Treating and snacking in the UK market is worth £13.3bn. Within this, confectionery is worth £5.5bn and driving growth: (75% of recent treats and snacking growth has come from confectionery (Nielsen). Incremental sales remain strong, with two-thirds of products being bought on impulse (Kantar).
Treats and Snacking is an emotive category for consumers, and 100% of UK households buy across it (Kantar). Consumers typically want to recharge and reward themselves, as well as connect with others and celebrate achievements with confectionery. The sector is still all about enjoyment and taste, but health is becoming increasingly important.
Consumers are always looking for fun, seasonal variations and new flavours to try in confectionery. In fact, in the fruity confectionery and gum sectors, fruit flavours including favourites such as strawberry, orange and lemon remain popular choices, and we can expect to see variations and combinations of these, as well as the tropical flavours such as pineapple, mango and passionfruit, growing the market in 2023.
Trends in consumer and shopper behaviour continue to change and the category needs to evolve to keep consumers engaged. Mars Wrigley is paying particular attention to six key trends this year: household economic uncertainty; the increased focus on wellness and healthy living; shopper convenience; the environment; capitalising on those In Home and Out of Home moments; and having purpose-led brands.
Mars Wrigley has launched its first HFSS-compliant fruity confectionery product. Starburst Fruit Squares follow on from the unveiling of Triple Treat, the first HFSS-compliant launch from a major confectionery company, in June 2022.
Fruit Squares are made with real fruit (80% apple puree) and are high in fibre. They are available in two flavour variants, Fruit Mix (apple, strawberry, blackcurrant, and orange) and Tropical Mix (pineapple, mango, passionfruit and lemon). These vegan snacks are designed to meet the growing consumer desire for healthier, innovative confectionery options.
Kerry Cavanaugh, Mars Wrigley Marketing Director, comments: “The launch of Starburst Fruit Squares is a response to the ever-evolving confectionery landscape, particularly at a time where HFSS regulations are impacting the sector.
“As fruity confections are growing at +17% year-on-year (Nielsen), the Starburst brand is a perfect platform for Mars Wrigley’s first HFSS-compliant fruity confectionery venture, bringing an additional audience of 1.4 million to the sector.
“We’re pleased to provide a front-of-store-compliant confectionery product to retailers that continues to drive innovation across the fruity confectionery category.”
The fruit snacks are available at an RRP of £1.00 for a 25g pack.
This year Mars Wrigley will have a TV presence across Extra, Maltesers, Galaxy, M&M’S, Celebrations and Twix, as well as other media platforms, one of its strongest plans for many years.
“We’ll continue to develop award-winning content which delivers emotional connections with our consumers and connects our brands with cultural events such as Skittles Pride and Maltesers Maternal Mental Health and delivers our promise on purpose with Galaxy cocoa sustainability,” adds Cavanaugh.
“Social media is a key part of our media strategy and will continue to be a place where consumers talk about us and share their positive experiences with their much-loved brands.
“We support wholesalers to drive growth across the category by driving scale through core confectionery in all formats and occasions, launching more permissible ranges such as Triple Treat, encouraging consumers to chew more of our sugar-free gum ranges, and unlocking healthier snacking with our KIND range.”
Andrea Jessop, CEO of Moo Free, comments: “Moo Free specialise in the free-from space, which has seen significant growth in the last fifteen years and is now a core category in wholesale and grocery. From 2020 to 2022, the value of the category soared nearly 50 per cent – from £37.6m to £55.2m (Nielsen) and is forecast to grow a further 15 per cent in 2023. Supermarkets and major retailers are giving the category more space in all formats of stores which is positive news for the free-from chocolate category, and the growth of Moo Free. This will inevitably filter through to independent retailers who will be turning to wholesalers to provide stock in this category.”
The number of consumers choosing a vegan or flexitarian diet are also increasing which is another market for free-from chocolate to appeal to. For example, this year saw a record number take part in Veganuary, with over 700,000 people signed up, surpassing last year’s total of 629,000. This ever-increasing annual figure highlights the popularity of this rising trend, which is having a growing impact on the free-from chocolate space.
