Are there any new consumer trends that wholesalers should be aware of? How are consumers, retailers, wholesalers and suppliers reacting to the current Coronavirus crisis and what effect is this having on the grocery industry?
Crisps, Snacks and Popcorn is a mature £3bn market that is in good growth (+3.6%)1, showing that we have remained a nation of snackers in a challenging year for everyone and many of us have reached for a savoury snack to give us a lift and keep us going. Given the impulse nature of the category, it is an important category for the Convenience sector which accounts for 20% of sales2.
As with most categories, Coronavirus has made its mark on savoury snacks. Consumers have changed both what they buy and where they buy it. In the Convenience sector, the core segments of crisps and snacks have struggled, with more ‘special’ products such as pork snacks and hand cooked crisps seeing good growth, as people look to treat themselves at home as a substitute to going out.
Covid-19 has also accelerated a change in shopper missions that has been taking place over a number of years and which is best understood by looking at which pack types are being bought. As people are out and about less during the day, and every night has become a ‘Big Night In’, there has been a shift away from impulse packs into sharing snacks. £1 PMP Snacks are growing faster than the market (19.9% vs 6.4%) and now account for 39.1% of Snacks with 24% of consumers buying more sharing packs than a year ago3 and family favourites such as Golden Wonder Ringos and Transform-A-Snack have been performing well in this format.
Value for money is increasingly important to many consumers as economic concerns appear on the horizon. PMPs are a proven way for convenience retailers to demonstrate that they are offering great value.
What are your best-selling products? How is your brand performing in the category?
Capturing the booming sharing snacks market means wholesalers need to be stocking a strong range of £1 PMP snacks – which are growing at 20%3. A good PMP offering will boost consumer confidence that they are getting great value for money, as well as ensure strong margins for the retailer.
Ringos and Transform-A-Snack continue to be our top performers in the £1 sector as they deliver Golden Wonder’s legendary ‘punch per crunch’, great consumer value, as well as strong wholesale and retailer margins.
We recognise the importance of entry point pricing but also the importance of driving basket spend for retailers. Our Fun Snacks range (that includes Tangy Toms, Spicy Bikers, Awesome Oinks, Quarterbacks and Cheesy Snakes) has been performing particularly well recently due to their great value for money through a 30p/2 for 50p PMP. 30p PMPs have had a phenomenal year – growing faster than the market (82.8% vs 6.4%)3.
How do you work with wholesalers to maximise your sales through the channel?
Given Tayto over-trades in Wholesale with our Golden Wonder PMP snacks range, we have a team dedicated to support the sector including ensuring that we have a strong promotional plan through all the major wholesalers. We have recognised the value of PMP in this sector for many years and have a range that hits the key price-points with on-pack multi-buy offers (30p/2 for 50p; 39p/2 for 60p) that drive increased sales by encouraging basket spend. Golden Wonder continues to deliver great-tasting products that offer superb consumer value as well as strong retailer margins. We see further potential for growth as people look to shop more locally and have high hopes for an even stronger performance for the sector, category and our brands through an upweighted promotional plan and exciting NPD in the coming year.
Do you have any NPD? What marketing support do you have for your products this year?
In the all-important £1 PMP snacks segment, Golden Wonder continue to develop their offer.
Given the growth of sharing snacks, we’re expanding our £1 PMP range to include Spicy Bikers – our best-selling ‘Fun Snack’. Available now, we will be supporting the launch with digital activity including opportunities to win bikes and an independent retailer focused trade campaign.
Golden Wonder’s Ringos and Transform-A-Snack £1 ranges continue to perform well and so, we will be adding a new flavour to both in April. Sour Cream & Onion Ringos will tap into this flavour’s recent growth (+12.9%)4 and is a perfect match for the lighter bite of Ringos. We will also be making our popular Cheese & Onion Transform-A-Snack available as a £1 PMP. These additions will drive further growth in the £1 sector by delivering Golden Wonder’s famous taste and value, as well as strong trade margins.
Do you have any category wide advice? What do wholesalers need to do to maximise sales?
PMPs are incredibly important in snacks as we know that this is a highly impulse-driven purchase – so PMP can be the ‘clincher’ when shopping in Convenience. Other snacks (e.g. confectionery) tend to have fewer PMP and so, stocking a good range of PMP snacks will deliver incremental sales. Pork Scratchings are much less promotionally driven and do not require PMP – the way for retailers to drive incremental, VAT-free pork sales is through merchandising and hanging clipstrips with BWS.
A retailer needs to ensure that the fixture is easy to shop, so group similar price-points and products together to help the customer’s decision-making process.
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