Christmas shopping list must-haves!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…for sales! Ensure you don’t miss out on potential purchases by failing to stock the heavy-hitters highlighted below
Print16 November 2016
A report by ecommerce partner Webloyalty published in 2015 found Irish consumers were expected to spend €543.9 million during Christmas last year, up €34.2 million from the previous year.
According to the report almost half (49%) spent in excess of €150 on festive food during Christmas with the majority of people (41%) preferring to do their entire food shop in-store rather than online (5%).
The Webloyalty research into Christmas spending finds that, overall, consumer spending was up 2.8% year-on-year, with an estimated €1.59bn set to be spent during Christmas 2015. The expected average spend of each consumer on all aspects of Christmas is €435, however 16% of respondents claim they will spend more than €500 on presents alone.
Commenting on the research Guy Chiswick, managing director of Webloyalty Northern Europe said: “Gifts aside, groceries are the items that Irish shoppers will spend the most on over Christmas with an estimated €543.9 million going through the cash registers. Whilst retail events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday impact our preference for purchasing Christmas gifts online, it is interesting to see that consumers still favour a bricks and mortar shopping experience when purchasing groceries.”
The perfect ‘Blissmas’ gift
The Lindor Maxi Ball 550g offers the same classic Lindor Milk recipe in a giant size Lindor truffle
Boasting double digit growth of +14% and a market share of 10.1%, Lindt Lindor maintains its position as Ireland’s number one premium boxed chocolate brand. With a wide range of flavours and attractive formats, Lindt Lindor can cater to all your customers’ confectionery needs this Christmas.
Lindt Lindor is Ireland’s number one premium boxed chocolate brand
From the new limited edition Lindor Hazelnut to the classic Lindor Milk recipe, the 200g Cornet range will excite and engage your customers with a tasty range of flavours to choose from. The Lindor 337g pack size comes in both Milk and Assorted recipes and is an ideal sharing pack for the festive season. Not to mention, the perfect wow gift this season – the Lindor Maxi Ball 550g – the same classic Milk recipe in a giant size Lindor truffle.
Yet again, Lindt will deliver a massively upweighted national support plan behind the Lindor brand this Christmas, with Lindor TV advertising returning to your screens and a strong push in-store with premium point of sale and display.
With a format for all occasions, give your customers the gift of bliss this Christmas!
Lindt Lindor 200g retails at €6.99, Lindor 337g retails at €9.99 and the Lindor Maxi Ball retails at €19.
*(Source: AC Nielsen 52 weeks to 2 October 2016 – MAT)
Classic Clean
New Andrex Classic Clean has a thicker, embossed base-sheet featuring Andrex branding, while still keeping the essential touch of cotton from Andrex Classic White
In time for Christmas, Andrex, the UK’s leading toilet tissue brand, has launched a significant improvement to its flagship Classic White variant, as well as renaming it Andrex Classic Clean. Designed for a better clean, new Classic Clean now has a thicker, embossed base-sheet with a design that features Andrex branding, making it undeniably Andrex, while the essential touch of cotton from Andrex Classic White remains. Perfectly balancing softness and strength, the new variant will keep families feeling clean and confident.
Classic Clean is the biggest product change in 60 years, so Andrex has invested significant time and money to ensure it offers consumers an improved experience. Andrex has been planning the relaunch for over two years, including research involving 6,000 consumers, and has invested millions of pounds in its UK factories. As a result, consumer feedback on key attributes like “leaves you feeling clean” and “the right combination of softness and strength” has improved significantly.
Karel van der Mandele, Andrex UK and Ireland marketing director said: “Our brand promise at Andrex is to elevate the standard of clean and Andrex Classic Clean will help families continue to feel clean and confident. We’re so proud of Andrex Classic Clean that we’re putting our brand signature on every sheet.”
With an MRSP of €2.79 for a four-roll pack, the new Andrex Classic Clean rolled out to Irish stores in October 2016.
Overall, the toilet tissue market is one of Ireland’s largest grocery categories, worth over €120m*. As shopper behaviour is evolving to include more frequent and varied shopping trips, and toilet tissue is both a key planned and impulse purchase, it is a vital product in people’s personal care routines.
