Spring into action | In focus: Spring confectionery and gifting

Seasonal convenience confectionery shoppers have a £12.50 higher spend per visit, so it’s a good idea to consider building creative displays and eye-catching signage to make occasions unmissable in-store and communicate promotions strongly.

While the major multiples dominate sales when it comes to larger shell eggs, there are still opportunities for convenience stores, particularly in impulse lines. Last year, the convenience channel experienced impressive growth of 16.3% during the Easter season and a big part of that success was down to impulse.

Seventy percent of Easter sales pre-Valentine’s Day are mini eggs and filled eggs and retailers are advised to focus on the top 10 SKUs to help signpost the incoming Easter season.

Three phases
To make the most of the period, manufacturers recommend retailers split Easter into three phases: getting off to a fast start (from 1 January to Valentine’s Day), building momentum (from Valentine’s Day on 14 February to Mother’s Day on 10 March), and then gearing up for a “gifting finish” for the last three weeks the period reaches its finale.

In shell eggs, small eggs are a key offering and grew by 85% last year. But it is also wise for convenience retailers to stock some larger eggs: offering a variety of sizes gives shoppers more choice and encourages them to trade up, particularly in the late season.

When it comes to impulse purchases, Easter blocks (up 30.8%) and self-eat multi-packs (up 40.7%) are the key formats. One brand owner that performed well in the Easter blocks category in 2023 was Nestlé, driven by the Milkybar Mini Eggs block, which will be making a comeback in 2024.

This product alone added £1.2m to the convenience category over the Easter season last year. In self-eat multi-packs, the KitKat Bunny multipack is a key performer and grew 57% year on year.

Space race
Since the Easter ranges are only available for a limited time, it’s important to make the most of the promotional space available in-store. That might be, depending on the store, eye-catching display, counter-top units or shippers.

To support maximising Easter sales and get customers excited, Nestlé has a range of counter-top and free-standing POS units available.

Mondelēz International is bringing back its annual “Find the Winning Egg” campaign. “This year, it is bigger than ever,” says trade communications manager Susan Nash. “Last year was a brilliant year for Cadbury Creme Egg, as the first ever innovation – Cadbury White Creme Egg – made up 25% of all filled singles. It was the number one new product in the market at Easter and resulted in 127 Cadbury Creme Eggs being purchased every minute on average across the brand.

Easter staples
New products will again be key to driving growth within the season, and Easter 2024 will see the launch of the Cadbury Creme Egg Tablet. Along with Cadbury Creme Egg, another Easter staple is Cadbury Mini Eggs, which grew by 19% in 2023.

“While evidently an ideal seasonal treat, we’ve increasingly seen shoppers whipping up delicious baked goods, creating memories with loved ones.” Says Nash. As well as this, a 360g gifting format joins the portfolio, available nationwide for the first time. “Tablets are the heartland for Cadbury and the addition to the portfolio is sure to be a hit in store – ideal for snacking, sharing and gifting,” says Nash.

While it doesn’t have the same profile as chocolate over the season, sugar confectionery remains a resilient category. As the retail industry continues into a challenging economic landscape, confectionery remains an affordable treat giving retailers a compelling sales generator, particularly at Easter when consumer demand is high.

Mark Roberts, trade marketing director at Perfetti Van Melle, says: “Alongside traditional Easter confectionary offerings, guilt-free snacks and treats available at a time of year where many of the health-conscious among us worry about overindulgence will allow customers to enjoy the festivities without causing a negative impact to their health.

Healthier options
“Our sugar-free alternatives allow people to make their own choices. Perfetti Van Melle remains the leader within the sugar-free category, with sales continuing to grow. Confectionery is one of the top five categories purchased on impulse in convenience stores.

“Offering a full range that supports the government’s HFSS guidelines of under 150 calories per pack – something most manufacturers can’t – gives Perfetti the opportunity to be closer to these impulse purchases.”

Another key sales period is Mother’s Day, for which Hancocks has this year produce a range of treats that includes a wide selection of gifting options, from packaged chocolate boxes to pick ‘n’ mix cups. For Valentine’s Day, one option is Bonds Pun Boxes, which come in a variety of flavours and designs retailing at £2.

Best-selling products from the range include Hearts & Kisses/Love You More Than Pizza, One in a Melon/Eggstra Special and Shrimply the Best/Turtley Love You Pun Boxes. Another is the Bonds Pick n Mix Set (RRP £3.50), filled with favourites including Teeth & Lips, Mini Jelly Babies, Watermelon Slices and Pink and Blue Bottles.

Increased demand
Bonds Candy Cups come pre-packaged in resealable and retail from £2.50, with flavours including Fizzy Cherries, Watermelon Slices and Giant Strawbs, while Vegan Mix Candy Cups is an assortment of fruit flavour gummies, fruit and cola flavour sour gummies and sherbet-filled discs.

Posh gifting options include Anthon Berg chocolate cocktail liqueurs – liqueur-filled dark chocolate bottles inspired by famous cocktails.

Kathryn Hague, head of marketing at Hancocks, says: “We have a huge range of gifting items for retailers looking to stock up ahead of Mother’s Day.

“This occasion is a great opportunity for retailers to maximise their sales by catering to the increased demand of shoppers looking to treat their mums with delicious sweets and chocolate.

“In light of the cost-of-living crisis, many consumers will be looking for more-affordable gifting options and this is why we’re expecting confectionery sales to see a huge increase in the weeks leading up to Mother’s Day.

Optimal visibility
“The best way retailers can prepare to drive sales is to stock up on plenty of gifting options so their customers have a wide selection to choose from. To maximise sales, it’s also important to think about merchandising and we’re advising retailers to create eye-catching Mother’s Day displays and place them at the end of the aisles for optimal visibility.”

Chocolate trends

• UK chocolate market sales are due to reach £7bn in 2023.
• 95% of Brits eat chocolate, with four in five eating it once a week or more.
• This has slightly decreased since 2022, with a shift towards eating chocolate only once every fortnight, or less regularly than previously.
• Tighter restrictions on HFSS products in stores since October 2022 have impacted chocolate visibility.
• Impulse chocolate purchasing has declined due to reduced visibility, with a significant drop in promotional deal-driven purchases.

Crack open the good biscuits

To help retailers tap into the spring gifting season, Pladis has launched a new range under the McVitie’s Victoria brand. It includes a selection pack featuring McVitie’s Victoria Chocolate Orange Dreams and McVitie’s Victoria Chocolate Creations Gifting Pack.

Aslı Özen Turhan, chief marketing officer at Pladis UK & Ireland, says:

It’s no secret that shoppers are having to tighten their belts amidst the cost-of-living crisis. So, when it comes to key gifting moments such as Valentine’s Day, Easter and Mother’s Day, shoppers are still looking to impress with small, yet thoughtful gifts. This means biscuit gifting has seen a huge upswing in popularity (up by 25%). Within this, premium assortments and gifting options are winning out, presenting retailers with a golden opportunity to boost basket sales.”

Top tips

• Create awareness of the season with your customers using campaigns, competitions and promotions as a talking point.
• Use POS from shoppers’ favourite Easter brands to highlight products and optimise incremental sales
• More than 50% of shoppers buy chocolates and flowers together, so highlighting these in-store can drive trade-up.