A real Egg-stravaganza
After Christmas, Easter is a major sales occasion for retailers. Data from 2013 clearly shows increased innovation paid off, with the number of Irish households that bought from the Easter category up by 5.4% on 2012. During this key period, it's important to cover all your bases and ensure you carry the top brands within each market segment, writes Gillian Hamill
Print13 March 2014
AT A GLANCE: EASTER
The total Easter category was valued at €36.6 million in 2013 with a very significant growth rate of +8%, with almost 17 million packs sold*
70% of Irish households purchased from the Easter category in 2013, up +5.4% on 2012**
Easter immediate consumption accounts for 10% of sales. This segment includes mini eggs and seasonal treats (filled eggs and impulse novelty treats)*
Kids Easter eggs gifting accounts for 8% of all value sales at Easter*
The teen and adult eggs market accounts for 60%* of all Easter sales, accounting for €21.1 million in value sales, with the adult range of eggs driving the growth at +35%*
M&M’s is the biggest chocolate brand in the world
M&M’s has increased penetration by +17% in the past year and is in the top 10 chocolate brands in Ireland***
Shloer is Ireland’s biggest-selling adult soft drinks brand****
Easter is the second biggest sales peak for the Shloer brand after Christmas, with the number of bottles being sold during the Easter fortnight being significantly higher than in an average two-week period*****
Lily O’Brien’s is the country’s top performing Irish premium chocolate brand, with a consistent 14% market share throughout the year and 19% market share during the Easter period******
*(Source: Nielsen Total Market Incl Dunnes w/e 21 April 2013)
**(Source: Kantar WPO – 14 April 2013)
***(Source: Nielsen MAT CSV Dec 13)
****(Source: Kantar Worldpanel Republic of Ireland, Adult Soft Drinks MAT 17.02.13)
*****(Source: Internal Sales data. Unit Sales 000′, 2 weeks W/E 06.04.2013 vs. Total average 12.01.2013 – 26.10.2013)
******(Source: Nielsen, Sales in multiples 2013)
Easter continues to be a key season for confectionery. 2013 was a very strong year for the category with the total Easter category valued at €36.6 million*. This represented a significant growth rate of +8%*, with almost 17 million* packs sold. In fact, 70% of Irish households purchased from the Easter category in 2013, this was up +5.4% on 2012**.
*(Source: Nielsen Total Market Incl Dunnes w/e 21 April 2013)
**(Source: Kantar WPO – 14 April 2013): Statistics provided by Nestlé
Ms Green returns for St Patrick’s Day
As the biggest chocolate brand in the world and one of Ireland’s favourite, fun brands, M&M’s has built a reputation for bringing engaging, impactful campaigns to the Irish market. In the last year M&M’s has increased penetration by +17% and is in the top 10 chocolate brands in Ireland*.
Building on the success of last year’s blockbuster campaign, ‘Kiss Me I’m Irish’, 2014 has seen M&M’s Ireland once again welcome ‘worldwide celebrity’ Ms Green back to our shamrock shores to help her trace her Irish roots and celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Known for her get up and go, Ms Green is currently embarking on an official Ms Green Tour of Ireland to meet new friends with the help of lots of Irish celebrities, and get one step closer to finding her long lost cousins. While she’s here, she’ll be sharing in the celebrations and coughing up some cash – EUR*5,000 to be exact – to help fans throw the mother of all parties and celebrate Ireland’s greenest time of year. To enter, consumers can simply log on to the M&M’s Ireland Facebook page at Facebook.com/mmsireland, and send Ms Green their best ‘selfie’ to prove they are related.
Ms Green’s Tour to Ireland to trace her roots is supported by a large scale advertising campaign which includes TV, outdoor, online, and engaging POS which M&M’s says will build incredible impact in store. It is fully supported by a PR and digital campaign that includes a national tour to the four corners of Ireland in pursuit of her Irish roots, with the help of some famous faces throughout our Emerald Isle. The destinations for Ms Green’s Tour of Ireland include; Dublin to meet Ireland’s best listener, Uncle Gaybo (aka Mario Rosenstock), Galway to meet TG4 presenter and cailín gleoite, Roisin Ni Thomain, Limerick to meet one of the world’s most desirable men, former Mr World Kamal Ibrahim, and Galway to meet celebrated All-Star, Tommy Walshe. Ms Green’s journey can be followed at Facebook.com/mmsireland.
*(Source: Nielsen MAT CSV Dec 13)
Award-winning premium brand
Lily O’Brien’s is the country’s top performing Irish premium chocolate brand, with a consistent 14% market share throughout the year and 19% market share during the Easter period (Source: Nielsen, Sales in multiples 2013). With Great Taste Award winning recipes and stylish packaging design, Lily O’Brien’s looks and tastes better than ever.
For Easter, the range has been refreshed and includes new handcrafted Easter egg variants including the brand new Nuts about Chocolate Egg, and the premium Nutty Shortcake Crisp Egg and Toffee Caramel Crunch Eggs. Hampers, bunnies and gift collections complete the range for Easter 2014. Lily O’Brien’s chocolates contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and are distributed nationwide through Tennant & Ruttle Distribution. The brand is a proud member of the Love Irish Food campaign.
Uncompromising quality puts smiles on faces
The iconic Lindt Gold Bunny is back. Hopping in to all good stores throughout the country, the Lindt Gold Bunny appeals to people of all ages and has an uncanny ability to bring a smile to millions of faces every Easter.
