Strict new year budgets mean more nights in, which maintains the momentum of sharing snacks. Not only do these packs allow retailers to cater for specific shopper missions such as big night in or people looking for larger pack formats to share with family and friends, but they tend to favour bigger baskets.
by Émer O’Toole
Sharing packs are bought at least once a month by 86% of households in the UK and according to him!, evening snacking is worth £5.2bn, with a growth rate of +2.8%. Chocolate is the biggest category by value in the evening at £3.5bn, closely followed by biscuits, crisps, fruit, sugar confectionery, mints and gum. Chocolate, crisps and drinks are all popular choices with customers who are planning to stay at home that evening. Retailers should display bestsellers from within each of these categories in sharing bays, and position sharing products from different categories in a dedicated ‘Big Night In’ section to encourage consumers to buy all the products they need for an evening at home from their shop.
Biscuits may not be first to mind when you think of sharing, but boy do they count. With increasing concerns over sugar, there has been a recent demand for healthier biscuits. Savoury biscuits are on trend at the moment as consumers view them as more permissible than fried snacks. As a third of all biscuits are bought on impulse in convenience, retailers need to engage shoppers by displaying sharing packs prominently to get the best sales.
Bagged savoury biscuits are in fact one of the top-performing areas of the sharing sector. I was into this market that Burton’s launched Burton’s Fish ‘n’ Chips in a 125g sharing bag. This was boosted by the recent introduction of Curry Sauce and Pickled Onion flavours. David Costello, Burton’s Head of Category and Shopper Management, says: “Savoury biscuits are bang on trend at the moment as consumers view them as more permissible than fried snacks. As a third of all biscuits are bought on impulse in convenience, retailers need to engage shoppers by displaying sharing packs prominently to get the best return.”
A competitor here is Ritz Crisp and Thin sharing bags, which are available in four flavours: Cream Cheese & Onion, Sea Salt and Vinegar, Sweet Red Chilli and Sea Salt and Black Pepper.
On the crisps front, Walkers Mix Ups are available in shareable packs and offer a selection of different flavours all mixed together in one bag, providing shoppers with a whole new taste experience. The range is available in three formats – snacks, popcorn and crisps. The just-launched Walkers Tear ‘n’ Share will see high demand too.
Retailers should consider secondary sitings to make sure that shoppers see the products in impulsive category, as only 13% of people visit all the aisles in convenience stores. Retailers should also ensure that displays are highly visible and well-stocked towards the end of the week to cash in on top-up shops before the weekend when the ‘Big Night In’ is most likely to take place. Make the most of manufacturers’ media investment by stocking and displaying products when activity is running.
It’s not just about savoury though – chocolate is a big part of the sharing sales opportunity. Cadbury Dairy Milk’s new launches last year – Marvellous Creations and Puddles – are set to bring further growth to the category. Candy bags, such as Bassetts Jelly Babies and Maynards Wine Gums, also contribute considerable value to the confectionery category at £572.6m. Stock up on a variety of chocolate and sugar confectionery in sharing bag formats and make sure you display products in the right place – best-sellers should be 1m-1.4m high. It is worth splitting chocolate and sugar confectionery on the sharing fixture. Group sugar into two sub-categories: traditional and family favourites, this will make merchandising of your fixture much more efficient and will also drive shelf presence and brand stand out.
