Halloween has quickly established itself as one of the biggest wholesale events of the year and shows no signs of slowing down.
It gives wholesalers a sales boost, especially when it comes to sugar confectionery.
Halloween has cemented itself as one of the biggest shopping events for retailers and wholesalers, alongside Christmas and Easter.
Clare Newton, Trade Marketing Manager at Swizzels, comments: “The cost-of-living crisis has led to a greater desire for affordable treats than ever before which brings sugar confectionery to the forefront as one of the most popular categories. Another key factor making sugar confectionery a popular category is the custom around Halloween ‘trick or treat’ which has always been associated with sweets.”
Halloween is expected to be very profitable for wholesalers as it’s a highly anticipated event that allows people to enjoy affordable treats. Sugar confectionery remains one of the most popular categories for people to treat themselves, especially after not being able to engage in the activities they normally would do, buying a sugary treat seems like a reasonable and affordable solution to cheer themselves up.
Well-established and much-loved brands that offer delicious treats at affordable prices continue to be a preferred choice for shoppers.
“It’s important for wholesalers to utilise the growth of this trend, as value-for-money confectionery continues to be a hugely popular choice for shoppers and more retailers than ever have been stocking up on categories performing particularly well during Halloween, such as sugar confectionery,” adds Newton.
“Wholesalers can drive profits from profitable categories such as sugar confectionery by displaying a range of fun, sought-after and affordable products and new flavours that appeal to retailers and shoppers stocking up for seasonal parties.”
New, improved flavours and bags full of sweets fans’ favourite sweets will shape the sugar confectionery innovation with increased consumer interest in having a wider range of sweets flavours available and a broader variety of fan-favourite sweets.
Additionally, Swizzels’ hanging bags range have been very popular amongst shoppers during Halloween, as they are perfect to share on an occasion like Halloween.
Swizzels has launched the 60g Squashies as an ‘On The Go’ option for consumers who are looking for their favourite sweet treats in a more portable format.
Also new is Minions Sherbet Dips with three flavours: Fizzy Orange, Sour Apple and Tangy Berry.
Additionally, this Halloween Swizzels offers a Mummy Mix, Monster Treats and Trick or Treat Lolly Mix packed full some of the nation’s favourite sweets: Drumstick Lollies, Refreshers Chews, Mini Love Hearts Rolls, Fizzers, Fruity Pops, Double Lollies and Parma Violets.
Mark Frossell, Senior National Account Manager at St Pierre Groupe, comments on behalf of Baker Street: “It’s easy to assume that Halloween and Bonfire Night is a relatively short-lived sales opportunity that only impacts a small range of sectors, but over the past few years, the rise of the ‘big night in’ peaks around these occasions have created a sales opportunity across the retail landscape – and in categories not immediately associated with the season, such as bakery.”
Halloween and bonfire season are the peak of ‘big night in’ each year and consumers are looking for ways to make the most of at-home events, with a particular focus on handheld eating. The Rolls category grew 12 per cent in the two weeks to Bonfire Night when compared with the previous two weeks, adding more than £1.6 million to the sector. Baker Street demonstrated a similar sales spike over the same period, growing 12 per cent.
“The past few years have taught consumers how to make the most of at-home events and as the difficult economic situation continues, it’s all about ‘levelling up,’ taking hosting to new levels with products that deliver affordable indulgence, and wholesalers should empower their retailer customers to win by offering shoppers an exciting range of take-home options for Halloween and Bonfire Night,” adds Frossell.
Kenton Burchell, Trading Director at Bestway Wholesale, comments: “Wholesalers will collaborate with suppliers to get the best value range of Halloween and Bonfire Night products for retailers to stock to meet customer demand. Marketing materials should be ready around September to promote special deals, introduce NPD and update brochures. Create social media campaigns and creative digital advertising to connect with existing and potential customers visiting wholesale websites.
“Wholesalers should create theatre in-depot and use digital screens and radio to inform customers of promotions and special deals. They should update marketing materials including posters and POS shelf talkers and banners to promote Halloween.”
In 2022, there was a drop in sales volume for October during Halloween with the implementation of HFSS. This showed a 3.98% decline in sales volume (Reapp).
However, the same data also showed that there were peak sales of confectionery from October 29.
Bestway has retailer brochures that feature the latest promotions and products for Halloween.
The Bestway website will promote Halloween and create content for Halloween ideas to inform customers of promotions and new product lines and create content for Halloween to advise customers on the best line of products to stock that will help increase sales.