Product quality remains an important factor for shoppers when choosing their convenience store, and brand name is the number one attribute that convenience store shoppers use to define a product as being higher quality**. As a result, branded toilet tissue tends to trade heavily in Ireland, with branded products representing over 77% of the sector***.
*(Source: Nielsen Multiples Scantrack 52 wks W/E 02/10/2016)
**(Source: ShopperVista Convenience Channel Focus, past month convenience store shoppers, June-Aug’15)
***(Source: Nielsen Total Scantrack, 52wks W/E 10/10/2016)
(NB: Retail price is entirely the domain of the retailer)
Add a splash of magic!
Avonmore’s Caramel Whipped Cream is infused with Christmas caramel to create a flavour which appeals to consumers both young and old
With over 1.5 million households in Ireland buying Avonmore Cream and almost 300 units sold every minute during Christmas week, Avonmore cream is a must-stock item for the Christmas season and has a wide range of creams to suit every occasion. These include Avonmore Freshly Whipped Cream, which is already whipped for added convenience, Avonmore Sour Cream for party dips and appetisers, Avonmore Fresh Dessert Cream and a range of seasonal creams, such as Bailey’s Whipped Cream which are perfect for Christmas treats.
Already whipped and ready to serve, Avonmore Freshly Whipped Cream is the perfect accompaniment to Christmas puddings, mince pies, Irish coffees and Christmas desserts. Research carried out by Avonmore shows that Avonmore Whipped Cream is particularly popular at Christmas due to its added convenience and 25% of consumers will purchase Avonmore Whipped Cream for Christmas desserts in addition to their regular cream.
Also very popular at Christmas, luxuriously thick Avonmore Fresh Dessert Cream is perfect for pouring directly over festive desserts. The smooth, thick consistency is the perfect accompaniment to mince pies, Christmas pudding, trifle and all your shoppers’ favourite Christmas treats.
Back by popular demand with a fresh new look, Baileys Whipped Cream in a 585ml pot combines the unique and great taste of Baileys Original Irish Cream Liquer and Avonmore Freshly Whipped Cream. Luxurious on top of a chocolate cake, in a latte, or with any dessert of your choice. Two great Irish products – one unforgettable taste.
New to the market last year and also back due to popular demand is Avonmore’s Caramel Whipped Cream. Infused with Christmas caramel, this fabulous flavour appeals to consumers both young and old and is perfect for family dessert and treats.
Avonmore Cream will have a strong support plan in place to support its Christmas ‘Add a Splash of Magic’ campaign. This seasonal campaign encourages consumers to ‘Add a Splash of Magic’ to all to their festive dishes and will be supported by a heavyweight campaign including TV, outdoor, in-store sampling and activation, digital and PR support.
Celebrating 50 years of golden sales
Ferrero’s new boxed chocolates strategy will clearly position Ferrero pralines and Thorntons boxed chocolate ranges in line with two key shopper missions – ‘to give to share’ and ‘to give to gift’
Ferrero recently announced the launch of a brand new boxed chocolates category strategy. The new approach will focus on specific shopper missions and comes as Ferrero celebrates its 50th birthday in the UK and Ireland and 70th birthday globally.
This significant move by the Ferrero business follows the addition of the successful masterbrand Thorntons into its portfolio. The new strategy, which sees Ferrero’s firm focus on gold-standard in-store execution and Thorntons’ longstanding knowledge of retail come neatly together, will offer retailers a robust overview of how to execute a winning boxed chocolates offering for their shoppers.
Levi Boorer, customer development director, comments: “Ferrero and Thorntons are highly complementary businesses. Both were founded by passionate and skilled entrepreneurs who had innovation, product quality and bringing excitement to consumers at their heart. Thorntons, which already has a strong boxed chocolates offering, brings with it years of understanding and extensive research into shopper behaviour and this has led to an exciting new focus on the boxed chocolates category.
