At the heart of the impulse occasion, confectionery remains in the top purchases within the independent channel.
The total UK sugar confectionery market is worth £1.7billion.
Within this Perfetti Van Melle is worth over £91million, its UK business driven primarily by its Mentos and Fruittella brands, both currently worth around £56million, with Chupa Chups lollipops and Smint completing the lineup (IRI).
Mark Roberts, Marketing & Trade Marketing Director at Perfetti Van Melle, comments: “This puts Perfetti Van Melle in a prime position to give hard pressed consumers sweet treats to brighten their lives, and retailers a compelling sales generator.”
With over 1.6 million vegans now living in the UK, and Veganuary hitting two million total participants this year since its launch in 2014, appetite for healthy alternatives is not going away, especially since over 682 new products were launched during Veganuary 2022.
Consumers with specific dietary requirements often seek familiar treats and snacks and are delighted to find trusted brands such as Fruittella now playing in the vegan space with its popular Gelatine Free range, now worth £1.52million (IRI).
“As consumers take a growing interest in health and wellbeing, it’s making added benefits key in confectionery, such as immunity and gut health,” adds Roberts. “In fact, 76% of global consumers say they will eat and drink more healthily due to COVID-19, with 65% now more concerned about immunity. We have plans for new products addressing these concerns – to be launched later in 2022.”
Perfetti Van Melle is the largest supplier of sugar-free sweets in the UK, with its sugar-free range growing +22% YoY (IRI).
“Perfetti Van Melle is in a great position to cater for those now concerned about the hygiene of unwrapped sweets with Fruittella and Chupa Chups, the UK’s best-selling wrapped sweets, offering portion control and safe treats in a variety of packaging sizes,” says Roberts.
Within the traditional confectionery segment, sharing has continued to grow by +5.1%. Fruittella sharing bags are growing18.3%, driven by the core range of Juicy Chew and Duo Stix bags. Chupa Chups Mini Lollipop bag (x 22 piece), the UK’s second best-selling lollipop bags, are also growing, up 3.5% YOY (IRI).
The law is changing in the UK about how retailers sell sugar confectionery. The implementation of HFSS volume promotion and location legislation will be in place from October 2022.
In the convenience sector, the HFSS rules affect stores of different sizes to different extents. Confectionery is one of the top five categories purchased on impulse in convenience stores, and there is a clear opportunity to provide shoppers with more sugar-free and better-for-you products that offer portion control and added health benefits – this will be vital in supporting category growth going forwards.
With retailer support firmly in mind, the Perfetti Van Melle retailer loyalty scheme is currently a major focus for the company, which is urging convenience stores to sign up for a sweet deal with some fantastic prizes as part of its Loyalty Reward Scheme, including a £100,000 giveaway.
In a bid to drive impulse sales of single packs in the convenience market, Perfetti Van Melle has worked closely with retailers to launch a tailor-made £2million program that features a range of stocking and merchandising initiatives, to help them boost profits and reap other rewards designed with retailers in mind. The company is currently working directly with 4,300 stores in the UK and will look to expand this in the year ahead, with more investment and field sales reps than ever before.
Sugar free remains a key driver to bring new shoppers into refreshment. As a leader in offering conscious choices, and the UK’s number largest supplier of sugar-free sweets in the UK (IRI), Perfetti Van Melle’s sugar-free range is growing +22% YoY (IRI) and offers a full range that can support the government’s proposed guidelines of under 150Kcal per pack – something most other manufacturers can’t.
The fastest growing mint brand in the UK (IRI), Smint, and Mentos, the global number three candy brand (Euromonitor), are must-stock impulse brands that have a proven track record of driving category sales. Smint is currently the largest mints brand with a 100% sugar free portfolio in the UK (IRI).
“Flavour is key when it comes to refreshment and is a particularly strong USP for Mentos Pure Fresh Gum, which is shaking up the category by offering more than the traditional spearmint and peppermint flavours,” adds Roberts. “Mentos’ fruit flavours are new and unconventional; they introduce alternative occasions and attract teenage and young adult shoppers by providing that point of difference and indulgence elements to refreshment. The sugar free aspect targets the health-conscious consumer, too.”
Innovation is a key driver for the category – within Perfetti Van Melle’s Mentos Gum portfolio for example, new Mentos Sugar Free Fruit Gum is completely sugar-free but offers the taste credentials of an indulgent, refreshing treat. As a result, Mentos Gum is currently driving two thirds of the growth of the fruit gum market (IRI).
