With their treat-worthy status and affordable price tags, cakes and biscuits sales continue to look sweet, despite the current squeeze on incomes.
By Gaelle Walker
The market for cakes, sweet baked goods and biscuits fared well in 2021 as home-bound shoppers found themselves with time to indulge in small treats more often. And with a large proportion of the adult population still enjoying some form of hybrid work-from-home solution, sales in 2022 continue to be buoyed by the self-treat occasion.
Their ‘affordable treat’ status should also provide cakes and biscuits with an extra layer of protection from the current income squeeze, Mintel says, provided that brands continue to invest in more innovative flavour, format and packaging developments, alongside attention-grabbing communications.
Jo Harwood, Sales Director at Burton’s Biscuit Company agrees: “With economic and political uncertainty in the air, shoppers and consumers are looking to cheer themselves up with little treats – and the biscuit category is benefiting from this.
“We are lucky to have some of the nation’s best-loved, heritage biscuit brands in our portfolio, and they are benefiting from shoppers’ and consumers’ increasing desire to give themselves a little treat.
“As a result, many of our iconic biscuits are growing ahead of the category, with everyday treats brands such as Jammie Dodgers seeing 7.7% growth.”
And fortunately for the nation’s many sweet-toothed shoppers, the cakes and biscuits category continues to be buoyed by a tasty serving of innovation and investment.
Burtons recently raised the stakes with the return of Maryland’s ‘Keep it Kookie’ campaign. Part of a “major repositioning” of the brand, the new campaign calls on shoppers to share their “kookieness” and vote for their favourite kookie quirks. The launch of the £750,000 campaign follows the launch of a new modern look for Maryland, with packs now featuring a bolder design, bigger logo, QR code and social media hashtag to better engage shoppers.
Pladis also brought some sweet innovation to the table with the launch of McVitie’s Club Salted Caramel – the brand’s first new flavour in 10 years.
David Titman, Marketing Director of McVitie’s at Pladis UK&I is confident the launch will cause “a stir”.
“Research shows that more than half of snackers (53%) are prompted to purchase when they see new flavours in-store,” he says, “so this addition is sure to ramp up excitement and interest around the brand. We’re confident that the launch of this popular new flavour will encourage impulse purchases and, ultimately, drive higher sales growth for retailers.”
Ferrero UK also upped the innovation ante with the recent arrival of Kinder Cards in single-serve packs of two cards, and multipacks of four.
Commenting on the development, Ferrero UK Customer Development Director Levi Boorer said: “Even with the changes seen to store footfall and impulse purchases, the category has remained resilient as consumers have found ways to incorporate their favourites products into at home treating. By offering the Kinder ranges in a number of pack sizes alongside our 100 kcal Duplo bars, consumers can easily manage their treating and make responsible choices, enabling them to enjoy treats as part of a balanced and varied diet.”
Border Biscuits also unveiled a bold new positioning and brand identity back in March, along with new packaging formats and three new products to tap into “the latest flavour trends”.
As part of the re-brand, the business added a Dark Chocolate Orange biscuit and bar, alongside a Dark Chocolate Raspberry biscuit, to its portfolio.
Given the economic situation, price-marked packs (PMPs) also look set to take on a more important role when it comes to driving those all-important impulse sales in 2022.
Burton’s offers shoppers a wide range of PMPs including £1 PMPs for Wagon Wheels Original, Wagon Wheels Jammie, Maryland Choc Chip, Maryland Double Choc, Maryland Choc Chip & Coconut and more.
Last year, Burton’s also relaunched its Jammie Dodgers PMP in a new compact and affordable case of 15 following retailer demands for smaller pack sizes.
Healthier biscuits
With the lifting of pandemic restrictions continuing to drive recovery of the on-the-go occasion, sales of healthier snacks, including biscuits, cereal bars, and on-the-go biscuits are also on the up, according to Mondelez International.
The company’s Trade Communications Manager Susan Nash explains: “Health and wellness have never been as important as they are now, after two years of facing the challenges brought on by the pandemic. In fact, 25% of shoppers are more influenced by health when shopping than pre-pandemic, and the Healthier Biscuits segment is now worth over £556m, making it a key segment for retailers to tap into.
“BelVita, for example, is well placed to help retailers take advantage of these continued long- term trends.”
Pladis is another manufacturer which has been busy investing in its Healthier Biscuit portfolio since the start of this year, including the launch of a new and improved lower sugar and salt recipe for its Go Ahead Fruit Slices range, which is worth £13m.
Featuring the same light-textured, crispy baked biscuit, the recipe update offers shoppers more fibre and less sugar and salt.
Available in three flavours, each individually packaged portion weighs in at an average of 54 kcals per slice – helping retailers to “tap into increasing consumer demand for healthier snacking options,” Pladis says.
New Go Ahead Fruit Slices come in Apple, Forest Fruit and Raspberry flavours – in multipacks of 5×43.6g with an RSP of £1.59.
The launch come just weeks after Pladis expanded its McVitie’s portfolio with the introduction of a lighter version of the McVitie’s Rich Tea biscuit.
The new variant offers 38 calories per biscuit and includes 30% less sugar than a typical semi-sweet biscuit.
Commenting on the development, David Titman, Marketing Director, McVitie’s at Pladis UK&I says: “McVitie’s Rich Tea Delights will help drive relevance of biscuits by drawing even more attention to the breadth of products on offer across the category and within the McVitie’s portfolio.
“We’re excited to be bringing a product to market which caters to evolving shopper needs and a nationwide focus on health, while retaining the great taste that’s synonymous with McVitie’s. Now, whether shoppers are looking for an indulgent treat or something a little lighter, it’ll be even easier for them to enjoy McVitie’s biscuits as part of a balanced diet.”