“Wholesalers need to invest in technological innovation to reach out to its customers so they are well informed on the products, services, and promotions by using WhatsApp, Deliveroo and Facebook amongst other social platforms,” adds Burchell.
“Wholesalers should be aware of marketing trends and customer behaviour which gives an insight and an opportunity to introduce a range of product lines.
“They should use marketing posters and display these across the depots to notify customers of the latest promotions that are on offer.”
Bestway has invested in a WhatsApp business platform to provide customers the latest news and share personalised offers with customers.
“The Halloween opportunity gets bigger and bigger each year,” says Nicola Randall, head of marketing at Brothers Drinks Company. “Brits are ever keener to celebrate this seasonal favourite and, for many adults and children alike, the end of October marks one of the highlights of the calendar. With independents being the go-to outlets for all the last-minute items required to make Halloween a success, wholesalers can grow sales by profiling the products that retailers will be seeking out.
“The absolute key single piece of advice we’d give to anyone looking to secure incremental Halloween sales this year is ‘Don’t forget about adults’. Whilst trick-or-treating is obviously central to Halloween activities, wholesalers should be sure to also focus on products that appeal to adults, as they seek their fair share of the Halloween fun and want to enjoy the celebrations too.”
Brothers Toffee Apple Cider is a seasonally relevant flavour that allows adults to enjoy the festivities and generates incremental sales for stockists. Brothers Toffee Apple flavour cider is now the brand’s biggest-selling variant overall and one that has become synonymous with Halloween over recent years.
“Impactful, eye-catching displays have a significant effect on consumer sales so we work closely with independent retailers to ensure Halloween prominence for Brothers Toffee Apple through in-store media, shelf barkers, wobblers and aisle fins,” explains Randall. “Halloween offers a great opportunity for retailers to drive seasonal uplifts across a wide range of categories.”
Giving prominent focus to relevant alcohol products such as Brothers Toffee Apple Cider and Wychwood’s Hobgoblin beers allows retailers to extend their Halloween offering in order to maximise sales to adults, as opposed to being almost exclusively focused on child-related items. Adults want a part of the action too, and themed alcohol is an easy way for both wholesalers and retailers to grow incremental autumn sales.
Brothers Toffee Apple flavour benefits from ever-increasing levels of marketing support each October and seasonal volumes have grown significantly as a result. Halloween presents both the brand and wholesalers with the opportunity to grow sales.
“Halloween is largely a family-centred event so home-based celebrations are always key,” says Randall. “But with the cost-of-living crisis, we expect even those who might have enjoyed a themed night in the pub to turn to home gatherings this year in order to minimise outlays. People will still want to enjoy Halloween, it’s just that they will do so with a keener eye on costs this time around and Brothers, as a brand with a centre of gravity very much in take home rather than in the on-trade, is set to benefit in terms of sales of its Toffee Apple variants.”
Themed alcoholic drinks have a role as a small adult treat around Halloween and the Brothers Drinks Company website shows consumers how Brothers Toffee Apple Cider can be used to create fun seasonal cocktails and recipes such as Toffee Apple Halloween Punch and Poisoned Toffee Apple Halloween Cocktail.
Matt Collins, Trading Director at KP Snacks, comments: “As we move into Autumn, retailers should look to Halloween and Bonfire Night as the next big occasions to drive sales and footfall. From movie nights spent at home to get-togethers with family and friends, shoppers will seek out their favourite snacks in the lead up to Halloween and Bonfire Night making both events a key opportunity for retailers to maximise CSN sales. “To capitalise on the popularity of Halloween and Bonfire Night, retailers should offer themed fixtures and special promotions, while prioritising Sharing CSN products. Worth over £1.6bn, Sharing is the largest segment in CSN, and growing at +13% MAT (Nielsen). At KP Snacks, our exciting Sharing range delivers something for everyone and all occasions, from popcorn to nuts to pretzels and, of course, crisps.”
Nuts offer a delicious treat for Autumn events. Leading the segment as the UK’s number one Nut brand, worth £95.8m and growing in value +18.1%, KP holds a 25.9% share of the segment (Nielsen).
Bringing big, bold flavours to evening sharing, the largest occasion within both nuts and sharing (Kantar), KP’s new Flavour Kravers range was launched last year. Available in three flavours: Flame Grilled Steak, Smokin’ Paprika, and Sour Cream & Chive, Flavour Kravers look to ignite interest from younger consumers to drive sales, with this demographic over-indexing in bold flavours (Kantar).