Phill Jaremczenko-Dye, Digital Wholesale & New Business Lead, Mars Wrigley, comments: “With the rising cost of living, consumers are looking for value in their purchases where possible. With the price being clearly labelled on the pack of PMP formats, they offer reassurance to consumers that they are getting a fair price for a good value product, contributing to an overall positive price perception and driving sales. PMPs are effective at building a sense of trust and confidence amongst consumers. With half of convenience baskets include PMPs we do not expect their popularity to decline, as their convenient formats drive impulse sales and repeat purchases from consumers.”
Popular brands offering PMP formats help to drive category sales and boost additional trials of new product in a range. Orange Maltesers Buttons are available in £1 PMP treat bags (68g), allowing retailers to tap into the growing consumer demand for orange chocolate, with the flavour seeing a +20% growth in recent years (Nielsen).
Mars Wrigley’s M&M’s range includes PMP formats in four consumer favourite flavours: Peanut, Crispy, Chocolate and Salted Caramel, all for just £1. Having PMP offerings for this popular brand boosts impulse purchases for consumers looking their favourite chocolate treat with the affirmed value.
Maltesers’ latest innovation Dark Maltesers are also available in a £1 PMP treat bag. With the dark chocolate segment growing by 15% (Scantrack), Dark Maltesers taps into this consumer trend, helping consumers with their search for a more intense cocoa experience. Made with 65% more cocoa, and 30% less sugar, Dark Maltesers also meet the demand for more permissible sweet treats, with a reduction in sugar content remaining on of the top three priorities for shoppers.
Consumers are looking for variation in the texture and flavour of their fruity confections. Skittles, the fastest growing and no. 1 contributing brand to category in 2020 (Nielsen) continues to create a pipeline of innovation with its latest release, Squishy Cloudz. Available in two flavours, Fruits and Crazy Sours, Squishy Cloudz are the first aerated gummy product to sit within the Mars Wrigley portfolio. Combining a gummy and marshmallow, Squishy Cloudz retain the same intense fruity flavours that make Skittles a firm consumer favourite, making them a must stock. Squishy Cloudz prove to be must stocks for retailers looking to drive confectionery sales, available in £1 PMP bags.
65% of consumers site that freshening breath remains the no. 1 reason to chew gum. Extra gum is sugar-free, meaning that it can help to protect teeth and gums between meals. Mars Wrigley continues to grow their Extra portfolio, with a £2 PMP pack of their 46-pellet bottle of Extra sugar-free gum in top-selling flavours, Peppermint and Spearmint.
Susan Nash, Trade Communications Manager at Mondelez International, comments: “Earlier this year, Cadbury rolled out a unique category-first packaging initiative on its popular Cadbury Duos range. Cadbury Duos Twist Wrap unlocks an innovative portion control mechanism – enabling consumers to twist to seal and save half for later for better portion control and more mindful snacking – for the first time on any chocolate brand in the UK. The new packaging is made using a memory technology solution, meaning the wrapper stays twisted by a single twist preserving fresh flavour, texture and shape.”
The packaging innovation underscores Mondelez International’s commitment to help promote healthier snacking to consumers, with a focus on portion control being recognised as one of the most effective ways of helping people balance their calorie intake.
Cadbury has unveiled a new limited-edition flavour for its popular Wispa Gold range: Salted Caramel. The new flavour is available to order in a single 45g bar now, helping retailers to drive confectionery sales with this beloved flavour.
The Wispa range is a favourite with shoppers across the UK; in fact, it’s the third biggest brand within the Cadbury range (Nielsen) after Cadbury Dairy Milk and Cadbury Twirl. Wispa Gold Salted Caramel is the latest way in which Wispa is delivering value to the singles category through innovation. On-trend and relevant new flavours are a key growth driver in chocolate, accounting for 28% (Nielsen) of category growth and attracting incremental younger adult consumers.
Salted caramel is a top 5 NPD flavour in chocolate (Nielsen), and it’s also the highest performing flavour across all demographics in consumer testing in relation to Wispa.
Toblerone has expanded their range to bring shoppers a brand-new, limited-edition launch: Toblerone Golden.
This new addition to the Toblerone range brings shoppers the crunchy nougat of a classic Toblerone in golden caramel chocolate. Toblerone Golden is perfect as a seasonal gift, helping retailers to drive premium sales and trade-up with a remarkable and distinctive limited-edition offer.
The new launch will also help retailers tap into more occasions by appealing to younger adult shoppers, who have shown an appetite for the caramelised white chocolate used in Toblerone Golden. Caramelised white was the biggest chocolate NPD in 2021 by more than double the second place NPD, worth £18.5m RSV (Nielsen).