Inspired by the legendary craftsmanship and uncompromising quality of the Lindt Master Chocolatiers, the Lindt Gold Bunny comprises of gold foil packaging with the now famous red ribbon and ringing bell with the melt in your-mouth taste of Lindt’s premium quality chocolate.
Over the course of time, the Lindt Gold Bunny has become a symbol of Easter. For people of all ages, when they see him they know Easter is not far away! This Easter, Lindt is asking consumers, why not spoil yourself or someone special with a Lindt Gold Bunny?
Now available in milk, white and dark chocolate and in varying sizes, this Easter, the Lindt Gold Bunny is now on special offer in all leading retailers.
The Lindt Lindor 28g Egg has the same smooth melting filling as the classic Lindt Lindor Milk Truffles that Lindt says are already hugely popular and much loved amongst Irish chocolate consumers.
Lindt believes the pocket sized Lindt Lindor Egg is the ultimate Easter treat for those looking for a bite size indulgence and makes a lovely edition to Easter egg hunts or as table favours for Easter Sunday lunch.
Wrapped in the distinctive red Lindt Lindor foil, the Lindor egg stands out from the crowd. Once you break through the outer shell of the Lindor Egg, the brand says the smooth melting filling allows consumers to melt away into a moment of pure bliss.
The Lindt Lindor Egg is now on special offer in all leading retailers.
Driving Easter sales even further
Innovation played a key role in Easter 2013, as the Irish shopper was looking for new and exciting products from the Easter category. The Nestlé 2014 range continues to include even more innovation and renovation as well as its traditional best sellers.
Easter immediate consumption accounts for 10%* of sales. Within this sector, there are mini eggs and seasonal treats (filled eggs and impulse novelty treats). Nestlé’s Milkybar Bunny and Smarties Choc Chick will make the ideal treat for younger children in 2014. The company also has Smarties and Milkybar mini eggs – permissible treats for sharing with all the family.
Kids Easter eggs gifting accounts for 8%* of all value sales at Easter. Added value gifts are seen as more special for kids. Smarties Chicken, with no artificial flavours or colours and Milkybar Cow, with all natural ingredients, provides mum with the perfect solution for permissible, fun Easter gifts. Nestlé says it also had great success with its Smarties Hen House and Milkybar Milkybarn in 2013* and these make a welcome return for 2014.
The teen and adult eggs market accounts for 60%* of all Easter sales, accounting for €21.1 million in value sales, with the adult range of eggs driving the growth at +35%*. The adult egg category has been in consistent growth and provides a very gift worthy egg to the Irish shopper. For adults, in 2013 Nestlé offered Randoms, an ideal Easter gift for teens, and saw the welcome return of After Eight.
For 2014 Nestlé’s range includes both a Munchies and Quality Street insider egg (with each milk chocolate shell containing sweets inside). For those loved ones that deserve a little bit more, Nestlé has new from Quality Street, a high quality tin egg containing an abundance of two of the brands favourites, Purple Ones and Fudge. Along with its Kitkat, Toffee Crisp and Yorkie mugs and the Retro Lion and Yorkie range, Nestlé continues to provide great variety for those perfect gifts for loved ones.
Nestlé was the first manufacturer to have 100% recyclable shell egg packaging, making it even easier for consumers to recycle.
Along with its Easter range, Nestlé also provides family favourites in terms of its boxed range, with Quality Street, After Eight, Dairy Box and Black Magic. These make the ideal gift at Valentine’s and Mother’s Day and its Dairy Box Delux Collection, containing a luxury assortment including whole nut pralines and white chocolate truffles is a new addition for this year.
Using its shopper and consumer insight, Nestlé says it will continue to delight its consumers and maximise sales and profit for retailers. The company says it looks forward to working with you, its retail partners, to ensure another very successful Easter 2014.
*(Source: Nielsen Total Market Incl Dunnes w/e 21 April 2013)
**(Source: Kantar WPO – 14th April 2013)
Adding sparkle to family occasions
"Easter is one of the biggest ‘family’ occasions of the year," says Amanda Grabham, head of brand marketing for Shloer, Ireland’s biggest-selling adult soft drinks brand*, which is distributed by SHS Sales & Marketing.
"As Shloer is the brand which consumers associate with family social occasions we do see significant uplifts in Shloer sales over the Easter period. It’s the second biggest sales peak for the brand after Christmas with the number of bottles being sold during the Easter fortnight being significantly higher than in an average two-week period**, so it really does pay retailers to stock up for the inevitable Easter Shloer sales surge," adds Grabham.
This Easter Shloer is reinforcing its association with social occasions through the brand’s ‘Here’s to Good Times’ marketing campaign and through posting Easter-themed tips, recipes and competitions on the Shloer website, www.shloer.com, as well as ongoing activity on its recently launched EnjoySundayLunch.com initiative. To enable retailers to make the most of the opportunity, SHS Sales & Marketing will also be running tailormade promotional deals across the Shloer portfolio during the Easter period, and stockists can highlight the promotions in-store by ordering free POS items from the Shloer POS hotline on +44 (0)800 917 3450.
The spotlight this Easter will be on the new Shloer Celebration Pink Fizz and White Bubbly lines, which offer consumers celebrating a family get-together something which is a bit extra special. Both have higher carbonation levels than the lightly sparkling Shloer range and are packaged in 75cl clear glass bottles featuring natural cork closures encapsulated in a wire cage and foil.
*(Source: Kantar Worldpanel Republic of Ireland, Adult Soft Drinks MAT 17.02.13)
**(Source: Internal Sales data. Unit Sales 000′, 2 weeks W/E 06.04.2013 vs. Total average 12.01.2013 – 26.10.2013)
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