Moo Free’s core range includes the Choccy Rocks range (Moofreesas and Bunnycomb), the Moo Free Choccy Buttons, Choccy Chums and large Premium Bars (Salted Caramel, Cinder Toffee and Original). Moo Free’s mini bars also continue to be a popular choice for consumers, with the White bars and Bunnycomb being the top sellers (sales val 2022).
This year, Moo Free has launched two new bars to extend its Mini Bar range – Fizzy Moo Orange and Fizzy Moo Cola. As per the rest of the Moo Free’s products, both products are made with Rainforest Alliance cocoa, but have the added addition of fizzy popping candy.
Moo Free has also rebranded its Choccy Rocks range with new, stand-out and innovative packaging. The new packaging is aimed to broaden Moo Free’s appeal to an older audience. Available in two flavours, Moofreesas and Bunnycomb, Moo Free’s Choccy Rocks are pocket-sized snack packs are perfect for those who have particular food allergies, or who are following a vegan and /or flexitarian lifestyle. The Moofreesas are crispy, gluten free biscuit flavoured rice balls that are covered in high-quality Rainforest Alliance dairy free “milk” chocolate, and the Bunnycomb is made with vegan honeycomb with no honey. Moo Free, the UK’s number one privately owned free-from chocolate manufacturer, reported a record year end for 2022 with 18 per cent value growth versus 2021 (internal sales – April 2022 to March 2023), and has had a strong start to 2023, already exceeding ambitious targets.
Now B Corp certified, Moo Free meets the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.
To increase Moo Free’s visibility, the brand is investing in a PR, social and marketing strategy, which aims to help expand its loyal fan base and increase purchase frequency. Advertising will be running across digital channels, as well as media partnerships to help market the Moo Free range during the coming year ahead.
“We encourage wholesalers to separate their ranges from traditional dairy bars, but when space is limited, Moo Free’s packaging clearly labels its free from and vegan credentials on-pack,” adds Jessop.
Clare Newton, Trade Marketing Executive at Swizzels, comments: “The sugar confectionery market is in growth at a steady pace on the account of the high demand from consumers.”
Introduction of new products with innovative flavours and healthier ingredients, increase in gifting trends, and growth in retail market are expected to drive the demand in the near future. Despite consumers reducing spending due to the cost-of-living crisis (TWC), the sugar confectionery category has continued to grow 10.3% over the last year (IRI).
“We’ve found that our hanging bags are a popular sharing choice as more and more shoppers opt for at-home gatherings,” adds Newton. “Our vegan range is becoming increasingly popular as vegan options move beyond the established categories of meat and dairy alternatives.”
Swizzels launched new Minions Sherbet Dips earlier this month with three new flavours: Fizzy Orange, Sour Apple and Tangy Berry.
“We provide bright, eye-catching displays throughout depots, teamed with frequent competitions, specifically targeted towards the needs of Wholesalers/Retailers. We also do different competitions for retailers/wholesalers where they can win various prizes,” says Newton.
“We also support wholesalers and retailers with a full suite of digital POS for each promotion, alongside bespoke artwork and competitions, which are often customised to encourage participation in more localised competitions.”
Elizabeth Hughes-Gapper, Jakemans Senior Brand Manager, comments: “The category is being faced with new challenges as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. There are likely to be more instances of ‘savvy shopping’ behaviour, with consumers opting to buy better value products. That said, trust remains a key factor for consumers especially within the OTC category. As a recognised quality menthol lozenge, Jakemans is a great value and trusted option for retailers for the cold and flu season, and all year round.”
Consumers hold expertise, trust and reputation highly when it comes to choosing branded products. Brands that can reinforce specialist claims, educate and build consumer confidence will be able to justify higher price points and discourage consumers from trading down.