“With our new boxed chocolates strategy, the Ferrero pralines and Thorntons boxed chocolates ranges will be clearly positioned in line with two key shopper missions – ‘to give to share’ and ‘to give to gift’. Ferrero pralines are perfect for special sharing moments – a message that will be amplified as we approach the Christmas season with sampling activity and standalone television advertising. Thorntons boxed chocolates will be positioned for gifting occasions, with 4.4 million households purchasing at least one box of the Classic Collection every year.”
Ferrero will bring the strategy to life with retailers through the opening of its Shopper Experience Centre – a multi-room collaboration environment with sophisticated technology based in Ferrero’s new UK headquarters in Greenford Park.
Boorer continues: “The aim of the Shopper Experience Centre is to assist retail partners with unlocking the perfect store to cater for their specific shopper needs.”
Ferrero is enjoying a period of rapid growth in the UK and Ireland and this isn’t set to slow. With Thorntons joining the line-up of successful brands, Ferrero now operates across a wider range of need states, enjoys a 7% share of the UK confectionery market* and its boxed chocolate portfolio represents a 30% share at Christmas**. But that’s not all; the business now has two of the top 10 masterbrands in the UK confectionery market with Kinder and Thorntons and four brands each worth over £50m***.
*(Source: Nielsen Total coverage 52wks to 11/6/16)
**(Source: 4 weeks to end December 2015 Value sales Total Coverage)
***(Source: Nielsen Total coverage 52wks to 09/07/16)
Festive sharing treats
The Cuisine de France Christmas range includes four new products and is supported by a comprehensive range of POS
Retailers are in for a profit-boosting treat this festive season following the launch of the Christmas range from Cuisine de France. The range will enable Cuisine de France concept stores to tap into the Christmas opportunity as shoppers are on the lookout for tasty seasonal treats.
Shane Vaughan, head of retail marketing Ireland and UK for Aryzta Food Solutions says: “Shoppers want to indulge over the festive season, and by offering delicious and convenient treats that they can eat on the go, retailers can significantly boost their profits.” The Cuisine de France Christmas range is backed by a comprehensive range of POS including secondary display units.
The Christmas range includes four new products which are sure to become festive favourites amongst consumers
- Brandy Mince Puff – puff pastry encases this festive filling of vine fruits, sultanas, currants and mixed spice.
- Chocolate Doublé – cocoa enriched puff pastry double filled with a rich chocolate hazelnut filling and a creamy white chocolate filling.
- Cranberry Twist – hand twisted buttery pastry filled with a crème patisserie and cranberries.
- Raspberry Cheesecake Duet – crisp delicate pastry filled with raspberry and baked cheesecake fillings.
For more details, call your local Aryzta Food Solutions business developer.
Treats to top your Christmas wish-list
Farmbake’s Christmas range of cakes and treats are perfect for cold and frosty winter evenings by the fire
Farmbake, the Irish-owned and family run cake business, has expanded its fantastic seasonal range of Christmas cakes and treats that the brand reckons are sure to be at the top of your customers’ Christmas wish-list this December.
The selection of ten festive favourites, which include Luxury Christmas Slices, Mince Pies and a traditional Christmas Pudding, are perfect winter warmers that the whole family can enjoy. They are also an ideal treat to leave beside the fireplace for Santa on Christmas Eve.
So, whether it’s a hot cup of tea with the family or a glass of mulled wine with friends, the Farmbake Christmas range of cakes and treats are an ideal accompaniment for cold and frosty winter evenings by the fire.
The Farmbake Christmas range consists of:
- Farmbake Luxury Mince Pies – €2.49
- Farmbake Luxury Christmas Slices – €2.99
- Farmbake Christmas Pudding 1lb – €4.99
- Farmbake Christmas Iced Cake 600g- €5.99
- Farmbake Christmas Fruit Cake 840g- €5.99
- Farmbake Christmas Oxford Lunch 860g – €5.99
- Farmbake Whiskey Cake 500g – €3.99
- Farmbake Oxford Lunch 1.3kg – €9.99
- Farmbake Fruit Cake 1.3kg – €9.99
- Farmbake Mince Rounds 300g – €2.00
Farmbake is managed by father and son team, Jim and Alan Divney, who both understand the importance of spending time with the family, especially over the busy Christmas period, and they have handpicked the Farmbake Christmas range to make life easier for you this Christmas – and ensure you have lots of time to share a host of magical moments with your loved ones.
