Mars Wrigley has unveiled its NPD line-up for Easter 2027, bringing new formats from its best-loved brands to both Easter treating and gifting occasions.
The new launches include M&M’S® Crispy Mini Bunnies in the small sharing format, and MALTESERS® White XL Egg and MALTESERS® Popcorn Flavour Giant Egg in the shell egg format. These new products are set to join returning seasonal favourites from January, offering exciting NPD across Easter purchasing.
Easter remains one of the largest opportunities in the confectionery calendar, with shoppers buying at least six eggs each year1. Treating continues to grow in importance across the season, rising from 40% of total Easter value in 2023 to 43% in 20262. Mars Wrigley’s new launches are set to drive excitement in-store and help retailers capture a strong share of the seasonal opportunity.
Steve Waters, Senior Brand Manager, Easter at Mars Wrigley, commented: “Our Easter 2026 launches showed how quickly shoppers take to new formats from brands they already love, with GALAXY® MINSTRELS® Mini Eggsand MALTESERS® Mini Eggs ranking as the top two new launches in small sharing bags last season³. For Easter 2027, we’re building on that momentum with a line-up that brings the flavours shoppers are asking for into the formats that matter most to retailers.
“Small sharing bags are the biggest Easter treat format, worth 36% of treat sales³, and large and extra-large eggs together account for more than half of traditional egg sales³. Our new launches strengthen our range in both, giving shoppers even more choice across the key Easter rituals of sharing, gifting and treating.”
NPD: Small Sharing
Small sharing bags have the highest penetration of any Easter treat format at 48%3 and play a role across multiple occasions in the season, from self-consumption and baking to top-up gifts and egg hunts. Treat hunts remain a key family ritual, with 56% of households with children under ten taking part in 20254. Mars Wrigley has three of the top five best-selling small sharing bags, including MALTESERS® Mini Bunnies, which grew +8.3% year-on-year³.
For Easter 2027, Mars Wrigley is bringing another blockbuster to the segment. M&M’S® Crispy Mini Bunnies will bring the playful personality of M&M’S® to Easter small sharing in a bite-sized bunny shape. M&M’S® appeal to a younger audience and give the launch strong potential to recruit new shoppers into the segment. M&M’S® Crispy Mini Bunnies will also be available on clip strips, helping retailers extend the range into additional impulse locations.
NPD: Gifting
Gifting remains the number one Easter occasion, accounting for 56% of the Easter confectionery category³. Large and extra-large eggs continue to deliver the most sales within traditional eggs, with extra-large eggs growing +8.7% in value year-on-year³. For Easter 2027 Mars Wrigley are extending two MALTESERS® favourites into the shell egg format.
The MALTESERS® White XL Egg launches market wide, bringing MALTESERS® White into the extra-large egg segment. MALTESERS® White delivered £11 million in consumer sales value in the first year of its all-year-round launch5, and white chocolate brings incremental shoppers to the category. As the UK’s second-biggest chocolate brand6, MALTESERS® gives the launch instant recognition at fixture.
The MALTESERS® Popcorn Flavour Giant Egg also launches market wide, taking the consumer favourite MALTESERS® Bunny Popcorn Flavour into the giant egg format. MALTESERS® Bunny Popcorn Flavour ranked among the top ten Easter self-eat products in 2026³. Giant eggs offer shoppers a special gift for loved ones, and with MALTESERS® bought by 49% of households², the launch gives retailers a strong trade-up option to drive basket spend.
Marketing support
Mars Wrigley’s ‘Share Little Acts of Lightness’ platform brings the Easter range together in-store, with the ‘Win Spring Surprises’ POS activation expanding into small sharing this year. Split-branded MALTESERS® and M&M’S® displays delivered a 19% value sales uplift, 13% increased conversion and a 3% increase in shoppers buying both brands7. Further split-branded FSDUs pair MALTESERS® with GALAXY® MINSTRELS® under ‘Share Little Acts of Indulgence’.
M&M’S® Crispy Mini Bunnies will be supported by dedicated ‘Share Little Acts of Fun’ POS, including FSDUs, clip strips and digital screens. The refreshed gifting execution, ‘Gift Little Acts of Lightness’ and ‘Easter Prezzies, Cracked!’, brings MALTESERS® and M&M’S® eggs together across standalone displays and retailer websites.
Out of store, Mars Wrigley is investing in out of home, audio and PR, including a ‘Catch the Bunnies to Win Spring Surprises’ campaign to make MALTESERS® Bunny and CRISPY M&M’S® Bunny unmissable.
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