Butterkist is the nation’s favourite popcorn brand, an ideal choice for movie nights this Halloween. At nearly twice the size of its nearest branded competitor (Nielsen), Butterkist enjoys a 36.6% (Nielsen) market share. Launched this year, Butterkist Crunchy Hazelnut Chocolate flavour toffee popcorn is the perfect product to add fun and indulgence to Halloween events, bridging the gap between popcorn and chocolate confectionary to create a sweet and irresistible snack.
POM-BEAR is another family favourite and a great choice for in-home Halloween occasions. Worth £30.2m RSV, POM-BEAR is a gluten free snack which contains fewer than 100 calories per pack (Nielsen). Space Raiders is another fun snacking option for families celebrating Halloween. Worth £25.3m, the Space Raiders brand is growing in value +23.1% (Nielsen).
Susan Nash, Trade Communications Manager at Mondelez International, comments: “Halloween is a valuable opportunity for retailers – in 2022, just under half (47%) of all consumers took part in Halloween in some form (Snackchat). This meant that the total chocolate category was worth a significant £20 million during the season, while biscuits were worth £15 million (Nielsen).”
Last Halloween, Mondelez International saw growth driven by key lines including Cadbury Skeleton Fingers and OREO Spooky biscuits, bolstered by a strong Halloween range including Cadbury Family treatsize packs and Cadbury Freddo & Friends treatsize bags.
In 2022, Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons, Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo & Friends and Cadbury Family treatsize packs were three of the top ten SKUs – and Cadbury Family treatsize 216G was itself the biggest selling SKU of the whole Halloween season last year.
“Seasonal events like Halloween are great for bringing family and friends together, and this is reflected in the fact that the top-selling products are typically sharing-style confectionery in tubs, treatsize multipacks and large pouches,” adds Nash. “Treatsize and pouches are absolutely key for retailers looking to have a successful season. These formats are perfect for all of the various ways that consumers mark the occasion, whether it be welcoming Trick or Treaters, entertaining friends and family, or enjoying a big night in.”
To help people spend more quality time together, Mondelez International is extending its successful partnership with Merlin Entertainments to offer big ticket savings across seasonal packs, including OREO Spooky biscuits and Cadbury Skeleton Fingers. This will mean shoppers can visit world famous attractions like The London Eye, Alton Towers Resort, Thorpe Park Resort, and LEGOLAND Windsor Resort with their loved ones for less, all thanks to Cadbury and OREO Halloween treats.
“Having a bespoke Halloween display, while following HFSS regulations, can help to create excitement in-store and drive awareness of the season among shoppers. Treatsize and pouches are absolutely key for retailers looking to have a successful season. Both contain individually wrapped items inside which are ideal for distributing to trick or treaters or sharing round at social occasions,” says Nash.
“As Halloween is a shorter selling period when compared with the likes of Christmas and Easter, it’s key to have a mix of both seasonal and regular SKUs.”
As consumer spending at Halloween rises sharply year-on-year, and is estimated to have more than doubled in the last decade, demand for matches and lighters is set to hit an even higher seasonal peak this year. Republic Technologies (UK) Ltd is urging wholesalers to capitalise on this by increasing their focus on these high-margin products.
“Halloween leads the way for increased use of matches and lighters – not surprising, as spending on pumpkins alone is estimated to have reached almost £30 million last year.
“Against the backdrop of a tough economic climate, people really want to make the most of family focused celebrations such as these. As matches and lighters take up limited shelf space, retailers can really boost seasonal sales of these highly affordable, but high-margin products,” says Gavin Anderson, Sales and Marketing Director at Republic Technologies (UK) Ltd.
Bonfire Night and Diwali also spark increased demand, as these consumer celebrations large and small across the UK drive purchase in the £85 million (IRI) matches and lighters market.
The UK lighters and matches market is valued at £85 million (IRI).
In the convenience channel, annual sales of matches and lighters exceed £46 million (IRI).
Republic Technologies brands have a commanding 86% share of the UK’s Utility Lighters market (IRI). With unrivalled knowledge of the lighters and matches market, the company’s wide-ranging portfolio of historic brands includes ZIG-ZAG, Cook’s, Swan, Bryant & May, Poppell, Cricket, lumière and By candlelight, offering a product for every occasion.
Displaying household favourite Bryant & May Extra Long, used for candle lighting, indoor fires and a variety of outdoor uses, is easier than ever thanks to the introduction of shelf-ready, eye-catching dispensers.
