Having a cracking Christmas!

It’s almost that time of year again as we all start gearing up for what we hope is a great festive season. To get the ball rolling, SLR caught up with Mondelez International to find out where retailers should be looking for profits this Christmas.

All the signs are that shoppers are getting more and more excited about Christmas every year, with UK Christmas retail sales topping £44bn in 2017 [Mintel, Dec 2017]. The big question is: how do local retailers in Scotland ensure that they are getting their share of the festive spoils?

In a word, confectionery, says Mondelez International, which leads the Christmas chocolate category, with a 23% [IRI, Dec 2017] share of the market, driving £174m value sales [IRI & Kantar, Dec 2017].

For many people, confectionery is synonymous with the gift-giving traditions of Christmas. As one of the highest penetration categories, Seasonal Chocolate & Gifting presents a fantastic opportunity for retailers to drive sales from October and November through to December. From advent calendars to selection boxes, the Christmas category is versatile, highly incremental, and brings friends and family together across the nation.

But how do we go about ensuring they buy it at the local store?

It’s all in the timing…

Seasonal ranges in convenience depend on local needs and, crucially, the size of the convenience store in question. Festive ranges require adaptation throughout the season to make the most of the opportunity. Sales can be optimised by getting the timing right:

• Be prepared early, starting the countdown in October with self-treats (like the Cadbury Dairy Milk Mousse Snowman)
• Continue the countdown into November, with advent calendars and novelty sharing lines.
• In December make it clear that the ‘magic of Christmas’ has arrived in your store, by stocking selection boxes, Christmas-themed gifts, family sharing lines and top-up gifts – these can replace advent products on December 1.

The Christmas countdown

Mondelez caters to a wide variety of needs and occasions with a portfolio that is split into subcategories to help maximise sales, with ranges ‘for me’, ‘for us’, ‘for them’ and ‘giving & sharing’. For me: The Mondelez self-treat range kick-starts the season with festive novelties that help build excitement. Consider Cadbury Dairy Milk Mousse Snowman (65p RSP) and Cadbury Dairy Milk Snow Bites (60p RSP). For us: The sharing occasion plays a significant role in households at Christmas. The number one gifting novelty is Cadbury Crackers, worth £1m and the number one sharing novelty is Cadbury Snow Bites, worth £2m [IRI, Dec 2017]. New for 2018: Maynards Bassetts Frosted Wine Gums – a new festive take on the classic Wine Gum flavours (£1.32 RSP). Returning for the season:

Back again are Cadbury Snow Bites 90g (£1.15 RSP), Cadbury Dairy Milk Winter Edition 100g (£1.42 RSP) and Cadbury Dairy Milk Snow Balls 112g (£2.99 RSP), among others, as well as the number one candy sharing novelty in 2017 [Nielsen, Dec 2017], Maynards Bassetts Jelly Babies Snowmen 165g (£1.32 RSP).

The magic of Christmas

For them: Gifting goes hand-in-hand with the festive season. Mondelez has the number one advent calendar, Cadbury Dairy Milk 90g, as well as a host of favourites and NPD. New for 2018: The Cadbury Premier League Advent Calendar aims to excite young adults while with a new Green & Black’s advent calendar will drive excitement in the adult advent category. Maynards Bassetts Mixups incorporate much-loved Sports Mix, Wine Gums and Midget Gems into one festive carton (£3.29 RSP) while the Maynards Bassets Wine Gums Frosted Jar is filled with 2018 NPD Frosted Wine Gums (£5.15 RSP).

Also new is the Cadbury Christmas Selection Box Plush Toy and the Cadbury Plush Stocking. Returning for the season: A range of favourite advent calendars, selection boxes, tubes, cartons & jars, tree decorations and novelties will be back. The Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent Calendar 90g (£2.19 RSP) is the number one advent calendar [IRI, Dec 2017] and a must stock.

The Cadbury tubes range is worth over £3m [IRI, Dec 2017] and includes 72g lines featuring Cadbury Fudge Minis, Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo Faces and Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons (all £1.42 RSP). Mondelez is also the number one manufacturer in candy cartons [Nielsen, Dec 2017], which all have a new look for 2018.

Giving and sharing

From this month tubs and sharing bags play a significant role in households. The Mondelez ‘giving and sharing’ range includes the number one ‘thank you’ brand, Cadbury Roses [IRI, Dec 2017], which turns 80 this year and is available in carton, tub and ‘flower tub’ formats. Also available is Cadbury Heroes, which secured 11% growth last year [IPSOS 2017]. New to 2018: One new line to tempt shoppers with this year is Sweet Shop Pouch with Cadbury and Maynards Bassetts, ideal for the adult sharing occasion (£6.29 RSP). Returning for the season: Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the huge range of Cadbury Heroes, Cadbury Roses, Cadbury Milk Tray and Terry’s Chocolate Orange lines, available in a wide selection of pack sizes and formats.