“Looking at sugar confectionery, this summer we rolled out the Juicies range which is comprised of Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums Juicies, Maynards Bassetts Sports Mix Juicies and The Natural Confectionery Co. Juicy Snakes,” adds Nash. “The new launches contain fruit juice, natural colours and flavours which do not compromise on taste, a key point of importance for consumers. The new Juicies bags are HFSS-compliant, meaning they are not subject to the restrictions now in place and retailers can site the products anywhere in store.”
The sweets performed brilliantly in consumer testing, with 77% (Nielsen) of those surveyed expecting Juicies to excel on taste, and more than two-thirds of testers – 71% (Nielsen) – saying they would go on to buy the new range. As the second biggest branded sugar confectionery range on the market (Nielsen), Maynards Bassetts is ideally placed to offer retailers these new non-HFSS options for their stores and their consumers. What’s more, The Natural Confectionery Co. range is growing by more than 44% (Nielsen) year-on-year – proving just how popular the brand is with UK consumers.
Mark Walker, Sales Director at Swizzels, comments: “Squashies, our popular sweets that come in a variety of much-loved flavours, have been a massive success for Swizzels and has continued to grow 2.4% over the past year (IRI), known now as the number one sweets brand (IRI) in the UK.”
Including 4 different flavours, such as the latest Rhubarb & Custard flavour, Squashies is available across £1 PMP hanging bag formats and a 45g pocket sized treat size. According to research, price is the no.1 factor when purchasing singles confectionery (Lumina) so this 50p PMP is a must stock for wholesalers looking to attract retailers.
Following an agreed license with Universal, Swizzels recently produced a limited-edition Minions-themed range of confectionery to coincide with the UK release of Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru, which launched in UK cinemas in July.
The collection includes a brand-new Banana and Blueberry flavour of Squashies, presented in blue-and-yellow striped packaging to echo the Minions in their iconic dungarees. Wholesalers can purchase 120g PMP packs in cases of twelve, RSP £1 per hanging bag.
Additionally, Swizzels also launched Minions Tropical Chew Bars – a brand-new product featuring two tropical flavours: Peach & Passionfruit and Mango & Pineapple. Vegan-friendly, the chew bars are presented in vibrant packaging that features a different Minion on each product. Wholesalers can purchase in 120g packs in cases of 12, RSP £1 per hanging bag.
The final product in the range is Minions Tropical Fizz individual chew bars, which launched in June, RSP of 15p. The product features a surprise sherbet centre encased in a tropical flavoured chew.
“Furthermore, this summer we also launched into the mallows market with brand-new product Marvellous Mallows,” adds Walker. “The mallows category is worth £24 million (IRI), so it’s the perfect time for Swizzels to branch out into a new market, launching with the much-loved Drumstick raspberry and milk flavour which we know our customers love.”
Swizzels has continued to grow over the last year, especially in symbols and independents, where the brand has grown faster than the overall total market (IRI).
Sugar confectionery has continued to grow 10.8% over the last year (IRI) and Swizzels has a broad range of products to fit customer needs including singles, sharing bags and seasonal lines.
“We work with our wholesale customer base to ensure they have the strongest range and offer strong marketing materials to maximise their sales,” says Walker.
Swizzels has specifically seen a huge growth in novelty product lines, in particular Candy Whistles have had a 94% growth (IRI), whilst our Love Heart Lip Sticks have had a 114% growth (IRI) and Flic N Lic a 73% growth (IRI).
“There is a clear demand for these novelty products, so we would encourage retailers to take advantage of the trend and stock up on these products,” Walker continues. “For the rest of the year, we have impactful POS displays for cash and carries, wholesalers and retailers, ensuring all our key marketing activities and NPD are supported. Keep an eye out for our Halloween displays!”
Swizzels is supporting all its key campaigns and NPD with trade marketing adverts and key messages in all trade publications. It has also maintained visibility within its customers’ own trade channels, such as brochure ads and digital banners.
Finally, for 2023 it will be running more exclusive competitions for retailers, where they can win free stock for their stores or even big cash prizes. This has previously been successful for past campaigns, such as the Swizzels Big Night In.
“In our current cost of living crisis, over 53% of Britons surveyed are having to reduce spending to pay their bills (TWC),” Walker continues. “As such, PMPs are a must stock for retailers as they provide value reassurance to shoppers. In fact, research shows 58% of shoppers prefer retailers that sell products with price on the packaging (TWC).
“Wholesalers should also ensure they are stocking the biggest and best brands by creating displays at the front of depot for Christmas and blocking together gifting products, such as our Sweet Shop Favourites tub & carton to drive impulse purchases.”
Comments are closed.