Once the standout sales period of the year for local retailers, Christmas has become a more challenging time in recent years as the mults launch crazy deals in key categories – but there’s plenty that can be done in confectionery to steal some of those sales back and ensure a profitable festive period.
Christmas may no longer be the boom time it once was for local retailers, before the mults started doing silly deals on cases of beer and advent calendars, but there’s no reason why local retailers can’t make Christmas great again with a little thought and planning. There’s not much point tackling the mults head-on, but fortunately most of the major manufacturers have worked hard with the convenience sector over recent years to ensure they have some unique and attractive offerings for customers at local retailing outlets.
So where should we be focusing our attention in the run up to this year’s festive bonanza?
Where better to start than the most festive of festive favourites, confectionery. The giants like Mars Chocolate, Mondelez International and Ferrero invariably come up trumps for local retailers and this year looks set to be no different.
Mars Chocolate
Three treats are bought every second during Christmas in the UK, but in an impulsive and expandable category there is always room for treating chocolate to grow, says Mars Chocolate. As the number one and number two selling treat at Christmas according to Nielsen, the Maltesers Merryteaser Reindeer (RSP 65p) and Maltesers Merryteaser Mini-Reindeer sharing bags (RSP £1.29) can be impulsive purchases or perfect top-up gifts, and look set to fly off the shelves once again!
However, it is not just self-treat items that drive sales during the festive season. Chocolate for sharing is the number one food and drink category shoppers are willing to spend money on at Christmas, making boxed chocolate a great option for consumers looking to buy a ‘safe’ gifting option that everyone will love, or that extra-special gift for a loved one.
New for this year, Mars has given the popular Maltesers Teasers its own box, providing a perfect gift with an RSP of £4.99.
Boxed value sales grew by £2.6m last Christmas making up over three-quarters of total Christmas Confectionery sales in the final week leading up to Christmas Day, and Celebrations led the way as the number one selling tub and pouch brand [Nielsen, Dec 2016]. The Celebrations Tub is available at an RSP of £10.99 and the Pouch is RSP £4.99.
Alongside the tub and pouch, the Celebrations range also includes the crowd-pleasing Gift Box (RSP £4.99) which is perfect as a gift for an individual or to share amongst friends or family. Also available is the best-selling Carton (RSP £3.31) with sales 22% ahead of its nearest competitor.
The strong performance of the Celebrations range will be further aided by Mars Chocolate UK’s new and improved display materials which are sure to help drives sales of these best-sellers even further.
Mars also has boxes covering three of the top 10 blockbuster brands, including M&M’s Peanut and the original Maltesers box. Both have an RSP of £4.49.
- Seasonal innovations are 9% incrementally higher to the Confectionery category on average so retailers should be sure they stock up on NPD to maximise their sales over the Christmas period.
- Early promotions on Boxed earlier in the season can help kick start the period. However it is important to capitalise on sales opportunities in the final week. Promotions should be held at this point to drive value sales.
- The final week leading up to Christmas is worth £127m and the last two weeks represent almost a third of total season sales, so retailers should ensure they are fully stocked with a range of chocolate products right up to Christmas Day.
- Consumers are willing to spend and indulge more at key calendar events like Christmas, leading to a trend in more premium purchases. This has been evident in the strong performance of Gift and Boxed segments so retailers should ensure they are fully stocked with these products early in the year.
- Use all the PoS available to you to create in-store theatre.
- Confectionery at checkout contributes up to 11% of incremental sales at Christmas so retailers should prioritise this location during the festive season.
- Tubs are a critical part of the Christmas range with many saying that the Christmas season doesn’t really start until they see them in-store. They should be pushed early in the season in order to drive a fast start and generate category growth.
Advent Calendars
Advent calendars are great way of building buzz and excitement in the build up to Christmas and Mars has a strong selection. Three of its top 10 SKUs have advent calendars including the Malteasers Merryteaser calendar, the Galaxy advent calendar and the Mars calendar. All of the Mars advent calendars have an RSP of £2.79.
Tubes
Tubes are a must-have stocking filler and a huge part of the Christmas Confectionery category making up 15% of total Christmas gifting sales last year [Nielsen, Dec 2016]. The number one chocolate brand in the world, M&M’s Treat Tubes cater for a variety of occasions – from a stocking filler to a perfect option for a child’s gift. Galaxy Minstrels and Maltesers are also available in tubes, all with an RSP of £1.70.