The Farmbake range, which consists of 40 cake and treat options, is available in approximately 2,500 stores nationwide, including leading retailers such as Spar, Mace, Daybreak, Tesco, Londis, Applegreen, Gala and Costcutter.
For more information, visit www.farmbake.ie on find the company on Facebook at Farmbake Ireland for some fantastic opportunities to win great prizes in the run up to the festive season.
A new winning flavour combo
The new Keogh’s Crisps flavour, Irish Chorizo and Cherry Tomato, is the result of a collaboration between the Gubbeen Smokehouse in Co. Cork and Keogh’s Farm
Fans of unique Irish flavours will love Irish Chorizo and Cherry Tomato, the brand new flavour from Keogh’s Crisps. The limited edition flavour is the result of a carefully crafted collaboration between the Gubbeen Smokehouse in Co. Cork and Keogh’s Farm, producers of the highest quality Irish potatoes and crisps.
Available in selected stores for a limited period, Irish Chorizo and Cherry Tomato is the first new crisp flavour to be brought to market by Keogh’s Farm in two years. Tom Keogh, managing director at Keogh’s Farm, explains: “Creating a new flavour is a hard thing to do, especially when you’re as careful and considered as we are with our crisps! That said, once we had decided upon the flavour direction that we wanted to try, we knew right away that the team in Gubbeen were the perfect partners for us. Fingal’s passion for locally-sourced and home-cooked food fits perfectly with the Keogh’s ethos and we are proud to be championing another superb Irish supplier.
“From listening to our customers, we knew that they were ready for us to bring out a new, sophisticated flavour and we believe that Irish Chorizo and Cherry Tomato meets the criteria. We’ve done lots of taste tests and the flavour is a massive hit with all of our family so we hope the Irish public love it as much as we do!”
Gubbeen’s Fingal Ferguson added: “We are really excited to have been asked by Keogh’s to collaborate on their new crisp flavour. Tom Keogh and the team came to visit our smokehouse in West Cork to see how we make our products. This was an important part of the process which helped us to create the perfect crisp. The sweet cherry tomato is an ideal companion to the smoky spicy chorizo!
“It has been a pleasure to work with fellow Irish farmers and seeing the passion that the Keogh family have for what they do has been wonderful. I feel that this is an important collaboration and the end product more than lives up to the high standard that consumers have rightly come to expect from Irish food producers!”
Keogh’s Irish Chorizo and Cherry Tomato crisps are hand-cooked on the family farm in North County Dublin and, as with all Keogh’s products, are certified gluten-free. Existing flavours in the crisp range include Sea Salt & Irish Cider Vinegar, Shamrock & Sour Cream, Roast Beef & Irish Stout, Dubliner Irish Cheese & Onion, Irish Atlantic Sea Salt, Sweet Chilli & Irish Red Pepper and the seasonal Roast Turkey & Secret Stuffing.
Keogh’s Farm is welcoming customers to give their feedback on the new flavour, and limited edition packaging, on its social media channels. Search @KeoghsFarm on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Keogh’s Irish Chorizo and Cherry Tomato crisps are available in 50g or 125g in participating stores nationwide later this month. RRP €1.20-€2.89
For further information on Keogh’s Farm, visit www.keoghs.ie.
Number one across the board
Celebrations was the number one confectionery tub in the market during Christmas 2015
Mars was the fastest growing manufacturer during Christmas 2015, accounting for 41% of total market growth in 2015*. Mars is a strong player at Christmas, holding the number one position in a range of categories for season; number one tub in the market, number one self-eat and number one seasonal sharing bag.**
A number of key success factors make the Mars range great performers at Christmas. All of the products in the Mars Christmas range are blockbuster brands (Celebrations, Maltesers, M&Ms, Galaxy) and products, which have a high rate of sale and high weighted distribution. Mars advertises all of its top brands all year round, putting large scale investment behind TV, outdoor and online, ensuring that awareness of its brands is really high in Ireland. The company also puts a strong focus on in-store theatre and execution and places itself in the mind of the consumer, retaining best in class shopper marketing which engages the shopper at all touch points both inside and outside of store.