Cook’s Matches is in the sixth year of its partnership with celebrity chef Tom Kerridge, spanning across on pack and digital activity, boosting brand and product awareness.
“By dual siting matches and lighters with candles and other, high demand seasonal products, retailers can really drive cross-category interest and increase basket spend of multiple must-have seasonal products,” says Anderson.
“Wholesalers can focus consumer attention on matches and lighters by incorporating eye-catching POS and shelf-ready packaging as part of a seasonal display. Wholesalers who create sales-boosting in-store theatre will see increased shopper interest and drive sales.”
Tim Dunlop, European commercial director, Shanky’s Whip from Biggar and Leith, comments: “Wholesalers should refresh their drinks aisles as early as September as alcoholic drinks are a key part of Halloween and Bonfire night week for adults celebrating the season. As the nation increasingly looks to its American counterparts and the holiday gets more traction than ever before in the UK, beyond the typical trick or treating trips and local organised bonfires, there exists a clear adult opportunity in drinks that smaller format stores are well positioned to win.”
No longer “just for kids” adults are organising gatherings in the garden, drinks in the home, fancy-dress parties with themed food and drink, and bonfire suppers and cocktails.
“Wholesalers can benefit by helping retailers realise the opportunity the season presents by embracing the theatre, products and flavours that come to the fore,” adds Dunlop. “To further ensure Bonfire and Halloween truly take flight as major buying moments for consumers, retailers must adopt it by highlighting its potential and complementary products in depots and stores.”
The trend for at-home cocktails is expected to continue to boom over the winter months with Halloween and Bonfire night representing lucrative opportunities for wholesalers and their customers. While children will be enjoying toffee apples and sugary sweets, the adults can enjoy something special too.
It’s the season for dark spirits and drinks with warming flavour profiles and Shanky’s Whip fits right into this moment. It can be enjoyed cold as a sipping drink, in an Old Fashioned or mixed with cola or ginger beer, or in a hot toddy warmed drink or a hot spiced punch.
Historically, it has been challenging for Scotch and Irish whiskey to resonate with younger drinkers but bringing together a flavour-led modern brand proposition straddling two vibrant, buoyant categories is a great way to make the category more approachable and accessible.
The brand’s best-selling product at this time of year is Shanky’s Whip Irish whiskey liqueur. Distilled in County Cavan, and blended and bottled by Shanky and Shireman under bond in Ireland, Shanky’s Whip is perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between Irish whiskey and liqueur – two prominent categories throughout the winter months. It brings a contemporary twist to traditional Irish tipples and classic cocktails.
Using a blend of Irish spirits and aged pot still whiskey, Shanky’s Whip uses the natural flavours of vanilla infused with caramel to create a dark and distinctive spirit that is creamy and smooth with buttery, vanilla notes and a sweet spice and butterscotch finish with long Irish whiskey notes.
“Leverage the season. Local, smaller format stores are perfectly positioned to benefit from upweighted impulse occasions like Halloween and Bonfire Night – and it’ll drive sales if you remind them. Therefore, range accordingly highlighting how drinks brands and products fit the season,” says Dunlop.
“For example, dual siting drinks and accompanying mixers so you’re showcasing the occasion across confectionery, alcohol and soft drinks will remind shopkeepers of the profit potential in the season beyond the usual sweet offering.”
Biggar and Leith is investing in a heavyweight trade marketing campaign, focusing on the wholesale sector. and working closely with depots to ensure they understand the proposition, flavour profile and opportunities Shanky’s Whip brings to the drinks fixture.
The brand also offers branded free-standing units and posters, eye-catching gift packs with mugs and glasses – ideal for taking along to a gathering in the home and for gifting to the host.
Shanky’s Whip is instantly recognisable with its vintage style label reflective of a box of matches, and the distinctive visual of a man, bearing a whip, mounted on an ostrich. It stands out on shelf and invites curiosity – plus, the bottle shape, styling and branding and will appeal to the TikTok and Instagram generations.
In-depot, it is ideally positioned alongside whiskey and bourbon. Whiskey fans will enjoy the nuanced flavours, while fans of dark spirits and spiced rums will appreciate the vanilla and caramel notes. It can also serve as an alternative to cream liqueurs so will certainly appeal to a range of taste preferences.
Shanky’s Whip (6x700ml bottles per case / 33% abv) is available to wholesalers now via UK distributor, Craftwork at an RRP of £24.00.
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