Top 10 Road Trip Snacks That Gas Stations Got Right

In the Mid-Atlantic, Wawa isn't a convenience store — it's a way of life. The touchscreen-ordered hoagies (never call them subs) are legitimately good sandwiches that happen to be made in a place that also sells motor oil. The Italian Classic and the Gobbler (Thanksgiving-themed, available seasonally) have cult followings. Wawa's dairy farm origins (founded 1803) give it authenticity that 7-Eleven can only dream about. Philadelphia will fight you over which Wawa has the best hoagies.

The Slim Jim has been hanging on gas station checkout racks since 1928, and its ingredient list reads like a chemistry experiment — mechanically separated chicken, corn syrup, dextrose, and enough sodium to preserve a pharaoh. None of that matters at mile 300. You snap into it (as the late Macho Man Randy Savage demanded), and the salty, smoky, vaguely meaty flavor hits exactly right. ConAgra sells over 500 million Slim Jims a year. They know what they're doing.

Combos are the official snack of doing 75 mph on an interstate and not caring about crumbs. The cheddar-cheese-filled pretzel tubes hit an exact ratio of salt, crunch, and processed cheese that food scientists should study. Mars, Inc. has been making them since 1978, and the formula hasn't changed because it doesn't need to. They marketed themselves as "the official cheese-filled snack of NASCAR" for years, which is the most honest branding in snack food history. Perfect one-handed driving food.

Dorothy Henke started making seasoned pretzel twists in her North Dakota kitchen in 2012. By 2021, Hershey bought the company. The secret is the seasoning — a proprietary blend of garlic, onion, and spices baked onto pretzel twists that makes every other pretzel taste like cardboard. Dot's went from a farmers' market snack to a national gas station staple in under a decade. The "Original" flavor is perfect. Whoever opens the bag in the car will have empty hands and guilty fingers within 20 minutes.

The Mexican-born rolled tortilla chip that turned "lime and chili" into a personality trait. Barcel launched Takis in 1999, and the Fuego (hot chili pepper and lime) flavor conquered American gas stations by the 2010s. They're aggressively spicy, aggressively sour, and they turn your fingers a shade of red that doesn't wash off easily. Takis outsell Doritos in several U.S. markets. Gen Z adopted them as a cultural staple. The intensity isn't a bug — it's the entire product.

Whether or not Richard Montanez actually invented them (Frito-Lay says no, Montanez says yes, there's a movie about it), Flamin' Hot Cheetos are the most culturally significant snack of the last 30 years. The fluorescent red dust gets on everything — your fingers, your steering wheel, your shirt, your soul. They're sold in every gas station in America and have spawned an entire Flamin' Hot sub-brand. Annual sales exceed $1 billion across the Flamin' Hot line. They're not good for you. They're great for you.

The grown-up road trip snack. Planters Trail Mix — specifically the one with peanuts, raisins, cashews, almonds, and sunflower kernels — has been the "I'm making responsible choices" gas station purchase since the 1960s. It's the snack you buy when you want protein and energy without admitting you really want Cheetos. The resealable bag is perfectly designed for the center console. Mr. Peanut (born 1916, killed in a 2020 Super Bowl ad, resurrected as Baby Nut) would approve.

The Sassquatch-branded jerky company from Minong, Wisconsin (population: 562) dominates the gas station meat snack aisle with over 40% market share. Jack Link's Peppered and Original flavors are the road trip standard — chewy, salty, high-protein, and shelf-stable enough to survive in your car for weeks. The company was founded in 1986 and now generates over $1.5 billion in annual revenue. That's a lot of dried meat. The "Messin' with Sasquatch" ads are funnier than they have any right to be.

Hans Riegel of Bonn started Haribo in 1920, and the Goldbear gummy (launched 1922) is the best-selling gummy candy on Earth. The gas station bag — specifically the 5-ounce peg bag hanging near the register — is a road trip institution. Five flavors (pineapple, lemon, orange, raspberry, strawberry), each with a distinct shape that nobody actually differentiates while eating them. Haribo produces 100 million Goldbears per day. The German factory alone uses 25,000 tons of sugar annually. They're the candy you buy "for the car" and finish before the highway on-ramp.