Celebrations in particular had a phenomenal performance at Christmas 2015 and was the number one tub in the market**. Celebrations sells an extra 122 units for every point of weighted distribution. That’s 12% better than the number two tub product in the market. Celebrations was the fastest growing brand in grocery at Christmas 2015 and was the only non-alcoholic drink brand in the top six grocery brands**.
This year sees Mars expanding the Celebrations range, with the exciting new launch of Celebrations Pouch 490g. This new pouch is the ideal pack you take to a family, friends occasion or to be a re-fill for your tub.
Celebrations pouch was launched in the UK last year to great success and it went straight in as the number one SKU in pouch and was bigger than all competitor pouches combined, worth about 55% of the UK tub refill pouch market***. It will be the perfect opportunity to bring Celebrations to more sharing occasions, adding to our current range of Box 245g, Box 380g and Tub 750g. Celebrations Pouch will be priced at an RRP of €5.99.
Mars will be bringing Celebrations to life in-store, bringing fun and engagement to the consumer for the entire season. We can look forward to seeing large front of store displays for Celebrations Tub, new points of interruption for Celebrations Pouch and point of sale for the Celebrations Box.
*(Source: Nielsen, Total Scantrack L12, WE 27 Dec 2016)
**(Source: Nielsen Scantrack incl. Discounters, Data Ending 27 Dec 2015)
***(Source: UK Market Nielsen, Total Coverage, Total Chocolate MAT w/e 26 Dec 2015)
Taste above all else!
The O’Donnells gift box contains 12 bags of award-winning Cheese and Onion crisps
O’Donnells gluten free crisps are consistently Ireland’s number one hand cooked crisp in the market and continue to show double digit growth year-on-year*. What sets O’Donnells apart from its competitors is their taste and they have won many awards but most recently and notably two of its flavours have won great taste awards in the past month.
Loyalists will be very happy to hear that O’Donnells has just launched the number one and number two variants in the premium crisp market in a multipack format. The six-pack is available on its Mature Irish Cheddar and Red Onion and Irish Cider Vinegar and Sea Salt flavours.
Not stopping at that, this Christmas also sees the launch of the first premium crisp gift box. The seasonally designed gift box contains 12 bags of the company’s award-winning Cheese and onion crisps and is the perfect take with gift this Christmas for crisp lovers.
*(Source: Nielsen Markettrack Value sales MAT J/A 2016)
Essential footfall drivers
Each Christmas Stamp Booklet retails at €18, meaning your customers receive 26 stamps for the price of 25
Christmas is the perfect time to choose PostPoint as your preferred electronic services supplier. Retailers who join PostPoint this month can offer their customers festive favourites such as One4all Gift Cards and the Christmas Stamp Booklet.
Both of these are very popular products which are well established in the Irish marketplace, giving PostPoint retailers a competitive advantage when trying to attract customers into their stores this Christmas season.
The Christmas Stamp Booklet is great value for your customers as one free stamp is included with every booklet purchased. Each booklet retails at €18, meaning your customers receive 26 stamps for the price of 25.
The One4all Gift Card is Ireland’s leading multi-store gift card
The One4all Gift Card is Ireland’s leading multi-store gift card and is exclusively sold through post offices and PostPoint outlets. The One4all Gift Card makes the perfect gift for any occasion as it is accepted in over 7,000 retail outlets nationwide.
PostPoint retailers can order stamps and One4all conveniently and quickly through the PostPoint helpdesk on 1890 20 42 20, and all orders are delivered free of charge straight to the retailer’s door.
The One4all Gift Card is accepted in over 7,000 retail outlets nationwide
PostPoint retailers process over 18 million transactions every year, including essential footfall driving services such as mobile phone top up, bill payment, waste management, tolling, parking and international calling cards.
PostPoint supplies electronic services to almost 1,800 retailers in every town and village across Ireland. By joining PostPoint retailers enjoy the support of a dedicated customer services team as well as an award-winning sales support team on the road.