Selection Boxes
Now an established tradition at Christmas, selection boxes are another great option for stocking fillers and top-up gifts. Selection Box growth has been driven by more shoppers trading up to large selection boxes and with two of the top three large boxes in Galaxy and Maltesers, Mars Chocolate is a must-stock for retailers looking to capitalise on this trend. Both have an RSP of £4.49.
Additionally, Mars has launched a new Snickers selection box to provide a relevant gift for men.
Novelty Chocolate
Large novelty gifts really deliver the ‘wow factor’ and the Galaxy Giant Bar is a great option, providing 56% incremental sales to the category last year [Nielsen, Dec 2016]. With strong stand-out on shelf, it’s set to be a hit this Christmas with an RSP of £10.99.
Bep Dhaliwal, Trade Communications Manager, Mars Chocolate UK: “Chocolate is intrinsic to Christmas and a time when shoppers are willing to spend that little bit more. Therefore, it is no surprise that last year the confectionery category grew by £6m and Mars Chocolate mirrored this, growing its share of the market by 2.6%.
“This year Mars looks set to continue its strong seasonal performance, with a wide range of products across different formats and price points, as well as brand new innovations that provide a seasonal twist on consumer’s favourite best-selling brands.”
Mondelez International
Mondelez International will be at the heart of Christmas with the leading share of confectionery (27.1%). This year, the company has bigger plans than ever with the return of the Milk Tray Man, a £10m spend for its Cadvent campaign, NPD in both chocolate and candy, and for the first time, will offer Cadbury biscuits within its portfolio.
New for 2017 are the Cadbury Snow Bites carton and Maynards Bassetts Jelly Snowmen. The popular Christmas novelty Cadbury Snow Bites carton will now be available in a self-eat format for Christmas 2017 with an RSP of 60p while Maynards Bassetts Jelly Snowmen is a sharing bag of snowman-shaped jellies from the number two candy bag brand with an RSP of £1.32.
Mondelez also recommends the hugely popular Cadbury range, including Cadbury Dairy Milk Snow Balls, Cadbury Dairy Milk Mousse Snowman Chocolate, Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo Popping Candy, Cadbury Snow Bites, Cadbury Dairy Milk Winter Edition, Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent Calendar (two sizes), Cadbury Heroes Pouch (two sizes), Cadbury Roses Pouch (two sizes), Toblerone Tablet and Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums Merry Mix.
That’s a considerable list but making the most of Christmas means stocking the lines consumers are looking for.
Gifting
As the second-biggest occasion in total chocolate, Christmas is also a huge gifting occasion for adults while sharing packs play a big role in households as families and friends come together during the festive season and add some seasonal excitement during these occasions.
Retailers should stock up on gifting products to increase top-up gift purchases in the lead up to Christmas and make sharing products available throughout as social occasions increase towards the big day and excite customers with new products. Over 1.3m people enjoyed Cadbury Heroes and Roses tubs in the UK in 2015 [Nielsen, Dec 2015] and Cadbury Milk Tray grew 13% in 2015.
Mondelez advises retailers to start stocking up in November and to be sure to include a raft of new lines for 2017 including the Cadbury Snow Bites Cracker, the Cadbury Heroes Cracker, the Cadbury Fudge Minis tube, the Maynards Bassetts Juicy Chews Festive Jar and a revised Cadbury Milk Tray, now with a double layer to improve shelf layout.
The company’s extensive offering of Cadbury’s, Terry’s, Toblerone and Maynards Bassetts products are sure to deliver around Christmas so stocking as wide a range as space permits is advisable and make sure stock is on the shelf early.
- Stock the very best-selling lines and use our recommended stock list to help drive sales.
- Be prepared early.
- In October start the countdown to Christmas with self-eats.
- Continue the countdown theme in November with advent and novelty sharing lines.
- December – the magic of Christmas is here – stock selection boxes, Christmas-themed gifts, family sharing lines and top-up gifts.
- Utilise manufacturers’ POS and build impactful displays in store to showcase your full seasonal range. Also remember to utilise the impulsive counter space for self-eat treats.
- Help shoppers manage their Christmas spending by giving them a choice of self-eat treats and stocking fillers with products under £1 RSP.
- Make the most of manufacturer promotions.
For further information on how to make the most of Christmas sales, visit www.deliciousdisplay.co.uk.
