pladis, the global snacking company behind some of the UK’s most loved and iconic brands, has relaunched its Better Biscuits category management online platform.
The popular information hub, which provides comprehensive ranging and merchandising advice, has been refreshed with brand-new advice to help retailers across the UK maximise their biscuits category sales during 2021 and beyond.
With an ambitious goal to help retailers add £21 million to biscuit sales in the channel annually1, pladis’ newly launched platform outlines five key steps for retailers to consider when thinking about their biscuit fixture. These steps are focused on how independent retailers can encourage biscuit-buying households to add just one more packet of biscuits to their annual shop.
pladis’ Five Steps to Better Biscuits:
- Stock the Bestsellers
- Make Biscuits Easy to Shop
- Drive Excitement through New News
- Make Biscuits Impossible to Miss
- Cater to New Events and Occasions
“While biscuits are purchased by nearly all UK households[1], they aren’t included in as many shopping baskets as some other snacking categories,” says Laura Molyneux, Category Controller: Channels at pladis UK&I. “This means the average independent retailer could be selling over £450 worth of extra biscuits annually – which would add £21 million to the channel1.
“This is exactly why we have decided to relaunch our Better Biscuits platform and use it to highlight our Five Steps to Better Biscuits. We know retailers up and down the country look to our Better Biscuits platform to help them make the best possible ranging decisions for their stores. But, as the past year and a half has proved, it’s crucial that store owners continue to take time to understand the needs of their customers and adapt ranges accordingly – which is something they’ve done particularly well during the pandemic. This has contributed towards +10.2% more shoppers now choosing to buy from convenience stores[2].
“Our updated Better Biscuits platform will make implementing our biscuits category management advice as simple as possible for independent retailers, enabling them to benefit from increased biscuit sales.”
pladis’ Five Steps to Better Biscuits is just the start. The new platform also allows convenience retailers to access the category bestsellers, recommended planograms, the latest news and competitions.
To access the new Better Biscuits platform, visit: http://betterbiscuits.com/
pladis’ Five Steps to Better Biscuits
- Stock the Bestsellers
Molyneux says: “First and foremost, the most important thing for independent retailers to do is stock the bestselling biscuit products, such as McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives, McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes and McVitie’s Hobnobs.
“This is because 80% of biscuit sales in convenience stores come from just 5% of products[3]. If you’re missing any of these key lines, you’re likely missing out on sales.”
- Make Biscuits Easy to Shop
“A great looking biscuit fixture is almost as important as the biscuits themselves – and retailers can ensure they’re making their fixtures easy to shop through mindful raging and merchandising. Consider placing branded products at eye-level and incorporating clear signage to direct shopper to the biscuit aisle,” explains Molyneux.
“This is really important because generally, shoppers find it harder to find the products they’re looking for in convenience stores compared with supermarkets. And when convenience shoppers can’t find what they’re after – almost half (47%) will walk away[4].”
- Drive Excitement Through New News
“Convenience shoppers are particularly fond of new products, so while bestsellers are important, stocking-up on innovative NPD will help to drive excitement – and sales growth. Products such as McVitie’s V.I.Bs and McVitie’s Jaffa Jonuts are excellent choices.”
Molyneux adds: “In fact, in the convenience channel, new products drive a bigger proportion of biscuit sales growth than they do in supermarkets[5] – meaning these new products are especially important to convenience shoppers. What’s more, convenience shoppers are 26% more likely to have tried something new[6].”
- Make Biscuits Impossible to Miss
Molyneux says: “This step is all about making your biscuit fixture stand-out. This can be done via eye-catching POS, or even secondary sightings and displays in-store. For example, placing a display of biscuits beside the hot drinks machine. Over half (55%) of convenience shoppers purchase on impulse[7], so making biscuits impossible to miss will help to drive more biscuit purchases.
“What’s more, independent retailers should also consider the changing profile of the typical convenience shopper. In the past year, more and more 24–35-year-olds have visited convenience stores[8]. To cater to these shoppers and their behaviours, we’d recommend creating a dedicated area for on-the-go snacking products, plus a Big Night In display which brings together snacking products from different categories – including products like Flipz, our chocolate-covered pretzels – to help drive extra sales.”
- Cater to New Events and Occasions
“Acknowledging seasonal events in store – such as Mother’s Day, Halloween and Christmas – really helps to drive incremental sales because most shoppers (92%) celebrate seasonal occasions[9]. Through ranging and merchandising, independent retailers can demonstrate just how easy it is to celebrate with biscuits – which will encourage even more shoppers to buy suitable biscuit products. This is particularly true this year, as consumers will be going even bigger after months of restrictions due to the pandemic.
“Including products like McVitie’s Victoria and Jacob’s Biscuits for Cheese within your biscuits range will help to cater to these occasions,” Molyneux concludes.
[1]99.4% of UK households buy biscuits (Kantar WPO, Total Market, 52W data to 18.04.2021)
[2] Kantar WPO MAT data to 24.01.2021
[3]Nielsen ScanTrack, Symbols and Independents, 2020
[4]Shopper Intelligence 2020 – Total Biscuits
[5]Nielsen ScanTrack, date to 17.04.21
[6]Lumina Intelligence, ‘Opportunities to Win at NPD’, June 2019
[7]Lumina CTP Monthly Snapshot, data to 07.03.21
[8]25–34-year-olds have gained a +3%pt share of the Convenience channel in the past year (Lumina Intelligence, UK Convenience Market Report 2020)
[9]Lumina Intelligence, UK Convenience Market Report, 2020
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