PostPoint works with all major retail brands including Spar, Centra, SuperValu, Tesco, Gala, Mace, Londis, Costcutter, Daybreak, Topaz and applegreen.
If you would like to find out more about joining PostPoint, call 1890 20 42 20.
Using its expertise in herbs and spices, Schwartz has introduced a tasty new range of seasonal packet mixes
Christmas is cinnamon
Christmas is a busy time at Schwartz! With festive favourites such as Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Cloves and Mulled Wine, Schwartz is confident it can offer something for every recipe. During November and December, the ‘Christmas is Cinnamon’ media campaign will run both online and in print media. The campaign focuses on mouth-watering recipes for mince pies and biscuits, using the quintessential Christmas flavour – cinnamon! In-store, the campaign will be supported with extra stands, POS and recipe leaflets.
New for 2016, Schwartz has used its expertise in herbs and spices to introduce a tasty new range of seasonal packet mixes. Available for a limited period only, the range focuses on recipe mixes for Christmas vegetables. The flavours include Schwartz Braised Red Cabbage with Cider & Apple, Schwartz Sticky Glazed Root Vegetables, Schwartz Sautéed Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, and Schwartz Crispy Roast Potatoes. For further information, contact Stafford Lynch www.staffordlynch.ie.
A cracking great Crispmas!
Carr’s Cracker Crisps come in three flavours; Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar, Thai Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream & Chive
Irresistibly tasty with a cracking great texture, Carr’s Cracker Crisps provides the perfect balance between a crunch and a crisp in a sharing bag format, ideal for sharing with family and friends over the festive season. Launched in April; each Carr’s Cracker Crisp is baked to be irresistibly crunchy. Carr’s Cracker Crisps are available in a 150g sharing bag and come in three variants; Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar, Thai Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream & Chive.
As the flagship savoury NPD for Pladis in 2016, Carr’s Cracker Crisps is supported by a €1m marketing spend including a television advertising campaign since April. A brand new 30 second TV ad was developed by local Irish advertising agency, DDFH&B to create awareness and drive trial of the new Carr’s range. The campaign hit all consumer touch-points including TV, digital, press, outdoor and on-street sampling. Significant investment has also been made across shopper channels, through a best in class in-store activation programme including POS, floor graphics and mass sampling campaign to drive awareness and trial of the new range from launch.
Cracker Crisps broadens Carr’s footprint in the savoury category as a whole. This latest NPD continues Pladis’ ongoing evolution of the Carr’s brand, broadening consumer perceptions beyond the current range of Crispbreads, Flatbreads, Cream Crackers, Oddities, Melts and iconic Table Water.
Audrey Madden, marketing manager at United Biscuits Ireland commented: “The strength of the Carr’s brand is based on 185 years of baking expertise. Our products are loved by consumers around the world. The portfolio is 100% baked, and with an ever-increasing emphasis from consumers on healthier eating, ‘snackable crackers’ are poised to boost further growth in the category at large.”
Q & A with… Maria McKenna, marketing manager for confectionery, Nestlé
Maria McKenna, marketing manager for confectionery, Nestlé
Q: How did your Christmas-focused ranges perform last year and what were the key-sellers?
A: Christmas as an occasion is undoubtedly the biggest footfall driver for retailers. Sales continue to grow year-on-year over this key time, with shoppers buying more confectionery, more often and spending more money. Value sales growth for Christmas in 2015 was +4.9% YOY and Nestlé outperformed the total market, driving YOY value growth of +8.2%* across our seasonal range. Key performers included the Quality Street tub, the After Eight carton, different Dairy Box formats and our range of branded giant tubes which once again proved to be the perfect choice for top up gifts and stocking fillers.
(*Source: Nielsen Scantrack inc Dunnes est. 31 Aug – 27 Dec 2015)
Q: What products/formats are included in your Christmas 2016 line-up and why do you believe these will prove popular?How do they meet consumer trends?
A: Our 2016 range features a wide selection for the whole family, including some clever renovation on traditional favourites and a number of exciting new options. Irish consumers have a well-established habit of choosing confectionery as a gift not just for family members but also for friends, colleagues and neighbours. One key trend is around selecting confectionery gifts that show people you know them well and know their personal choices in terms of what brands they like. Everyone has a favourite Quality Street sweet and now it is possible to surprise and delight them with the novelty choice that is a giant sweet full of just the purple sweets or just the strawberry creams.