Ferrero
Also helping retailers cash in on Christmas is Ferrero, which will be investing £8.2m this festive season while launching new products across its brands, including advent calendars and new boxed chocolate products.
Levi Boorer, Customer Development Director at Ferrero, comments: “Following a successful Christmas in 2016, it is important as a leading confectionery manufacturer, to offer retailers products and ranges that help them to cater for the different types of festive shopping needs. Whether it’s to gift, to share or simply to treat and enjoy with loved ones, we know shoppers love our products and that they are a staple at Christmas.”
Worth £119m [Nielsen, Apr 2017], the Ferrero seasonal boxed offering, which includes Ferrero Rocher, Ferrero Collection, Raffaello and Thorntons, enjoyed double digit growth (+13.6%) last Christmas. Indeed, Ferrero Rocher has experienced five years of consecutive growth over the festive period (+3.8%) according to Nielsen figures, against the backdrop of a flat category. With four out of five Rocher buyers purchasing during Christmas [Kantar, Dec 2016], it is vital for the brand to continue driving momentum during this period.
With a £4.1m investment across Ferrero Rocher and Raffaello, Ferrero Rocher will welcome a new TV creative in the lead up to Christmas, ‘Make Your Moments Golden’, engaging younger audiences and reminding people of the great tastes that come from the brand. Alongside this, Ferrero Rocher will receive a full support package including VOD, digital, social and experiential, keeping the products front of mind during Christmas.
Following a successful year of +75% growth [Nielsen, Dec 2016], Raffaello’s support will continue to focus on highlighting the sweet, smooth and nutty flavours of the product via TV, as well as encouraging additional trial through digital, social media and sampling.
Ferrero Golden Gallery will feature two new flavours in time for Christmas with new Tenderly Biancoretti (white chocolate praline with a crunchy almond filling) and Delicious (smooth dark chocolate in a crispy shell) added to both the 206g and 389g boxes.
Worth £21.7m and experiencing double digit growth (+23%), Ferrero Collection will also be supported during Christmas with press advertising and in-store support.
Ferrero’s Thorntons brand will continue to ‘Pass the Love On’ this Christmas with a £3m support plan across TV, VOD, social, press and in-store activations. Featuring a brand new creative, the ad will showcase Thorntons’ lovingly crafted range – perfect for showing appreciation to loved ones during the festive period.
Thorntons Continental experienced strong sales at Christmas 2016 leading to triple digit growth (+199%) and becoming the fastest-growing boxed chocolate brand. Building on this success, Thorntons Continental will launch a premium Dark variant.
As shoppers continue to look for new and seasonally relevant products from brands they know and trust, Thorntons will introduce two new boxed products: Thorntons Seasonal Selection, a small Christmas themed box of popular flavours including limited edition flavours; and Thorntons Christmas Selection, which includes popular favourites Winter Fudge, Vanilla Snowflake and a festive Christmas Tree, perfect for the gifting occasion.
Kids Range
Adding to Ferrero’s seasonal NPD line up, Kinder is launching a Kinder Chocolate Santa Letter (100g RRP £3.50). Consisting of two 100g (8 x 12.5g) Kinder Chocolate bars, an envelope, paper and stickers, each sent letter will be replied to by the Royal Mail, creating magical moments of Christmas for kids. Following sales of £2.3m [Nielsen, Dec 2016], Kinder Joy will return with new collectable winter eggs. Available in three colours and four designs, the range includes eight toys.
Advent calendars
With the premium advent segment experiencing strong growth of +41% [Nielsen, Dec 2016], there has been increased choice in chocolate and non-chocolate advents for adults and children. Kinder will introduce The Kinder Mix Advent Calendar (RSP £5), containing Kinder Chocolate Minis and Kinder Chocolate with Cereals Minis. The calendar will continue to premiumise the advent offering during Christmas for retailers.
Thorntons will be adding to its existing licence for The Snowman with the introduction of The Snowman and The Snowdog Advent Calendar, which contains milk chocolate with a 60g white chocolate Snowdog for Christmas Day.
Worth £50.8m and growing +55.8% in the past four years alone [Nielsen, Dec 2016], more than five million households buy into Nutella every single year. As families spend more time together during the festive period, purchases for the breakfast occasion grow in importance. This Christmas, Nutella will launch a dedicated £1.1m Christmas campaign featuring a new TV creative, festive snowman sleeves on its 400g, 750g and 1kg packs, and digital, social and experiential activations.
