.
They started producing trail mix in larger packages.
Granted, larger packages are more expensive than smaller packages since they contain more products.
The cost of packaging is also more expensive since it uses more materials.
To offset those costs, trail mix brands sell their larger packages at higher prices.
Trail mix is expensive when you buy larger packages.
8. Rare Flavors Or Mixes
Some trail mix brands also specialize in making rare flavors or providing specialty mixes.
For example, they might make something that the majority of consumers don’t enjoy.
They tend to focus on a niche market.
As an example, some trail mix companies might make a flavor of trail mix that tastes like buffalo wings.
Others might make something resembling a full turkey meal.
The brands can ask for higher prices for these unique products.
They have a very specific target audience they are hoping to satisfy.
Since there aren’t too many other competing flavors in that space, it means consumers who want that specific flavor or variety are going to need to pay higher prices to get it.
If they love it enough, then they will.
Trail mix is expensive because some companies sell niche flavors or varieties.
9. Long Lifespan
One of the benefits of trail mix is that it’s usually long-lasting.
Most of the ingredients are either dried or don’t spoil quickly.
This makes it a great snack because you can buy a bunch when it’s on sale, then hoard it for a long time.
You don’t have to worry about the trail mix going bad on you.
However, that also means that trail mix brands can’t always rely on rapid repeat purchases.
They know that because their trail mix lasts for a long time, some people might not shop for more for some time.
To ensure they’re able to make as much money as possible, they have to put a higher price on their products.
Trail mix is expensive because it lasts a long time.
10. Premium Brands
A final reason trail mix is expensive is when it comes from a premium brand.
Like other types of food, trail mix has its share of brands that focus on high-quality experiences.
Everything from the mix to the packaging uses premium quality materials.
These brands also typically offer something else that standard brands don’t.
It might be a focus on organic ingredients or sustainable farming.
Whatever it is, premium brands charge a premium price.
Trail mix is expensive when it comes from a premium brand.
Conclusion
Trail mix is a great snack since it usually contains healthy ingredients.
However, its ingredients and health factor can determine how expensive it becomes.
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