In the Mid-Atlantic, Wawa isn't a convenience store — it's a way of life. The touchscreen-ordered hoagies (never call them subs) are legitimately good sandwiches that happen to be made in a place that also sells motor oil. The Italian Classic and the Gobbler (Thanksgiving-themed, available seasonally) have cult followings. Wawa's dairy farm origins (founded 1803) give it authenticity that 7-Eleven can only dream about. Philadelphia will fight you over which Wawa has the best hoagies.

The Slim Jim has been hanging on gas station checkout racks since 1928, and its ingredient list reads like a chemistry experiment — mechanically separated chicken, corn syrup, dextrose, and enough sodium to preserve a pharaoh. None of that matters at mile 300. You snap into it (as the late Macho Man Randy Savage demanded), and the salty, smoky, vaguely meaty flavor hits exactly right. ConAgra sells over 500 million Slim Jims a year. They know what they're doing.

Combos are the official snack of doing 75 mph on an interstate and not caring about crumbs. The cheddar-cheese-filled pretzel tubes hit an exact ratio of salt, crunch, and processed cheese that food scientists should study. Mars, Inc. has been making them since 1978, and the formula hasn't changed because it doesn't need to. They marketed themselves as "the official cheese-filled snack of NASCAR" for years, which is the most honest branding in snack food history. Perfect one-handed driving food.

Dorothy Henke started making seasoned pretzel twists in her North Dakota kitchen in 2012. By 2021, Hershey bought the company. The secret is the seasoning — a proprietary blend of garlic, onion, and spices baked onto pretzel twists that makes every other pretzel taste like cardboard. Dot's went from a farmers' market snack to a national gas station staple in under a decade. The "Original" flavor is perfect. Whoever opens the bag in the car will have empty hands and guilty fingers within 20 minutes.

The Mexican-born rolled tortilla chip that turned "lime and chili" into a personality trait. Barcel launched Takis in 1999, and the Fuego (hot chili pepper and lime) flavor conquered American gas stations by the 2010s. They're aggressively spicy, aggressively sour, and they turn your fingers a shade of red that doesn't wash off easily. Takis outsell Doritos in several U.S. markets. Gen Z adopted them as a cultural staple. The intensity isn't a bug — it's the entire product.

Whether or not Richard Montanez actually invented them (Frito-Lay says no, Montanez says yes, there's a movie about it), Flamin' Hot Cheetos are the most culturally significant snack of the last 30 years. The fluorescent red dust gets on everything — your fingers, your steering wheel, your shirt, your soul. They're sold in every gas station in America and have spawned an entire Flamin' Hot sub-brand. Annual sales exceed $1 billion across the Flamin' Hot line. They're not good for you. They're great for you.

The grown-up road trip snack. Planters Trail Mix — specifically the one with peanuts, raisins, cashews, almonds, and sunflower kernels — has been the "I'm making responsible choices" gas station purchase since the 1960s. It's the snack you buy when you want protein and energy without admitting you really want Cheetos. The resealable bag is perfectly designed for the center console. Mr. Peanut (born 1916, killed in a 2020 Super Bowl ad, resurrected as Baby Nut) would approve.

The Sassquatch-branded jerky company from Minong, Wisconsin (population: 562) dominates the gas station meat snack aisle with over 40% market share. Jack Link's Peppered and Original flavors are the road trip standard — chewy, salty, high-protein, and shelf-stable enough to survive in your car for weeks. The company was founded in 1986 and now generates over $1.5 billion in annual revenue. That's a lot of dried meat. The "Messin' with Sasquatch" ads are funnier than they have any right to be.

Hans Riegel of Bonn started Haribo in 1920, and the Goldbear gummy (launched 1922) is the best-selling gummy candy on Earth. The gas station bag — specifically the 5-ounce peg bag hanging near the register — is a road trip institution. Five flavors (pineapple, lemon, orange, raspberry, strawberry), each with a distinct shape that nobody actually differentiates while eating them. Haribo produces 100 million Goldbears per day. The German factory alone uses 25,000 tons of sugar annually. They're the candy you buy "for the car" and finish before the highway on-ramp.