Recognising the importance of offering customers a variety of flavours and formats, Jakemans launched a new sugar free variant of the much-loved classic flavour, Throat & Chest in January 2023. Each tasty lozenge is sugar free but still bursting with menthol – an ingredient that releases natural vapours to soothe the symptoms of a sore or tickly throat and keep airways clear. Consumers can now purchase the sugar free option from stores nationwide, RRP £1.29 (20 x 2.5g lozenges).
“By stocking a range of remedies, wholesalers will maximise their seasonal sales as hay fever season begins,” adds Hughes-Gapper. “Menthol lozenges – such as Jakemans – are a vital product to stock to soothe the symptoms of a sore or tickly throat and keep airways clear.”
As convenience and ease of purchase are important to consumers, retailers will be looking buy products at wholesalers that are SRP (shelf ready packaging) so that they can display popular brands where they are most visible. All Jakemans products are sold in shelf ready packaging making it easy to display whether on shelf or at the till and making it easier for consumers to pick their brand of choice.
With 19% of adults interested in remedies with different flavour options (Mintel) providing a variety of unique flavours and formats can be attractive to consumers. That’s why, Jakemans offers a number of flavours to suit different customer demands, whether that be menthol, berry flavours or even a sugar free option.
“Wholesalers can maximise their sales by stocking a range of flavour profiles for retailers to offer their customers (including best sellers and new low or no sugar products),” says Hughes-Gapper.
Jakemans will be supported throughout the year with a strong TV, OOH, radio and PR campaign ensuring retailers recognise the packs on shelf and the brand remains front of mind throughout key seasonal moments.
Kenton Burchell, Group Trading Director, Bestway, comments: “Ibis World has noted that the market size, measured by revenue of the chocolate and confectionery production industry, is £3.9bn in 2023. And it is expected to increase 1.2%.”
According to confectionery market trends by Zion Market Research report, the driver for this category is the increased demand for sugar confectionery products from children to adults, with candies, gums and jellies being the most popular confectionery products.
According to Nielsen, consumers are buying into treat bag sales with 96% of treat bag sales coming from PMPs.
According to Kantar, consumers bought healthier products more frequently, with a 2.6% increase in average.
Brands are also launching new products from non-HFSS lines to offer consumers more choice when it comes to snacking and maintaining a healthy diet.
According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, packaging has become important with carefully packed premium chocolate gifts offering high value.
Mordor Intelligence noted that there is a growing demand for organic, vegan, sugar-free and gluten free chocolates.
Gabriella Egleton – Senior Brand Manager – Kervan Gida UK Ltd, comments: “Consumers are more focused on improving their health and wellbeing and are doing so by adopting healthier practices. This includes a shift towards more conscious eating, whether that’s increased awareness of HFSS products, or reducing meat and dairy consumption.”
In terms of formulation, brands like Bebeto are working on widening ranges of vegan, lower sugar, and high fruit juice SKUs. Ensuring that packaging calls out these key claims is crucial in aiding the consumer decision making process.
“We would recommend stocking Bebeto 150g Big Mix and Bebeto 150g Big Fizzy Mix gummy lines as core as they’re the perfect impulse confectionery item for AYR,” adds Egleton. “We’d then suggest introducing our Bebeto 150g Strawberries and Bebeto 150g Fizzy Watermelons over the spring/summer seasons as part of a picnic-inspired seasonal impulse display. Consumers are much more likely to try these more-seasonal led lines if they’ve tried and tasted the core products throughout the year.”
Susan Nash, Trade Communications Manager at Mondelez International, comments: “Cadbury Twirl has launched a brand-new limited-edition flavour: Twirl Mint. Available to order now, the limited-edition bars are bringing fresh excitement in-store and setting retailers’ ranges up for summer success.”
Mint is an incredibly popular flavour among shoppers, as one of the top five flavours for standard chocolate (Nielsen). With the mint chocolate category as a whole worth £66M RSV, it presents a significant opportunity for retailers, especially when paired with the nation’s favourite chocolate (Nielsen). What’s more, new flavour launches are one of the key drivers of sales (Nielsen) within the chocolate confectionery category, especially among younger shoppers (Kantar), making Twirl Mint one not to be missed.
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