Boxed chocolates represent one of the most personal of Christmas confectionery choices. They are considered a gesture gift which says as much about the giver as the receiver, therefore shoppers tend to opt for well-known brands. The Dairy Box brand has continued to grow over the past three Christmas seasons and this year sees the introduction of a brand new chocolate to the mix: the Crispy Chocolate Ripple is a chunky milk chocolate with delicate crispy pieces. The increasingly popular Dairy Box Deluxe Collection will cater for those looking for an even more gift-worthy, luxury box of chocolates. After Eight is the perfect small gift and often bought alongside other items such as wine. After Eight Straws, delicate dark chocolate straws with a mint fondant, are perfect for informal sharing and the After Eight selection contains a choice of dark, milk and white chocolate fondants. Black Magic, the number one dark chocolate boxed brand, completes the range and will be available in a variety of sizes.
Innovation is another key consumer trend and critical to driving excitement within the category particularly amongst children’s novelties. New for 2016 is the Smarties “Penguin in Penguin”. This treat gives consumers double the fun with two treats in one. Inside each milk chocolate penguin is a milk chocolate penguin chick complete with mini Smarties inside. Similarly, the Milkybar Polar Bear, comes with its own white chocolate Milkybar cub inside. Both treats offer something novel, fun and interactive for children of all ages.
Next up is the Smarties Santa’s Workshop complete with six hollow milk chocolate figures with mini Smarties inside, including Santa, reindeer and elves. The interactive packaging is designed with a ‘make your own mini Christmas tree’ activity, providing fun long after the chocolate is finished.
Finally, my personal favourite and Nestlé’s biggest piece of innovation in 2016 is the Smarties 3D Activity Pack. It combines both traditional and digital play for a really exciting interactive gift. Each box contains a picture of penguin which can be coloured in, scanned with a digital device such as a mobile phone or tablet, where consumers will watch it come to life! Each pack also contains a milk chocolate Smarties penguin, eight mini boxes of Smarties and a pack of colouring pencils. A white chocolate 3D Activity Pack from Milkybar includes a white chocolate polar bear cub, eight mini Milkybar bars and colouring pencils. Similarly, in this pack kids can colour in the Milkybar Kid and see him come to life when scanned!
Q: Value-for-money is essential for families at Christmas-time. How is Nestlé ensuring it delivers on this front?
A: Nestlé’s Christmas confectionery range consists of a varied offering from lower priced impulse lines and stocking fillers right up to more premium indulgent gift choices. Giant tubes are the ultimate traditional stocking filler with the majority of sales coming from just a few well-loved brands such as Smarties, Milkybar and Rowntree’s. Of course it wouldn’t be Christmas without the traditional advent calendar and selection boxes! The Milkybar Advent Calendar remains a must-stock pack whilst our selection boxes and Santa’s sack offer great value confectionery gift choices to put under the tree.
One of the traditions that has stood the test of time for families is sharing their favourite chocolate assortments at Christmas. Our Quality Street tub continues to deliver value and the greatest variety in terms of twist-wrap sweets and, for the first time in nine years, Quality Street will have a brand new sweet – the Honeycomb Crunch.
Within the Quality Street cartons range we have a limited edition seasonal selection that contains three different toffees plus the fudge sweet or one made up entirely of three different fruit crème flavours. Each are ideal value for money choices for those shoppers looking for a thoughtful, more personal token gift for friends and family.
Q: How extensive is Nestlé’s marketing budget for Christmas 2016 confectionery?
A: To help retailers fully capitalise on the sales opportunity from the Christmas season, Nestlé is providing a comprehensive range of merchandising and POS display solutions. We continue to invest in our brands, sweet selection and pack formats to ensure we offer consumers the greatest choice for confectionery treating at Christmas. Our Quality Street brand will be central to our TV and digital advertising campaign with media support beginning mid-November to help with early season sales and running right up to Christmas.
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