Halloween is now one of the biggest occasions in the local retailing calendar and is a fantastic way to grow sales and profits by stocking themed products from major manufacturers and supporting it with in-store theatre.
Halloween has become a big deal in recent years. So big in fact that Halloween is now, after Christmas, the second biggest occasion within the candy category making it a major opportunity for retailers. Making a success of Halloween has never been easier thanks to a wave of NPD from the major manufacturers that make building a special Halloween range simplicity itself. Back that up with a dedicated fixture, a bit of in-store theatre and some activity on social media and you could be well on the way to a scarily profitable season.
Susan Nash, Trade Communications Manager at Mondelez International, advises: “Halloween’s popularity as a season in the UK shows no sign of slowing down, with total Halloween confectionery sales up by 1.3% to £35m in 2018. Within this growth, candy has been the biggest driver with sales topping £30m and growing ahead of total, at 4.7% – showing just how important brands like Maynards Bassetts are at this time of year.” [All data Nielsen, Nov 2018]
As Nash suggests, Maynards Bassetts is helping its retail customers tap into the Halloween opportunity this year with two new products for the 2019 season. Maynards Bassetts Soft Jellies Scary Safari is a ‘bag of bags’ product that contains 17 x 16.7g mini bags, making it the perfect fit for trick or treating. With an RSP of £2, each bag contains a variety of soft jelly sweets in fun animal shapes, in a range of fruity flavours. The Maynards Bassetts Soft Jellies range is currently worth £2.6m and these new bags tap into the growing trend for permissibility in confectionery products, with each mini bag containing only 54 calories.
Also new is Maynards Bassetts Dead Chewy, available in 162g bags containing individually wrapped chews in a variety of fruity flavours. They tap into the growing desire for chews at Halloween – sales of which grew 26.8% in 2018. The new bags have an RSP of £1.
Finally, Mondelez is also launching a new Cadbury Oreo product developed specifically for the Halloween season. Cadbury Oreoooo is a 256g bag of Oreo Mini Filled Eggs with spooky Halloween branding. The line carries an RSP of £4.19 and features individually wrapped products that are perfect for sharing and for trick or treating.
Fanta Dark Orange
This is CCEP’s biggest Halloween innovation to date, a first of its kind blood orange flavour soft drink with a dark twist. The dark colour and wolf on-pack graphics will catch shoppers’ attention and drive purchases. Fanta Dark Orange is Soft Drinks Tax exempt and will be available in 500ml plain and price-marked packs.
Haribo Duo Packs
Haribo is inviting retailers to ‘Share the Scare’ with its new Halloween exclusive – the Haribo and Maoam Duo Pack. The Duo Pack combines top-selling gums and jellies with the category’s leading fruity chews for the very first time. Packs contain 32 treats, mini bags and individually wrapped chews including Starmix, Tangfastics, Supermix and Giant Strawbs Gone Mini, alongside Maoam Stripes, Pinballs and Joystixx.
Chupa Chups Sour Infernals
The new Chupa Chups Sour Infernals range includes scarily sour lollies, jellies, gum and chews, all carrying a £1 RSP. Sour products are now a £42m market and are growing +21% MAT so these extremely sour Lemon, Cola, Apple & Strawberry flavoured products should be popular this Halloween.
Otis Halloween Muffins
Ssweet bakery brand Otis is getting ready for fright night with the launch of a limited-edition Halloween Muffin featuring a rich, chocolate muffin with a smooth vanilla cream, topped with a pumpkin-shaped decoration; all wrapped in a Halloween-themed case. RSP is £1.49 and the product is supplied frozen for thaw and serve, in cases of 30.
